Chapter Fifty-Seven Ella
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Ella
On instinct, Tiero grabs my arm and yanks me down. I lose my balance and pitch forward, my arms flailing until his grip tightens around my waist and keeps me from face-planting onto the pavement.
I raise my arms to cover my head. The next moment, my cast explodes into shards, fragments flying as searing pain rips along my skin.
Oh God. I’ve been shot.
There’s no time for the horror to settle.
Gunfire erupts around us.
Tiero forces me flat to the ground, covering my body with his as bullets crack through the air.
His men return fire instantly toward the shooter.
The noise is deafening.
I try to lift my hands to my ears, but I can’t move. Tiero is wrapped around me, his body pressed tight to mine to shield me.
Pinned beneath his weight, I catch a glimpse of Santino sprinting toward us, shouting for the driver to bring the car around.
Then he drops.
One second he’s running, the next he collapses like a felled tree. His body hits the pavement hard enough to send a tremor through the ground.
He’s not moving.
Fuck, he’s not moving.
A dark pool spreads beneath him.
My stomach lurches.
That’s blood.
Above me, Tiero’s body jerks, a harsh groan tearing from his throat.
No. No, no, no.
What’s happening?
Was he—
I can’t finish the thought.
“Tiero!” I scream. “Tiero!”
He doesn’t answer. Only his breath reaches me, ragged and uneven against my ear.
Please. Please don’t.
The gunfire fades, or maybe my mind simply can’t hold on to the sound anymore.
“Tiero!” I cry out again.
I try to move, but I’m pinned beneath him, his weight crushing the breath from my lungs.
My whole body shakes, my breaths coming too fast, too shallow, spiraling out of control.
“Ella.”
Rhia’s frantic voice cuts through the chaos, distant but unmistakable.
Where is she?
Shouting erupts all around us. Tires screech. Then the SUV slams into reverse, the driver angling it toward us to block the line of fire.
Too late.
“Tiero,” I gasp. “Hang in there. Please don’t leave me.”
Tiero’s men close in around us, weapons raised, scanning for any remaining threat.
Lex drops beside me, keeping his body low. “We need to get you both inside.”
He and one of the guards carefully lift Tiero off me, and the sudden absence of his weight leaves me cold and shaking.
“Are you injured?” Lex asks, fingers already at Tiero’s neck, checking his pulse.
“I don’t know.” The pain in my arm is searing, but it barely registers.
I turn to Tiero.
His body lies limp beside me, the suit I admired only moments ago soaked through with blood. His eyes are open but unfocused and glassy. Every breath looks like it costs him. Rough, broken sounds scrape out of his chest.
My hands fly to my mouth, fingers shaking against my lips.
“No!” I scream, my vision blurring.
I can’t tell where he’s been hit. His back? His stomach?
Why is this happening?
Time stretches, distorts, the seconds dragging on as if the world is forcing me to witness every horrible detail in slow motion.
“Tiero,” I sob. “Stay with me.”
I cup his face, desperate to pull his gaze back to mine. “Stay the fuck with me.”
With effort, he focuses on me.
“Angel,” he rasps, his voice barely recognizable.
“Tiero, please. I love you. Don’t leave me. Please.”
I cling to him, holding on like a drowning woman gripping the last piece of driftwood.
Then we’re surrounded by medical staff. They lift him onto a gurney and rush him back toward the hospital, shouting things I don’t understand.
Nothing makes sense.
I run alongside them, clutching Tiero’s hand. It’s cold and clammy. As if his life is draining from his body.
No.
Something squeezes around my heart, crushing the air from my lungs, and I’m left gasping between broken sobs.
“Ella,” Lex says from beside me, but I don’t look at him.
I can’t.
My eyes are locked on the man I promised to spend the rest of my life with.
“You need to let him go,” Lex says gently.
“Never,” I choke.
“I mean you can’t go into the operating theater with him.” His voice stays calm and steady. “You have to let go of his hand.”
I can’t. I’m too scared.
I need to hold on. He needs me.
God, please.
Don’t take him from me.