The Mobster's Princess

Dinner with the Enemy

Rose insisted on driving them to the hospital, raising her voice to tell him off when he walked past her and wanted to get in the driver seat. The woman grabbed his key from him and gave him a look which scarily matched the look his mother gave him whenever she was displeased with him. He didn't want to go there, he had too many things on his mind already so he gave in with a sigh. He climbed into the passenger seat and let his wife drive them to the hospital while he made some calls, checking in with anyone who could tell him about what Max got himself into. Rose kept quiet the entire ride, letting him do his thing. When he glanced at her he didn't see fear or anxiousness on her face, he saw the determination in her eyes instead. He was proud of her to handle this situation that calmly because inside he was losing it. Rose sensed him losing it and to simply bring him back to reality she placed a hand carefully on his knee, letting him know she was there. She didn't use her words, she patiently waited for him to be ready to talk. He appreciated her, more than she'd ever know.

"We got a warning this morning and Max gets hurt right after, something isn't right here."

"You think Max walked right into Mario's trap?"

He wasn't sure, it might be that Max stumbled upon something bigger. The fact that Mario's left his card on Max' beat up body told him the man was bold, calculated and insane. His parents making an enemy out of Mario was what would cause them so many sleepless nights in the future. The ones who always needed to be watched were his parents, not his siblings. The fact they made an enemy out of Mario Santo would probably haunt them forever.

"Either it was Mario's intention to hurt Max to make a point or Max stumbled upon something he wasn't supposed to."

Rose pulled away from him to focus on her driving, "I guess we'll figure it out."

Once they arrived at the hospital Rafael and Rose made their way to Max' private room, both relieved when the doctor assured them that Max would be fine after getting some rest. He did have to stay at the hospital though. They wanted to observe him. Rafael wasn't happy about that, he rather has Max' by his side, but he knew it wasn't wise to take his brother with him when his whole body ached because of the beating he took.

Rafael entered the private room first, meeting Sebastiano's gaze and then trailed his eyes to the bed. His breathing stopped when he took in his beat-up brother. It looked like even breathing was hurting Max, he tried to keep his face expressionless though. The last thing Max needed was to see on their faces just how bad he looked right now. The guy knew, he was hissing in pain every damn minute or so. Rafael approached the bed, making sure not to touch his brother even though he wanted to just to make sure Max was indeed right before his eyes, alive.

"Don't make that face," Max grumbled.

"What face?" Rafael asked, confused as to what his brother was telling him.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." Max chuckled, hissing in pain once again since laughing also hurt his body. It didn't stop his brother from trying to be the funniest guy in the room, "You think you're good at hiding how you're feeling but I can see right through you."

Rafael frowned, "I am good at hiding my emotions."

"You are." Max agreed, "But we-" He gestured between him and Sebastiano, "You can't hide from us how you're truly feeling."

"And what am I truly feeling right now?" Rafael asked, "Let me help you guys trying to figure me out. I'm fucking pissed right now but also feeling guilty for sending you out there not knowing what Mario was actually capable of."

Max wrapped an arm around his waist, leaning back into his fluffy looking pillows. It looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't. Sensing that Max needed a minute to get through the pain which caused Rafael's heart to hurt even more for his brother, he turned to look at Sebastiano instead.