Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Luca
B ullets tore into my back and ripped tunnels of pain through my chest. We dropped below the two-foot brick wall beneath the shattered window and hit the ground. My back and chest were on fire. I had no idea how many times I’d been hit. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was Siobhán.
I cradled her head in one hand, my other arm wrapped around her back. I dragged my arm out from under her through broken glass and pushed myself up enough to make sure she hadn’t been hit. My shirt was plastered to my chest, wet and sticky with blood. Red smears sullied her white blouse, but there were no holes, no growing stains. It wasn’t her blood; it was mine.
“Grazie a Dio.” I rested my lips on her forehead.
Siobhán squeezed her eyes shut, gripped my shirt, and pulled me closer. I lowered myself back down, covering her with my body.
“I’m here, baby,” I said amid the rain of fire and shouting. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She nodded against my shoulder.
I lifted my head up and surveyed the scene.
The skeletal remains of the deli’s glass exterior offered little protection from the chaos. Gio and Vinnie were sprawled flat on their stomachs, guns out, taking furtive glances over the low wall and between the metal frames. Marco pressed his back against the wall to the left of the door behind one foot of brick, the only other cover between us and the shooters. His eyes shone as bright as road flares, and he inched forward like the devil himself, fangs bared in an angry snarl, gun cocked and ready.
Vinnie’s eyes burned bright and caught sight of my unhinged uncle. He army-crawled around the booth through shattered glass. “Marco! Take the left!”
Marco waited for a break in the fire, then stepped out from behind the brick and released multiple rounds at different targets, adjusting his aim after each pair of shots fired. Vinnie popped up with surprising speed given his size and joined him, focusing on targets to the right. Another volley ripped through the restaurant, and they flung themselves back against the wall.
Siobhán started crying.
“Shh.” I placed my hands on either side of her face, covering her ears, and kissed her hair. “Hang on for me, baby. It’s almost over. Hang on.”
I sure as hell hoped it was. My chest screamed for attention. I fought my power, not wanting my eyes to turn and add to Siobhán’s trauma.
Another set of rounds from Marco and Vinnie.
Car doors opened and slammed shut.
Vinnie darted forward, determined and brazen, his crimson gaze focused on whatever was happening outside. He didn’t stop until another round flew into the restaurant. He stepped behind Marco, ejected the magazine, and snapped it back into place. “I’m almost out.”
Another car door.
Marco craned his neck around the corner only to snap his head back as more gunfire cracked through the otherwise quiet space.
A heartbeat of silence, then the squeal of tires.
“Cazzo!” Marco screamed and launched through the broken door. Vinnie followed, and their guns released like the Fourth of July had come two weeks early.
Siobhán shook and curled herself into me.
I kissed her head. “It’s over, baby.” My vision swam before me. “It’s over.”
I shifted my weight off her before I passed out and slumped into the brick. I needed to release my power, but she wasn’t supposed to find out like this. I closed my eyes.
“No,” Siobhán said, quiet and horrified. “Oh, God. Please, no.”
I cracked my eyes enough to see her. She knelt next to me, tears streaming down her face, and her hands hovered over my chest as though she wanted to touch me but wasn’t sure she should.
“Help!” she cried. “Somebody, please help!”
I grabbed one of her hands and squeezed. “It’s okay, baby. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You—you’ve been shot. Oh, God. Luca.” She started crying in earnest and placed her other hand on my shoulder. “I’ll get help. I’ll find help.”
She looked around, frantic, and moved to stand. I pulled her back down.
“Siobhán. Please. Look at me.” Her eyes were bloodshot and watery, but she did as I said. “I promise you—I’m fine.”
“How many you take, kid?” Gio appeared and squatted next to us.
Siobhán gaped at him like he was crazy.
I winced. “At least two. Not really sure.”
“Let’s have a look,” he said and lifted his chin.
I propped myself up and saw stars. Gio grabbed my shoulder and held me in place.
“What the hell are you doing?” Siobhán shrieked. “We need an ambulance.” She looked around. “Where’s my purse? I need to call an ambulance.”
Gio’s eyebrows drew together. Now it was his turn to look at Siobhán like she was crazy. He shook his head and frowned. “She doesn’t know?” He jerked his thumb in her direction.
“Know what?” she shrieked.
“No,” I said. “She doesn’t know.”
Gio shifted me forward so he could look at my back. I sucked a breath in through my teeth.
“Three,” he said. “Sit back.” I leaned against the wall below the window. “But only two up front.” He took out his cell phone, hit the screen, and held it to his ear.
Siobhán’s forehead creased in confusion, and her eyes snapped between Gio and the holes in my chest. They pumped out blood like fountains, my natural healing slowed from holding back my power.
“Hey, Doc. We got a situation. Yeah. They sent three Messages. One didn’t make it through. Yeah. We’ll move him to The Mountain. See you in twenty. Grazie.” Gio turned his attention back to me. “Dr. Levine’s on his way, but you’re mighty pale, kid, and we gotta move. Time to turn the lights on.”
I glanced at Siobhán, then back at Gio.
He raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like she wasn’t going to find out eventually.”
“What are you talking about?” Siobhán asked, her voice shrill. “Find what out? What the hell is going on? We need to get him to a hospital!”
I sighed, closed my eyes, and let go.
My power surged, flying through my veins with each pump of my heart, energizing me, healing me. My torso itched as the tunnels from my back to my front slowly stitched themselves together, cell by cell.
“I didn’t want you to find out this way,” I said. “I wanted to explain. That’s why I brought you here.”
“Explain what? Tell me!”
I opened my eyes, revealing their fire, and I curled back my lips, revealing my fangs.
Siobhán gasped. Her hand flew to her chest, and she fell back. She studied my face, her eyes wide and pupils dilated. “Oh my God.”