THIN ICE |BOOK I |BWWM|

•ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 34•

•OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA•

Matias' POV

A quiet settled amongst our small group of family and friends in the darkened hospital room.

The hustle slipping in from outside mixed with the small snores that circulated the room.

I coiled on the small burgundy couch adjacent to the window with my arms placed over my chest where Olivia once was.

Mrs.Sonia Guarez, Olivia's mother, sat in a chair closest to the bed with her arms folded and attention strapped to her husband who was now breathing through a tube.

Ruthless.

Mancini could be unrelentingly vindictive when given the chance, so to say I was on edge was an understatement. We needed a miracle.

I don't know why I was shocked. My father warned me this would happen and I probably should have told Olivia, but I couldn't bring myself to reveal that her father was laying in the hospital with four bullet holes because I couldn't follow directions.

I did manage to get him treatment from a hospital in our jurisdiction. It was the the least I could do.

Besides, doing good for Olivia's family helped distract me from the fact that I hadn't spoken to Monroe since she said she'd call me back four days ago. I figured Nicolai had complications, but even Olivia couldn't get a hold of her.

Sunlight screamed in my face from the spaces between the window shade, matching the only other light that shined from under the bathroom door.

My gritty eyes roamed, finally finding a clock on the wall.

7:42

"Matías." Sonia drummed her fingers over my shoulder.

"Hm?" I rubbed my knuckle over my eyes.

"I have to go to the shop and open. When Olivia gets out of the bathroom, let her know I went back."

I swung my feet to the floor as fractals of light spotted my vision.

"You want her to go too?"

"No...no. She's safer with you for right now. I'll be back at noon."

I gnawed on the inside of my check and nodded.

Sonia said her goodbyes, leaving me to my anxious thoughts and tapping heel.

The squeak of the door sounded over the faint buzz of my cell phone sitting on the window sill. I accepted the call, giving little attention to the caller.

"Salve?" (Hello?)

"How much longer are you going to be at the hospital?" I recognized my dad's strangely alarmed voice.

"I don't know. Do you need me for something?"

"San Francisco is under our control again."

The cartilage of my ear twitched, "How? We gave it to Maniscalco."

"Don Adrian is no longer able to support the family. His Underboss returned recently obtained property and Adrian has aligned the family with Mancini."

"But why? That doesn't make sense."

"Sebastian and Emilio are doing some digging now. In the meantime, I need you to go to San Francisco and re-establish our connection."

I sat silently as I wracked my brain for answers to the questions swelling my mind.