Chapter Sixty One

Chapter Sixty One
Nicholas POV

The sun is setting. I watch the hues of orange and pink settle across the city as I gaze out of the hospital window. I'm startled by the vibration of the phone in my pocket, as it jostled me out of my thoughts. Camilla is asleep again; she fell asleep before I answered her question. I stared at the caller I.D. for only half a second, hitting the answer button and sliding out the door as quietly as possible.

"New York," Michael says as soon as I say hello. "He's going to New York."

"Shit," I mutter. "Okay, which airline, which airport? I can send someone to intercept."

"JFK. We are taking off now, we'll be right behind him. I'm not exactly sure what he's got planned, he got on that flight alone, but there was a half dozen of his men throughout the airport. Jack was only able to get the info on Cain." Michael sounds calm, which leads me to believe he's got this under control.

"Alright, how can I assist?" I ask.

"It's best if you stay put. If he sees, you then I imagine he will figure things out quick enough. Have you heard anything from your men that have been watching Vince Cain's mansion?" Michael asks.

"Not really. His usual coming and going, nothing much else. Thomas is the one who causes a lot of ruckus. Vince has his street thugs handle most things. As I recall, he's always been that way. Hiding is his mantra."

"Seems about right," I say. "I could call him, see if he's onto the fact that I've been keeping Camilla safe as opposed to trying to find her like he had asked me to do."

"You don't think he knows already? His son is running all over the country tracking her down." Michael says.

"Yeah, but I get the impression he's not super impressed with the way his son handles things. He's spoiled the man-child, and he knows that he made a monster with that one."

Michael chuckles. "He was an ass when we were kids, acted like the world owed him or something. I look forward to killing him."

"Well, we have to get him in front of us if we plan to kill him," I reply. "It's kind of hard to kill someone you can't see."

"We could have killed him many times, it would have just been messy. Alot of innocents would have been killed or hurt. I'm not about that. My father taught me to be unassuming, never let them know who or what you are unless it's to your advantage. The closer we get to taking him out though, I have to admit, it's making my patience grow thin." Michael covers the phone with his hand; I can hear muffled voices as he talks to someone else.

"Can you have a car waiting for me?" he says as he uncovers the phone.

"Sure. Send me your flight information, and I will get you picked up on the tarmac if you want."

"Just me and one of my other men, Jack, are going inside the terminal to try and put eyes on Cain. We'll be moving quickly. I don't want this asshole to be out of our sight if I can help it," Michael says.

"Got it. There will be a black Tahoe waiting for you, my guy Antonio will pick you up. I'd rather send someone you know, keep it close. Let me know if you need more backup or additional cars," I tell him. I say that to him, but I fully plan to have others waiting. I can't chance that this guy will come out of the airport terminal and disappear. It's too easy to hide in my city, and the last thing we need is Thomas Cain hiding in the shadows of my city when Camilla is here.

I make the necessary calls, putting things in motion. When I'm done giving out orders, I make my way up to the nurse's station. "I need Dr. Moreno," I tell them. "He was going to work on getting my fiancé transferred out of here."

"I'm sorry, sir, but Dr. Moreno has gone home for the day. I can get him a message, and he will retrieve in the morning. Or you can speak to one of the residents," the nurse barely looks up from her computer.

"I don't want to speak to a resident. I want to speak to Dr. Moreno," I tell her, my voice laced with impatience.

The nurse looks up and folds her hands on top of the desk. Her eyes look me over and she tilts her head to the side. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"

"Nicholas, my fiancé is Camilla Patron, in room 402." I give her the same glare that most people would look away from, but she doesn't. She continues to stare and then sighs.

"Okay. I will call Dr. Moreno, but only because he said Ms. Patron was to be looked after as if she was his daughter. Whatever that means, she must have connections." She pauses and looks at me. "Or you do. You do look familiar."

"Considering I've been living at her bedside since she got here, I'm sure I do. Don't worry about calling Dr. Moreno. I will call him myself." I hold up my phone and then walk two steps from the desk, hitting the call better.

"Wayne, it's Nick. Listen, I know you went home for the night, but did you get a chance to consider what we spoke about yesterday?"

"I will let her fly, but I have conditions," he answers.

"What are those conditions?" I ask.

"Private plane only, and a nurse with her for the flight. A neurosurgeon to assess her on arrival to Italy, and she's going to need frequent follow ups," he says. "This was a serious injury she sustained Nicholas. Surely you understand that."

"No, I understand. Did you have a nurse in mind that would travel there with us? And a neurosurgeon that would come see her when we get to my father’s?"

"We can work out those details tomorrow when I'm back at the hospital. I have a few ideas and some suggestions from some colleagues regarding the neurosurgeon," he pauses. "Let me give you some advice though."

"Okay," I say.

"Go home for the night. Sleep in your bed. Shower. You look like shit. Your guys told me you've barely left. How can you take care of her or protect her if you aren't in top shape? She's fine there. You have her door guarded like she's the queen of England. Nobody is getting in anyway, it's a locked unit."

I chuckle, "You sound irritated Wayne. It bothers you more than me that I haven't slept in my own bed."

"No. I just think the woman deserves a chance at survival and with whatever is going down, I'm not sure you're it if you can't see what you look like the mirror. I spoke to your father earlier today, he agrees but says he's not telling you what to do. Maybe he won't but I will. Your mother would be angry with me if I didn't, and I sure don't want her wrath. Go home. Go to bed."

He's not wrong, and if he spoke to my father, it won't be long before he starts calling. Or worse yet, he has my mother call and lay into me. I may be a grown man, but no sane Italian man wants his Italian mother yelling at him. "Fine. See you tomorrow, Dr. Moreno." I hang up before he can say anything more and turn back to the nurse. "See all handled." She just sits staring at me with her mouth hanging open. When she doesn't reply, I simply shrug and walk back to Camilla's room.

"I'm heading out," I tell the two men guarding the door. "You know the rules. No one goes in who we can't identify, understand?" They both nod in acknowledgment. I walk in and grab my things from the room, scribble a note for Camilla in case she wakes up, leaving it on her bedside table. Moments later I'm climbing into my car, headed to my penthouse.

I dial Antonio. "You have your orders," I tell him. "I want an update, you see that guy, you call me. Let me know if Michael does anything different than what he said he was going to do, and make sure our other men are in position."

"You got it boss," he replies without hesitation.

I get home and nearly fall into bed, exhaustion claiming me. I'm more tired than I realized, and I forgot to check on Millie before I left. Dr. Moreno was right, I'm not in my best state, and I need to be so I can take down Thomas Cain. I need to make sure he's done terrorizing women, and I sure as hell can't let him get close to Camilla.