Jovani was happy to be able to sink into the car once Charles had pulled up. Thankfully Richard had left after the little talk so that the Vedova Nera man could be alone.

"Where do you want to go to first, sir? I didn't think you'd be allowed to leave in your current state?" Jovani sighed. Of course, the driver would be another to pick on something wrong.

"My condition is fine, I didn't bother getting checked out. For now, I want to go back home." He ordered.

"There are a number of things that I need to take care of. This little thing can get taken care of while I'm there." Being inside the car, the temptation was high to remove the dress shirt. It hurt like hell each time the shirt became dried to the wound as each movement caused the freshly formed scab to be torn off. Without the shirt, the wound would have a better time sealing itself up.

"Do we need to pull over, sir?" Charles inquired, glancing through the rearview mirror to see the other struggling with his clothes.

"No Charles. I want you to keep driving. If we need to stop for any reason, I will let you know." Jovani replied. Damn seatbelt complicated the shirt removal process but not enough to need the car stopped.

Once this task was completed, Jovani wished that there was a bottle of water somewhere in the car. The wound could do with a light cleaning. Saltwater was the best, but whatever was at hand could work."Charles, can you open up the bar please." The driver did as requested, silently watching what the other was doing. The bar pulled out of the compartment and rested between the back seats.

"Which one of these do you think has the highest alcohol content?" Jovani asked, looking over all the bottles to choose from.

"That would be the vodka, sir. Spirytus has the highest content." Charles replied.

"The clothes are in the compartment on the left if those are what you are looking for." A smirk flashed across the other's face.

" You might want to put up the divider for the next part." Jovani warned. Pulling out cloths.Without anything else being around, the soft material was going to have to work for biting down on.action

"I will be fine sir. I think that it would be best for now if I keep it down to watch out for you should anything happen."

"Always the reliable one Charles." Jovani chuckled hoarsely. The smell of the alcohol was sharp in the air as the clothes were drenched with it. Once the first one was secured and his teeth were clenched tightly around it, the worst part was to come.

Jovani had endured a lot of pain throughout the years. Being in the mafia, it was hard to avoid injuries and fights. It was practically part of being a part of that world. The level of pain that was getting ready to come from this was on a completely different level than what most could even imagine.Bracing for the pain, Jovani bit down hard on the cloth. No time to count or think, the cloth was pushed as firmly as possible against the bullet hole. The red hot pain that seared through the wound was as bad as getting stabbed by a red hot poker. A chocked sound of pain escaped as Jovani's body jerked from the pain

Feet pushed hard against the car's floor as possible in an attempt to stay grounded to reality. The force hard enough to leave deep scuff marks behind. The counting began as Jovani forced his eyes to remain open. Ten was the magic number. Ten seconds were all that had to be counted out before the pain would away. Simply as it sounded, it was hell to endure when the level of pain only increased with each passing second.

Jovani's painting came out labored around the cloth. Seven seconds had passed but the sweating had already started. Three more to go and consciousness was slowly slipping away. The world was starting to spin and darkness began to creep towards the corners of Jovani's eyes by the time he was able to remove the cloth from the wound. The one in his followed shortly after.

Jovani leaned his head back against the headrest as he tried to slow down his breathing. No matter how many times it had been endured, it wasn't the kind of pain one could get used to easily.

"Are you still alive sir? Would it perhaps be better if I turned around and headed back to the hospital?" Concern was evident in Charles's voice as he glanced back to check on the other.

"No need to Charles, I'm not quite dead yet." Jovani joked, taking in a deep breath with eyes still closed. After that ordeal, the exhaustion was setting in even worse than it had before. Pity there would be no time for sleeping in the near future. A soft fluffy bed with an equally fluffy pillow sounded much more preferable to what was to come next.

"The only time that I will go to a hospital is either unconscious or in a body bag. Though, I thought that this was something we confirmed?" Shifting position, the Vedova Nera boss winced at the pain in his shoulder while moving into a more upright position.

"Indeed sir. From this perspective however it didn't quite seem like you had a good grasp on your consciousness." Charles pointed out.

"If I didn't do my job properly, your fiancé would be terribly displeased after everything. If keeping her happy requires me to force you to go to the hospital, then so be it." Jovani let out a genuine laugh at this comment.

"Even you? I swear that it seems like with each passing day, I am losing more and more of my most loyal men to that woman. I wonder if it was such a good idea to pick her."

"If I may say, sir, I don't think that there is anyone that you would be happier with. The miss might be firm with you and steal your best men but everything is done for you, not against you."

"I hope you're right about that Charles. I would like to think that after today, I will still have a place to stay." Eve would not be thrilled at all about anything that happened. The question was whether the level was low enough to deal with it like always or high enough for a tongue lashing.