Chapter 17
Istumbled into Luca”s house, my vision blurring at the edges as I clutched my side. The fucking thing was making me bleed out slowly. I needed somebody to stitch me up and check the back. The makeshift bandage I”d hastily wrapped around my torso was soaked through with blood, and each step sent a fresh wave of agony rippling through my body.
As I passed by the kitchen on my way to Luca”s office, I saw Sera and Veda sitting at the table, their eyes widening in shock as they took in my appearance.
”Holy shit.” Veda leapt to her feet, her chair clattering to the floor. ”Stay there. I”ll get Luca,” she told me as she ran out of the room.
I leaned heavily against the doorframe, trying to catch my breath. Sera started sliding a chair over to me, but I held up my hand.
”You should sit down, Tristan.”
”I”m okay,” I told her.
Moments later, Luca and Enzo came barreling into the kitchen, their faces etched with concern and disbelief. ”What the hell happened to you?” Luca demanded, rushing to my side.
”Luna shot me.”
Luca stilled, and his voice was as cold as a glacier when he said, ”She did what?”
”We”ve got to get you to a bed,” Enzo said. Unlike Luca, it was quite obvious he was angry.
But I shook my head. ”I just need someone to check the wound. It”s not serious, but it won”t stop bleeding.”
Enzo disagreed with my analysis. ”That sounds pretty fucking serious to me.”
”Just get the first aid kit,” I told him.
”I can get it,” Veda volunteered.
”Come on,” Enzo went to reach for me and stopped. ”Tris…”
”Where do you want me?”
He looked around. ”Can you get up on the island? That way, I can reach both sides of you. Did the bullet go through?”
”I think so.”
Luca still hadn”t moved or said a word. I glanced over at him. ”It wasn”t anything I didn”t deserve.”
”What did you do?” Sera asked.
”I told her that I was the one who”d killed her mother.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. ”Yeah, well, I would”ve shot you, too.”
A smile played around Enzo”s mouth and I cocked my head at him. ”What?”
”Nothing,” he told me. But his eyes went to his wife.
I watched the interaction with interest, then pushed myself off the doorframe and started making my way to the island. Luca and Enzo stayed on either side of me, but didn”t try to help me. With a groan of pain, I hoisted myself up onto the countertop and started unbuttoning my shirt.
”Why don”t you two go check on Logan?” Luca told Veda and Sera. ”Do not tell him anything about this. And if you see Lisa, please send her in here.”
Veda and Sera left the room, and I gingerly shrugged out of my shirt, gritting my teeth against the pain as I carefully peeled it away from the wounds, inhaling sharply.
Enzo whistled lowly. ”Another half an inch and she would”ve hit your bowel.”
”Enzo,” Luca warned, his voice tight.
I glanced over at him, noting the tension in his jaw and the fury simmering in his dark eyes. He was angry, but I couldn”t tell if it was at me or at Luna. Probably both.
Lisa hurried into the kitchen, her eyes widening when she saw me. ”Tristan! What happened?”
”Luna shot him,” Enzo supplied helpfully.
Lisa”s hand flew to her mouth. ”Why would she do that?”
I remained silent, letting Enzo answer for me. ”Apparently, he told her that he killed her mother.”
Lisa”s gaze swung to me. ”And did you?”
”Yes,” I told her. ”A long time ago.”
Luca finally spoke, his voice low and controlled. ”Lisa, would you please get some towels. We need to stop the bleeding and stitch him up.”
”Should I call the doctor?”
”Yes,” Enzo told her from behind me. ”Tell him he”s lost a lot of blood, but probably didn”t hit any organs.”
She nodded and scurried off to retrieve the supplies. I braced my hands on the countertop, trying to breathe through the pain. Every inhale sent a fresh wave of agony rippling through my body.
Enzo moved closer, examining the wound. ”Looks like it went clean through. That”s good, at least.” He paused. ”How long have you been walking around with this?”
”I don”t know. A few hours.”
Lisa returned with a stack of clean towels. Luca took them from her and set them on the counter beside me before leaving again.
”This is going to hurt like a bitch,” he warned me as he soaked a towel in antiseptic.
I nodded, steeling myself for the pain. Luca pressed the towel against the wound and I hissed through my teeth, my fingers digging into the countertop. He cleaned the area thoroughly, ignoring my grunts of pain.
”Hold this,” he instructed, guiding my hand to press the towel against the wound. He moved around to my back, repeating the process with the exit wound.
Luca finished cleaning and dressing the wounds, and then we waited for the doctor to arrive.
”What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous.
I met his gaze unflinchingly. ”She deserved to know the truth.”
”And you thought the best way to tell her was to just blurt it out like that?”
I shrugged, instantly regretting the movement as pain lanced through my shoulder. ”There”s no good way to tell someone you killed their mother.”
Luca dragged a hand over his face, letting out a heavy sigh. ”Jesus Christ, Tristan.”
I shrugged. ”She needed to know.”
”Perhaps she didn”t,” he argued.
”She did,” I countered. No matter what this did to our relationship, it was better that it came from me. If she”d found out the truth months or years from now, there”s no way we would ever recover from that. At least this way, I”d been honest with her.
”Where is she now?” Enzo asked quietly.
”In the cell.”
”Is she all right?”
I shook my head. ”I don”t think so. But I didn”t hurt her, if that”s what you”re asking. She”s just…sad. And angry.”
”Where is the key?” Luca asked quietly.
My eyes shot to his. ”I”m not telling you.”
”Luca, let him handle her,” Enzo said.
”She fucking shot him.”
”You touch her, and I”ll sink my knife into your throat,” I hissed.
He was unmoved by my threat. ”She needs to know that this kind of behavior isn”t acceptable.”
”And you need to let me handle her. Or should I start interfering in your relationship with Veda?”
His blue eyes narrowed, but he said nothing more about it.
The doctor arrived shortly after, his brow furrowed with concern as he examined the wounds, nodding approvingly at Luca”s handiwork. ”You did a good job cleaning these,” he said to Luca. ”But you should”ve called me immediately,” he told me. ”A little longer and you”d be dead.”
I waited for that news to spark something in me, but all I thought about was never seeing Luna again.
”I”ll stitch this up and give you some antibiotics to prevent infection,” he continued. ”And you could use some blood. You”ve lost too much.”
I nodded.
”I”ll try not to touch you,” he told me. ”But?—”
”Just do what you need to do, and do it as fast as you can.”
I barely felt the needle piercing my skin over and over again. The pain was nothing compared to when he had to touch me. But I gritted my teeth and willed my heart to stop racing as I fought back the demons trying to take over my mind.
Once the doctor finished and he had me hooked up to an IV, he handed me a bottle of pills. ”Take these twice a day until they”re gone,” he instructed. ”And try to rest as much as possible. No strenuous activity for at least a week.”
I nodded, setting the pills on the counter beside me and pulling my shirt back on with Enzo”s help. ”Thank you.”
He”d just started packing up his supplies when Luca”s cell phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket. ”Yes?”
Luca”s expression darkened as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. ”What exactly are you telling me?” he growled, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the phone tighter.
After a few tense moments, he ended the call and turned to face us, his jaw clenched. ”We”re under attack. The guards spotted a group of armed men approaching the property.”
”Fuck,” Enzo growled, already moving towards the front door. ”How many?”
”At least a dozen, maybe more.” Luca”s gaze swung to me. ”Can you fight?”
I nodded. I was already pulling out the IV needle. ”Yes.” I already felt a little better. And, besides, it was Gino. I knew it in my gut. He was coming for us.
And I was going to kill him.
Luca didn”t look convinced, but he didn”t argue. Instead, he hurried out into the great room, yelling for Veda.
”What”s going on?” she asked when she heard him.
”We”re under attack,” Luca told her, his voice tight. ”I need you and Sera to go downstairs to the shelter. Now.”
”No,” she told him as she rushed over to him.
”Veda, so help me god, do not fucking argue with me right now.”
”I”m not leaving you!” she yelled back.
Ducking down, he threw his shoulder into her middle and lifted her off the ground. ”Sera,” he said calmly as Veda kicked and screamed. ”Come with me.”
She looked in Enzo”s direction.
”Go on,” he told her. ”I”ll come get you when it”s over.”
”You”d better,” she answered. ”I”m too young to be a widow.” Then she ran over and kissed him hard on the lips before chasing after Luca and Veda.
In the chaos, I caught a glimpse of Logan slipping out the back door. I hesitated for a moment, and the thought crossed my mind that I should go after him. But there was someone else I needed to protect more. And there was nothing wrong with his legs. He could run. Find a place to hide.
The sound of gunfire erupted outside, and I tensed halfway across the great room. I looked over my shoulder in the direction Luca had gone, and then toward the door. Then back over my shoulder. Torn between my duty to my boss and my need to protect Luna.
I was created to protect him.
I was born to be with her.
My legs begin to move, carrying me swiftly across the room. I had no weapon. No way to defend myself. But I had to get to her.
”Tristan.”
Enzo had to step in front of me to get me to stop. My upper lip lifted in a snarl. ”Get out of my way.”
”Here,” he said. ”Take this.”
I looked down. He was handing me a gun.
”Bring her here and we”ll get her in the safe room.”
”No.”
”Tristan, fucking listen to me. It”s the safest place for her. You know as well as I do that”s Gino out there. If he gets into your house, he can shoot through bars. Shoot through walls. She”ll be safer here. Bring her HERE.”
I gave him a sharp nod and he moved out of my way.