Page 74 of Pretty Little Disaster

“Vito.” He leans forward to place his hand on our driver’s shoulder. “Let’s pick up the pace.”

Then looking between me and Madalina, he sighs heavily.

“The important thing to remember here is to not panic,” he tells us.

“What?” Both of us yell at the same time.

“The security was going through their CCTV and they found something suspicious.”

“What kind of something?” I can feel my heart thumping.

“First, it showed Lorna getting into your car and driving out the gates. Then, being helpful, they checked the one at the front gate to see which way she went and…” I don’t like the way he fucking pauses. Dario is not a hesitant man.

“There was a black catering van parked out on the street, it pulled out straight after her. Leandro’s man is sure it’s nothing, but he’s going to send me the footage, anyway.

My body instantly goes rigid.

“Fuck!” I twist back in my seat, facing forward and covering my face with my hands while Madalina starts to cry.

“We need to get hold of Jonah, and warn him that she’s been followed.” I look back to Dario, who's now staring at his phone screen.

“I know this guy.” He spreads his fingers over the screen of his phone to enlarge the image, before showing it to my sister.

“Where do I know him from?” he questions her.

Madalina looks at the photo, then up to me with wide, scared eyes.

“You would have seen him at our house, at the engagement party,” she answers, taking the phone from his hand and turning it to show me.

The image is grainy, and it’s not the best angle, but I can see clearly enough that it’s Jonah who’s driving the van.

“How far away are we?” I ask Vito, feeling panic and rage rise to the surface all at once.

“GPS says another fifteen, I can get us there in nine,” he assures me, slamming his foot to the floor.

LORNA

“Jonah,please,” I beg him, looking up and seeing that he has his eyes closed and is breathing like he’s the one in labor. “You don’t want to shoot me. I’m your friend.”

“And what do you think Gio will do to me if I don’t? All this started because I didn’t want Amanté to kill me. I’m tired of it all. I’ve tried so hard… You're right, I don’t want to kill you, Lorna, but I have to.” I feel my heart sink into my stomach when I realize I’ll never get to meet my baby. Tears blur the vision of him hovering over me, and heartache numbs the pain that's coursing through my body and not letting up. I hear the loud bang, and there's no more pain, just darkness…

“Lorna!” Nic’s voice is bellowing in my head, I feel tapping on the side of my face, and then…Pain. Unmeasurable, crushing pain that hits me like a freight train and makes my eyes bolt open.

“Lorna.Fuck!” Nic’s the one hovering over me now. His eyes furious, as his hands grip my face.

“Am I alive?” I must be, surely if I was dead I wouldn’t be feeling this agony. I blink my eyes because I can’t move my head, his grip on it is too tight. What I can see is Vito laid out on the floor, on top of Jonah, and to my relief the gun he was holding is out of his hand and on the floor. Jonah struggles to get free from under him, and when Dario steps forward, he steps on Jonah’s hand and makes him scream.

“You good, Veet?” he checks his guard.

“Yes, boss, just a shoulder graze.” Vito flips Jonah on his back and grabs his arms, lifting him off the floor.

“Lorna. Lorna. Focus on me.” Nic is now shaking my shoulders.

“Lorna, you're safe now.” I feel a much softer touch on my hand and smile when I hear the words in my best friend's voice. Then it hits me, another deep, intense pain that crushes my bones and makes me feel like I'm on fire.

“Shit, Lorna. Are you hurt?” Nic is patting me all over like he’s checking for injury, but I have to wait for the pain to subside before I can explain.

“The baby’s coming,” I manage when it starts to fade out.

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