CHAPTER FOURTEEN
My heart belongs to him
— CATERINA —
Dustin’s arm shifts, taking Sofia in a chokehold so his other hand can now palm his gun. Shit. There’s a brief switch and I can only watch how Dustin throws my knife in Clemente’s direction.
A split second is all I have to react. I roughly bump against Clemente’s shoulder and at the same time he tries to shield me from impact.
“Motherfucker,” Clemente roars while I grunt due to the knife which is now lodged in my shoulder instead of Clemente’s heart. A win for me—a painful one—but at least Clemente didn’t suffer a possible deadly injury. For now since Dustin is still holding a gun.
“Careful or I’ll blow her brains out, killing you and your wife next,” Dustin sneers.
“Enjoy the last few seconds of your miserable life,” Clemente mutters underneath his breath and doesn’t take his eyes from me when he asks, “Are you okay?”
“Peachy,” I reply.
“I warned you not to do it, didn’t I? I’m going to redden your ass the second we’re back home,” he vows.
I wince from the pain and tell him, “We’re kind of busy right now, Clemente. Head out of the gutter.”
“Please let her go,” Fredo begs. “I’ll do anything, just let her go. She didn’t ask for any of this, please.”
“Shut the fuck up, Fredo. This bitch is mine and I’ll put her to work as I see fit.
And you should be ashamed of yourself. Begging for her life while you practically gave her to me.
A sweet little trade. I get a nice fuckhole and I’ll give you some others and some quick cash on the side for you to gamble away.
So, don’t play the damn victim in all of this. ”
My eyes bounce from Fredo to Dustin. Somehow this doesn’t surprise me. Fredo is an opportunist who will turn any situation to one that benefits him. I didn’t trust him beforehand and with this angle I’m sure there’s more than a kidnapped daughter pushing all of this into motion.
Sofia’s mood shifts too. As if the words Dustin just mentioned really sink in along with what I told her about him, making her see what kind of person Dustin really is. She starts to thrash in Dustin’s grip, making him grunt.
“Let her go,” a woman’s voice says as it wavers with emotion.
My eyes slide to Sofia’s mother who is holding a gun. She’s pointing it at Dustin but he doesn’t seem phased.
“You’re willing to risk your own daughter?” Dustin snickers. “What kind of fucking parents are you? Daddy pawns off his little girl while mommy dearest fawns over her future son-in-law and ignores her husband’s fuckfests with plain open eyes.”
The gun she’s pointing at Dustin shifts and it’s exactly what Dustin intended with his sneer, I’m sure of it.
Fredo is now the main target of his wife’s wrath and he’s holding his hands palms up in front of him. He’s about to say something but it’s useless. The gun goes off and when she swings her arm back to fire at Dustin, he doesn’t so much as blink, takes aim, and shoots her right between the eyes.
Sofia screams, grabs Dustin’s arm that’s holding the gun and that’s when Clemente launches himself at both of them.
They all crash to the ground and start to struggle.
The three soldiers rush toward the struggle and I’m about to step forward in an effort to untangle the fighting people at our feet because I can’t shoot anyone since they are a whirl of limbs and bodies and I can’t risk shooting Clemente or Sofia.
Someone grabs me from behind and I’m about to point my gun into that direction but the following words prevent me from doing so.
“Stop. He needs you safe,” Arturo growls.
When did he come in? A quick glance around me lets me know that the restaurant is now filled with men. Men I’m sure are loyal to Clemente.
Rapid shots blast through the air and the three people who were a heap of fighting limbs stop thrashing.
“No,” I gasp while watching Clemente fall to the side, rolling to his back, showing his chest where red is starting to soak the front of his crispy white shirt.
Leandro pulls Sofia off Dustin and she too falls aside, a bullet wound in her lower belly. She starts moaning and sobbing while Dustin starts to curse. Arturo kicks the gun away from Dustin’s body. Leandro aims his gun and shoots Dustin in the head.
“Motherfucker,” Clemente groans.
My knees hit the floor and I place my hands on his chest in an effort to stop the bleeding.
“My head,” Clemente whispers in pain at the same moment his eyes roll into the back of his head.
“Clemente,” I gasp. “Please, Clemente, stay with me.” I glance around me. “Someone, please.”
“Ambulance is on its way,” Leandro says as he squats down next to Clemente across from me.
His fingers go to Clemente’s neck. Seconds drag by and the concern is vivid on his face.
“Talk to me,” I croak. “Do you feel a pulse?”
He swallows hard and give a slight shake of his head. I watch with the air lodged in my throat as Leandro starts with chest compressions.
He might as well be pounding on my heart because it feels as if someone is squeezing all the blood out without an option to make it beat again. Not if it means the man lying before me isn’t alive to share my life with, for my heart belongs to him.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Leandro bellows. “You don’t get to fucking die like this. Come on.”
EMTs rush toward us and start to take over. Arturo drags me away from Clemente to create room while they start to divide their attention between him and Sofia. They are the only two still alive. Well, I hope he’s still alive. I hold my breath and strain my ears when they search for his heartbeat.
Seconds pass and finally a voice breaks through the tension. “We have a pulse.”
I sag in Arturo’s arms and start to sob.
“He’s going to make it, Caterina. You’ll see. He’s a tough, annoying asshole, who will keep driving you nuts, understand?”
Shaky breaths enter my body when an EMT steps toward us. “Ma’am, I need to check out your injury.”
With blurry vision I shake my head and mutter, “Help my husband. He needs to live.”
Arturo turns me and it ignites a flare of pain to shoot through my shoulder, making me aware I have a knife wound. Insane how the pain in my heart and head drove everything else to the back of my mind.
The thought of losing him created immense hurt to override the pain my body was already suffering. They drag my body toward a chair while my eyes stay with Clemente. I have to watch how they rush him out of the restaurant without me. It feels as if I’m unable to breathe.
“Focus, Caterina,” Arturo snaps and I’m forced to drag my gaze away from the door to meet his eyes. “The man asked you a question. And the sooner we get you patched up, the faster we can go after Clemente.”
“Right. Yes. Okay,” I mutter and try to answer the questions and bristle through the routine of the EMT in front of me.
It’s a dragging few hours before my shoulder is patched up and we’re waiting in a room at the hospital.
They have rushed Clemente into surgery and the only thing we have heard is the fact he needs surgery to recover the bullet that’s done some internal damage.
I really need to focus the next time they update us because all those medical terms fly right past me.
Or my brain must be turned to mush since nothing makes sense.
There’s also a load of guilt ripping through me.
“Why the hell did I want the two of us in that restaurant? Risking all our lives. I’m so stupid.” Guilt weights heavy on my already tortured heart.
“It was the best and only plan to end this quickly. He’s been laying low and out of our reach for a while.
And when he tortured and almost killed Ivy years ago it took a lot of work for the law to capture him too.
Dustin made it a sick and twisted game to stay hidden and out of reach.
You two heading in with three guys brought in from another territory as backup made it possible to slip underneath his defense.
You didn’t just go in there because of a spur of the moment, brainless decision; it was planned and perfect.
Clemente is still breathing, remember that.
And the fact you helped clear up more than one issue off our plate.
Not just the illegal gambling but you get to tell Beck the fact that the rapist of his sister is no longer walking the earth.
The way I see it, we’re more than winning here.
Well, maybe you’re complaining about the fact you only got to nail your hubby once.
Once is never enough. And with him injured you have to wait a few weeks for some new action.
Oh, now I get it...that’s what has your panties all bundled up, doesn’t it?
” Leandro starts to laugh while I want to strangle him.
With my hands or my freaking panties for all I care, as long as he stops laughing.
“Sit down,” Donya says with a firm tone. “And you, Leandro, shut up or I’m going to rat you out to Clemente the second he wakes up.”
Leandro grumbles something underneath his breath and it makes Arturo—who is sitting next to Donya—lean forward to ask, “What was that?”
“That was me shutting up,” Leandro huffs and lets himself fall back into the uncomfortable chair.
Another dragging hour passes until we’re finally updated. Clemente is out of surgery and out of danger. For now, since he has suffered a concussion when they crashed to the ground. It added to the trauma of the bullet wound he suffered causing his body to basically shut down.
Well, that’s what it sounded like to me when they explained how they stopped the internal bleeding, pulled out the bullet, and are also monitoring his vitals and waking him every few hours to make sure he stays noncritical.
Noncritical. I prefer that over critical and life threatening.
And seeing him lying in a hospital bed plastered with patches, wires, needles, it makes me realize how fragile the most important things you take for granted are. Your health doesn’t cost one damn thing and yet it’s your most valuable possession.
Though seeing the person you love—the most precious part of your life—almost slipping through your fingers really feels like your own heart is being ripped right from your chest.
“Mia cara,” Clemente croaks, lifting his hand from his bed with what seems like strained effort by the pained look on his face.
I rush forward and take his hand, placing my other on his shoulder to keep him pinned to the bed. “I’m here, everything is okay.”
“It is now.” His eyes go to my shoulder where the bandage is showing. “I told you not to risk your life for me.”
“And I could say the same damn thing,” I snap back. “You could have shot Dustin instead of launching yourself at him.”
He shakes his head. “Sofia was blocking a good shot. I could have killed her.”
I cringe, knowing he’s right. It was the same reason why none of us could interfere since we couldn’t risk either Sofia or Clemente.
“The dog,” Clemente grunts as he tries to shift his body.
“What about the dog?” I squeak, searching my mind about what could possibly be wrong with him.
“He’s been in the kennel for hours. You should go home and check.”
Oh, my heart. His first concern right after me is Rocco?
Even if he’s still calling him the dog. I know he’s right to worry since it’s been a few hours since we left him at home, but that’s not the reason why tears are running down my cheeks.
This man. He has such asshole ways and yet deep down he’s everything I could ever want and more.
“I will check later, I promise,” I tell him and still he has concern written all over his face.
His eyes flick over my shoulder. “Make sure she gets home and also eats something.”
I start to glare at him and he raises his hand to brush his thumb underneath my eye. “Don’t fight me on this. I need to rest anyway and I’m not liking how tired you look. I’ll sleep while you take a few hours to rest, shower, take care of the dog and yourself.”
“Fine,” I grumble, because who can argue with that?
Donya rubs my back. “Come on, a few more minutes and then we’ll head home. You know he needs his rest and the anesthesia makes him drowsy too. You heard the doctor; he needs sleep and they will keep a close eye on him.”
Ugh. I feel like everyone is against me. But again, I know they’re right. I would like a shower, even if I have to cover up the stitches in my shoulder.
“Fine, fine.” I shoot Clemente a half-hearted glare. “But you better sleep and be awake when I get back.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “I wouldn’t dream of defying you.”
I take my time to brand his face into my brain as if to make sure I remember him for the time I’ll be away.
Strange how feelings magnify and settle at rapid speed between us.
And he might be recovering and still staying at the hospital, but there’s a smile on my face and in my heart, knowing we have each other and a future to look forward to.
There will still be other issues popping up from time to time, it’s inevitable when you’re married to the head of the Famiglia.
Though, knowing we survived what we did in the mere few weeks we’ve been together gives me the knowledge and realization we will have the strength and solid trust between us to face anything life might throw at us.
Arturo and Donya take me home and both of them stay with me.
I take my time to entertain Rocco and get all the cuddles in return when he’s pooped out from chasing the ball around in the yard.
With Rocco curled up against me on the couch it doesn’t take much to knock me out, allowing me a few hours of sleep, knowing when I wake up I get to see my husband again.