Page 74 of A Sinner's Virtue
“Fuck you, bitch,” he screams at her.
I can’t stop staring at the blood. There’s so much blood. Too much blood. Visions of Marcel on the ground hit me, and I fall to my knees.
“Your first mistake was thinking you could come after me or my family,” Izzy says and then the gun fires off again.
There’s a commotion in the room. People are running in. I know I need to get up. I need to help her, but I’m frozen to the spot. I can’t move.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I’m right behind Mikhail. Rushing the building. We both start running at the sound of gunshots. Mikhail yells something in rapid Russian before shouldering his way into the room.
“You’re late, as always, love.” Izzy smiles at him.
My eyes flick around until I spot a guy bleeding out on the ground, bullet wounds littering his motionless body. And then I see her. Zoe. She’s huddled on the floor, her back leaning against the wall. Like it’s the only thing holding her up.
“Fuck. Zoe.” I drop down in front of her. My hands cup her cheek. “Zoe, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
Her eyes are looking directly at me, but they’re also not. It’s like she’s not here. She blinks, “Marcel?” My name is nothing but a whisper on her lips. And then she smiles.
“Yeah, babe. It’s me. It’s going to be okay,” I tell her.
“I know,” she says before her eyes roll back in her head. Her body starts slipping to the side, and the next thing I know, she passes out.
“Fuck,” I curse under my breath, catching her before she hits the ground. My body tears open with the movement. Literally. I feel the stitches fucking break away from my skin.
“Marcel, move. I’ve got her.” I look up at Santo. My eldest brother is right beside him.
“Come on. We need to get you out of here. You need a fucking doctor. Again,” Gio says.
“No.” I shove his hands off me and reach out for Zoe, who Santo is effortlessly picking up off the ground.
“I’m just going to carry her out to the car, Marcel. Come on,” he says.
I let Gio help me up to my feet. “Fucking hell,” he grunts, his eyes landing on the front of the hospital gown I’m still wearing. Which is now covered in blood. Gio shrugs out of his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders. “Come on, let’s go,” he says while circling an arm around my waist.
I lean my weight on him, moving to exit the room. My eyes focused on Zoe and nothing else.
“Hand her over.” Mikhail steps in front of my brother, blocking his path.
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Santo snarls at him.
Mikhail tilts his head ever so slightly, an amused smile on his face. I don’t think he’s used to people telling him no. “I won’t ask again,” he says.
“Good, I won’t answer again,” Santo counters.
“Follow us to our place, Mikhail. She needs a doctor,” I tell him.
“So do you. Fucking hell, Marcello, what were you thinking?” Izzy asks while throwing a hand out towards my chest.
“I was thinking some psychopath had my girlfriend,” I grunt. “Can we talk about this later? She really needs a fucking doctor.”
“Let’s go.” Izzy places a palm on Mikhail’s chest. “Come on,” she tells him.
Reluctantly, Mikhail turns and exits the room, my brothers and I following right behind him. Izzy and Mikhail argue the whole way out of the building. But all I hear is the last bit as we all reach our respective cars.
“Yeah, well, she loves him, which means we have to tolerate him at best,” Izzy tells her husband.
The memory of Zoe and I exchanging those words hits me. She’s going to be okay. She’s still breathing. Her heart is still beating. She’s going to be okay.
