Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 41: Anything for you . Once the first aid kit was all packed up stored away, Giovanni put a hand on Gianna’s shoulder and said, “I know dad said something to upset you. Will you tell me what he said now?”.Rio padded into the other room, likely his bedroom, and Gianna nodded.“But,” Giovanni said before Gianna could start, “I’m guessing it was about me.”“Of course,” Gianna sighed out. “He’s still upset that you won’t go to college. I thought he just wanted to lay the guilt at my feet. I was right in that regard. He does blame me. He thinks I made you too independent and rebellious.”A furious look on his face, Giovanni said, “That’s total crap!”“Well, we all know that.”Giovanni flung himself back against the sofa. “Me not wanting to go to college has nothing to do with you.”“Maybe in a way it does,” Gianna conceded. “Dad spent a lot of time trying to keep me in line, control my life, and make my choices for me. He didn’t have the time or energy

Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 43: the other side of Sal . “It’s not me,” Sal said finally. “It’s my sister. There’s something wrong with her, even if her doctor doesn’t think so.”Next to Sal, Ezekiel lowered his bowl slowly, wiped at his mouth, and asked, “Hana?”Even Dante looked startled. “Why didn’t you say anything?”Sal ignored them, staring straight at Gianna. “My sister is ten. She should be out running around and playing with her friends. But all she does is lay around and sleep. She says she’s tired all the time. She can barely stay awake at school.”Gianna’s eyes narrowed in interest. “You said a doctor already cleared her?”“Some asshole at the local hospital did,” Sal said with fierce anger. “He acted like she was just lazy, but I know she isn’t. She used to be loud and energetic.”“How recent has this happened?”Sal looked to be guessing as he said, “A couple weeks. Maybe a month.”Gianna could see the tension and unease radiating from Sal, and the tapping of his

Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 43: not infinite, not Mariposa but Doctors . “What about your heart?”Hana, who was cute as a button, gave an almost invisible nod. “It beats really fast sometimes.”“And slow at other times? Slower than you usually feel?”.“No,” She denied, and Gianna felt sweet relief whip through her. A quick heartbeat, rather than a heartbeat that alternated between quick and slow, was easier to deal with. And it indicated something much better than the other scenarios that were playing through Gianna’s head.“No?” She asked to be sure.“No,” she confirmed. “It just gets fast sometimes, like when I stand up really fast, or for too long.”“Do you know what’s wrong with her?” Sal cut in sharply.Gianna turned to Sal and pressed a finger to her lips. Sal was worse than some of the parents that accompanied their children. It was obviously only because he loved her, though.“What about your appetite?” Gianna inquired. “How are you eating?” She finished inflating th

Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 45: what seems to be the problem? . “Sal,” Gianna offered gently. “You don’t have to…”Sal looked weary as he said, “I don’t know the details. This is one thing Rio doesn’t talk about. I just know that Rio’s boy’s home finally started putting up a fight. The workers there refused to let their boys get devoured up by Shinhwa, especially as the gang was starting to have major issues at the time and were in danger of staring some kind of civil war. So, when the workers said no one more time, Shinhwa set the place on fire. Rio made it out, and so did a couple other kids, but lots of people died. Gianna, Shinhwa barred the doors. They locked those people in before they set the place on fire. Just to prove a point.”Gianna felt her heart seize up into her chest, and for one moment, there was a stutter. But it was just heartache, she realized a moment after that. It was just sadness.“Rio lost everything,” Sal said, “time and time again. He kept cheating

Helping Mr. Gang Leader .Chapter 47: what about your father? .Simply, Gianna said, “You’re leaving.”Angelo didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.“So now we’re down a doctor!” Enzo said, a furious look on his face. “We’re down a doctor as our patient numbers keep rising. And it’s not because he’s having an emergency of some kind, or because the situation is out of his control, no, we’re down a doctor because he’s leaving us for something better.”The disappointment was welling up so much in Gianna’s chest it was nearly overwhelming. “This clinic needs you.”“I know,” Angelo said, looking truly sorry. “I know it does, and I’m sorry to go. But this is my dream, Gianna This has always been my dream, and I thought you understood that if I ever got a shot at my dream, I would have to go for it. I’m not doing this to screw the clinic over. I’m doing it because this is what I’ve dreamed about at night since I declared my focus to be in ortho.”Enzo accused, “And we’re not supposed to t