I could barely breathe in his grip, but all I could think about was that I might lose everyone I loved tonight. I hoped they would kill me first. I couldn’t bear the thought of watching everyone die.
“You took something that belongs to us, Vitiello, and now I have something that belongs to you.”
Vitali licked my cheek and I almost threw up. “I want to know where it is.” Luca took a step forward, then froze when Vitali put the knife to my throat again. “Put the weapons down or I’ll cut her throat.”
Vitali was stupid when he thought Luca would do that, but then I watched in horror as Luca dropped his guns on the floor.
“Your wife tastes delicious. I wonder if she tastes that delicious anywhere.” He turned me around so that I was facing him. His disgusting breath hit my face. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Luca watching me, but I wished he would look away. I didn’t want him to see it. Vitali’s lips came close. I was sure I was going to throw up.
I tried to lean against the backrest, but he laughed disgustedly and grabbed my side, but I barely noticed because my shifting had caused the knife to stick in my butt. As Vitali ran his tongue over my chin, I slipped my hand into my back pocket, pulled out the knife, released the blade and stuck it in his thigh.
He screamed, stumbled backward, and then all hell broke loose. Luke practically flew across the room and pulled me to him as he ripped Vitali’s throat from ear to ear. The man’s head tilted back, blood spurted out, then fell. Bullets ripped through the air and screams were heard. The ground was slippery from the blood, and only Luca’s firm grip on my arm kept me on my feet. At some point he must have dropped the knife because he was firing bullet after bullet from a sleek black pistol with a silencer. I picked up a gun lying in a pool of blood. It was slippery in my hand but its weight was pleasant. Suddenly Romero was there, too. My eyes tried to find Gianna but she had disappeared from her place on the floor.
Luca shot at another enemy and reached for the dead boy’s gun because his was out of bullets, when one of the Russian mobsters to our right pointed his gun at Luca. I shouted in warning and at the same time stumbled forward, pointed the gun at the boy and fired. I didn’t even think about it . I had sworn to myself that I would not see any of my loved ones die tonight, even if it meant that I had to die first.
The bullet hit me in the shoulder and my world exploded with pain. My shot hit the boy in the head and he fell to the ground dead. Luca knocked me to the side, but my vision went black.
When I regained my senses, Luca was cradling me in his arms. There was silence around us except for someone’s moans. It took me a moment to realize that they were mine, and then pain coursed through me and I wished I had been unconscious, but I needed to know if everyone was all right.
“Are you okay?” I croaked.
Luca trembled against me. “Yes,” he said. “But you’re not.” He was pressing on my shoulder. That probably explained the pain. The back and front of my shirt were slimy with a warm liquid.
“What about Gianna, Lily, and Fabi?” I whispered even though the darkness wanted to claim me again.
“All right,” shouted Gianna from somewhere. She seemed far away, or maybe it was my imagination. Luca slid his hands under me and stood up. I cried out in pain, tears streaming from my eyes.
The lobby was packed with our men.
“I’ll take you to the hospital,” Luca said.
“Luca,” Matteo said in warning. “Let the doctor take care of it.
He has been taking care of our business for years .”
“No,” growled Luca. “Aria needs proper care. She has lost too much blood.” I could see some of Luca’s men cast a glance toward us before pretending they were busy again. He was their leader. He couldn’t show weakness, even toward me.
“I can do a blood transfusion,” said a deep, reassuring voice. The Doc. He was over sixty, with snow-white hair and a kind face.
Luca’s grip on me grew stronger. I grabbed him by the arm. “It’s okay, Luca. Let him take care of me. I don’t want you to take me to the hospital. It’s too dangerous.”
Luca’s eyes showed hesitation, then he slowly nodded. “Follow me!” He led me toward the stairs but I lost consciousness again.
*** I woke up in a soft bed, feeling battered and foggy. My eyes opened. Gianna lay beside me, sleeping. It was light outside, so several hours must have passed. There was a huge bruise on her forehead, but I suppose my appearance had worsened. We were alone, and disappointment filled me. I tried to sit up and was rewarded with a strong pulse in my shoulder. Lowering my gaze, I found my upper arm and shoulder wrapped in bandages.
Gianna moved, then gave me a smile of relief. “You’re awake.”
“Yes,” I whispered. My mouth felt like it was full of cotton.
“Luca guarded your bed most of the night, but Matteo forced him to come out and help with the Russian mobsters they caught.”
“Did they catch some of them?”
“Yes, they are trying to extort information from him.”
My lips twisted, but I couldn’t convince myself to feel sorry for them. “How are you?”
“Better than you,” Gianna said, then closed her eyes. “I’m sorry I attacked you yesterday. I would have hated myself forever if that had been the last thing I said to you.
I shake my head. “All right.”
He jumped out of bed. “I’d better tell Luca you’re awake or he’ll rip my head off.”
She disappeared, and a couple of minutes later Luca came in. He stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable as he let his gaze wander over me. Then he walked over to the bed and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Do you need morphine?”
My shoulder felt as if it were on fire. “Yes.”
Luca turned to the bedside table and picked up a syringe. He took my arm and slid the needle into the crook of my arm. When he was finished, he threw the syringe in the trash but did not leave my hand. I brought our fingers together. “Did we lose anyone?”
“A few. Caesar and a couple of soldiers,” he said, then paused. “And Umberto.” “I know. I saw him being shot.” My stomach churned violently. It still felt surreal. I should have written a letter to Umberto’s wife, but I needed lucidity to do so.
“What did that Vitali guy mean when he said you owned something that belonged to him?”
Luca’s lips thinned. “We intercepted one of their drug deliveries. But that’s not important now.”
“What is important then?”
“That I almost lost you. That I saw you get shot,” Luca said in a strange voice, but his expression didn’t let on. “You’re lucky the bullet only hit you in the shoulder. The doctor says it will heal completely and you can use your arm as before.”
I tried to smile, but the morphine was making me sluggish. I blinked, trying to stay awake. Luca leaned over. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“What?” I breathed.
“Take a bullet for me.”