Chapter 7

On the morning of the seventh day, the sky over Palermo hung dark and heavy.

Dario had only planned to go to the port to collect a shipment of medical supplies the private clinic urgently needed. On the way, he would drop me off at the seaside villa for a few days.

When I got into the car, he buckled my seat belt himself.

"Don't get out of the car at the port."

"I know."

"If anything happens, do what the bodyguards tell you."

I looked at him. "And if I don't?"

Dario paused.

"Then trust yourself."

Something in me stirred.

Before I could think any more about what he'd said, a car suddenly pulled up behind us.

Viola got out.

She wasn't due yet. She already looked awful, but she'd insisted on coming along anyway.

Dario's expression turned to ice.

"Who said you could come?"

"I don't want to be left alone at the estate."

"Go back."

"Dario, my stomach has been hurting for days." Viola lifted her chin. "You can treat me like I'm only here to have a baby, but at least don't leave me alone to die before I give birth."

Dario said nothing.

In the end, he had a doctor ride with her in the car behind us.

As the convoy pulled into the warehouse district, I glanced at my phone.

Luca had sent nothing but a single period.

Everything was in place.

The next second, the first bullet shattered the windshield of the car in front.

"Get down!"

Dario shoved me down.

A heartbeat later, an explosion erupted behind the shipping containers, and the blast knocked the car sideways. My ears rang. The bodyguards already had their guns out and were firing back.

Dario threw the door open, shielded me with his body, and ran for the temporary medical station.

A second burst of gunfire came from the right.

He barely hesitated. He threw himself in front of me.

I heard him grunt.

"Were you hit?"

"It's a graze."

"Dario—"

"Get inside."

He pushed me through the door.

When one of the doctors pulled my coat open, I finally saw that a piece of shrapnel from the blast had sliced my side open too. Blood had already soaked through my clothes.

Someone outside shouted, "Viola's bleeding!"

Dario spun around.

They carried Viola in. Her skirt was soaked with blood, but both hands were still shielding her belly.

"The baby..."

The doctors examined both of us at once, and their faces quickly turned grim.

"Your wife needs a transfusion right now."

"Viola's hemorrhaging too. The baby isn't getting enough oxygen. We may have to operate right away."

Dario asked, "What about the blood supply?"

"The transport truck just went up in flames. We only have one batch of the rare blood type left, and it matches both of them."

The treatment room went silent.

I lay on the stretcher, looking at Dario.

When the shooting started, his first instinct had been to protect me.

He'd taken a bullet for me.

When he carried me inside, his hands wouldn't stop shaking.

In those few seconds, I actually let myself hope a little.

Maybe this time.

"Give it to Viola."

Dario was the one who said it.

It felt like something had slammed down on my chest.

The doctor froze. "Don, your wife needs it too—"

"Viola is eight months along, and the baby isn't getting enough oxygen. It can't wait."

He took my hand and leaned over me.

"Elena, look at me."

I looked at him.

"Luca will stay here with you."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. His voice had gone hoarse. "You always pull through."

Suddenly, I didn't hurt anymore.

Outside, the gunfire was getting closer.

A bodyguard burst in. "Don, they've broken through on the west side!"

Dario's expression changed. He gripped my hand tighter.

"Wait for me."

I didn't say I would.

He turned and ran out.

The moment the door shut, Luca came to my side.

He didn't try to talk me into anything, and he didn't make the decision for me. All he did was ask, "Do you want to go now?"

I closed my eyes, just for a second.

"Let's go."

Once they pushed the drug through my IV, the numbers on the monitor began to drop fast.

A nurse took off my wristband and replaced it with the ID tag that had been ready and waiting.

As they wheeled me through the back door to the medical van, the firefight continued in the distance.

Before everything went hazy, I took off my wedding ring and left it beside the bed.

"Leave it for him."

Luca didn't stop me.

A few minutes later, when Dario rushed back into the clinic, the only things left on the bed were a death certificate and my wedding ring.

By then, I was already in a car, leaving the port behind.