"So, what did Jericho suggest?"
"Told me to get Leo to deal with any Rossi members that weren't complying with the rules, and to make a scene about it so that others knew to get in line and then he hung up on me."
I can't contain the laugh that bursts out of me, and Dom turns to glare at me.
"This isn't fucking funny, Jay," he bites out.
"It is a little bit," I protest. "Besides, you always wanted to take over, so you can't complain too much."
"Yeah, but the circumstances have drastically changed, and everything is much harder than I thought it would be."
"You realise you could ask your dad for help, right?" I suggest, knowing my uncle wouldn't want Dom to be drowning under pressure.
"I can't ask him for help," he sighs. "I want him to believe in me, and I need him to see that I can do this. I can't stand to see him disappointed in me, Jay."
"He wouldn't be disappointed in you, Dom. He'd respect you for asking for help, and he'd gladly help out if you needed him to," I tell him, confident in my statement.
Dom sits there for a few moments, mulling over what I said, and then he looks over at me and nods.
"Maybe you're right."
"I usually am," I reply, smirking at my older cousin.
"Smart arse," he scoffs, standing from the chair. "I'm gonna wait for Leo outside and take him with me to Dads. Enjoy the flowers, and please, never ask me for another favour like that again."
We bump fists and he claps me on the shoulder before leaving the room.
I eagerly grab the bouquet of flowers from the bottom of my bed as soon as he's out of the room and hold them in my hand, inspecting them to see if any of them are squashed.
Thankfully, they look okay.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I reach over to the table beside me and put the bouquet in the water jug that's still half full.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rory
When we pull up at the hospital and I see Dominic standing at the entrance of the car park leaning against his car, I look over at Leo in confusion, and a spike of worry shoots through my body.
"Why's he here?" I ask.
He shrugs. "Beats me, princess."
I grimace at the nickname, and he raises a brow at my reaction.
Leo pulls up beside Dominic and rolls down his window.
A shiver passes through my body when Dominic leans down and stares at me through the open window before his attention moves over to Leo.
"I need you to follow me to my father's," he says.
The lack of an accent in his voice has me breathing a sigh of relief, but my shoulders remain tense, and my eyes are still glued to his face.
He looks too much likehim, and my body is on high alert because of that fact.
"Why are you here?" Leo asks.
Dominic glances at me, then back to Leo.
