Bullets & Bandages

10

The rapid knocks at my front door froze my heart for a second. No one ever came to my door.

My first thought was Lorenzo was coming for me despite telling Giovanni I was off the hook.

I brought my eye to the peephole and looked out to see my brother. I sighed in irritation. I didn't know how he found out where I lived and I wanted to kill whoever told him.

I swung the door open and propped a hand on my hip. I was sure my expression screamed my irritation.

"Ria, we gotta talk," he barged into my apartment and locked the door behind him.

I scowled at his intrusion. He had never been in my apartment and I didn't want him there.

"I'm in some shit, Aria."

Confusion must have coated my face. Wasn't the mafia enough? How much more shit could one person get into?

"As if the mob wasn't bad enough?" I asked sarcastically.

"Giovanni is DEA, Aria."

I scoffed. "Right."

"He is. I've been informing on Lorenzo for a year. He's running the task force against Lorenzo."

"That's ridiculous. Lorenzo is the whole reason Giovanni even came to America."

Richard scrunched his face up. "You really don't know?"

"Know what?" I demanded.

"Lorenzo killed Giovanni's family in Italy so he would come here."

I shook my head. "He would have told me that."

"There's a lot you don't know about him. We need you to back up everything I say in court."

My hand absently covered my mouth. I couldn't believe what Richard was telling me. There was no fucking way. Giovanni had lied to me for almost a year. About everything. His job, his life, everything. The pit in my stomach settled low.

He was a DEA agent. How Richard knew was not my concern. I didn't give a flying fuck about how he knew, just that he knew. God, if he knew, there was no way Lorenzo was oblivious.

Fucking Giovanni. Not only had he lied to me and started a full fledge relationship with me, I was going to lose my medical license over this shit. If I was found to be performing medical procedures outside of the hospital, I was sure they would rip my license away faster than my head could spin. I had dumped my entire life into becoming a doctor. Without it, I didn't know what I was. Hell, I was probably going to be an inmate so it didn't really matter.

"Sis, I'm sorry. I never wanted to get you involved," Richard tried.

I scoffed. "The hell you didn't. You used me and you know it."

"No, Aria," he rushed. "I didn't know. Lorenzo said it was a one time thing and it would wipe the slate with me!"

"Just stop!" I yelled. I slumped down on my couch and covered my eyes. "You have no idea the shit storm that's about to rain down on me. I could lose my license over this!"

"No way Giovanni lets that happen. You just have to tell the DEA what they wanna know and you're free."

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to inform on a mob boss that has never had an issue beating the shit out of his pregnant girlfriend in front of me, making drug deals while I'm present, and shooting someone in the head to prove a point to me?"

"Giovanni can protect you."

"He can't do shit. Don't you get that? Lorenzo's reach far surpasses anything some DEA agent can do. If they put me on the stand to testify against him, I might as well sign my own damn death certificate."