“But... you... I need to call an ambulance.”
“No, you don’t. Just get the fuck out of here!” I grimace because the pain is getting stronger every time I speak.
This is her chance to be free of me forever. I don’t know why she’s even hesitating, probably because she’s in shock. But once she realizes what’s happened, she’ll be celebrating and dancing on my grave.
“Is there a place where I can take you?” she asks.
“I just told you—”
“And I’m not leaving you here to die! I’m not!” Tears fill the corners of her eyes, but she quickly wipes them away. “Come on!”
She grabs my arm, tugging me up.
“Chiara—”
“Stop wasting your energy. Come on! Let’s go!” She keeps pulling.
I groan as I force myself up. Why is she doing this? Is it just her good nature? Is she incapable of leaving another person to die? Even when that person is not a good man?
She all but drags me to the car. I use the last atoms of my energy to get in the passenger seat. Chiara closes the car door and races to the other side of the car. I’ve never seen her so... focused. I like it.
“Where do I go?” she asks as she jumps into the driver’s seat.
“Here.” I press a button on the dashboard. “It’ll take you... straight there.”
Rocco set up the GPS system and everything to make things easier, and right now, it could come in really handy. Dark spots appear in my vision, and the pain is too much to bear.
Chiara’s face is the last thing I see, and I can feel the corners of my mouth lift up.
CHAPTER 28
Chiara
“Adriano!Adriano, no! Stay with me! Stay with me, please!” My voice is full of desperation as I glance at him.
He’s slumped in his seat, his eyes closed. His dress shirt is completely covered in blood. I weave through the cars like a madwoman. Someone swears at me, but I don’t care. I only have one thing on my mind. I need to get Adriano to that clinic before it’s too late.
It’s not far away, but I feel like I’m losing him, and it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever felt in my life. He could’ve saved himself. I’m sure of it. He was closer to the car and he could’ve used it as cover.
Me... I was just standing there, frozen like an idiot. Too slow to move or think about what to do because the armed guy on the bike was coming toward us so fast that I didn’t even have time to process what was happening.
But Adriano threw himself in front of me. He protected me with his body, risking his life for me. Why? That’s not something a ruthless mafia boss would do for a woman he only wanted to use as a pawn. I doubt he believes he has to protect me as his wife. I bet dying for me isn’t in his mafia code or whatever.
Does that mean he has feelings for me? Or has he finally remembered that he could be a good person?
I pull over in front of the clinic and rush out to open Adriano’s door. “Help! Somebody help me!”
It doesn’t take long for doctors and nurses to surround the car. Everything around me is a blur as they put him on a gurney and wheel him inside. I run after them, my heart pounding like crazy. Now that we’re here, I can feel the full force of my panic.
It’s like a punch in the gut, and I almost collapse in the middle of the hallway. Someone mentions Adriano’s last name. They know who he is. I guess they have some kind of deal with him and his men, and they won’t be calling the cops.
But that doesn’t matter. I need him to be okay. I need him to live. A nurse gets in my way, and she says something, but I can’t hear her at all. My ears are buzzing, and my throat is too tight. I open my mouth, but I can’t form words.
The nurse waves at someone just as my knees give out from under me.
I openmy eyes and blink at the beeping machine next to me. The clinic. Right. It’s not an ordinary one. Well, it is, but I’m pretty sure it’s mafia-funded and has way more equipment than a mere clinic should have, but I’m not complaining. My legs and my feet hurt, probably from running around in heels. I’m no longer wearing my dress.
“Hey, you’re awake,” a woman says with a smile on her face. Her curly brown hair is tied into a ponytail.