“Okay,” Marcello said, giving Giorgio a stern look. He turned to walk out, but I rushed up and grabbed his hand to stop him. “What?”
“I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “If you’re planning to kill him, don’t you dare leave me out.”
“Oh, we are,” Marcello said, “and we won’t.”
24
Giorgio
Within seconds of Marcello leaving the room, Natalia was hyperventilating. She was trying to talk, but her breathing was so labored she couldn’t get anything out.
“Hey, Nat.”
“I - I - I.” There were tears streaming down her face, it was bright red, with fear or anger or both I wasn’t sure.
“Shh, hey. Natalia. Breathe.” I leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips. Then another. Nothing to prevent her from getting more air, but I wanted her to calm down. “Natalia, just calm down and tell me what--”
Her hands gripped me so tightly it hurt, but I didn’t tell her that. She shook her head and continued to sob and I didn’t know what to do. I’d never helped someone through a panic attack before, how did people usually do it?
What did I need when I was panicking down in the dungeon?
“Natalia. Listen to my voice. Do you hear me?” She sniffled, and I hated how much she was shaking. “It’s me, Giorgio. Can you see me?” She looked up at me and nodded, her breathing starting to get slightly more steady. I swiped my thumbs across her cheeks to wipe some of the tears away. “I’m here, I’m right here. I’m not dead. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? It’s okay.”
She nodded. “O-okay.”
“Okay. Just breathe.” I took deep, even breaths with her, working with her to at least bring her breathing to a more normal rate. “I’m right here. What do you need?”
“Water.”
I still had bottles of water from the supply I’d built up from Natalia smuggling them to me. “I have a bottle. I’m gonna grab it, okay?”
She was continuing to take breaths, and her grip on me loosened. “Okay.”
I walked over to the drawer inside which I had all of Natalia’s lifted supplies and opened it, pulling out a bottle of water, and one of the bags of chips she’d brought me as well. When I returned to her, it was just to grab her and guide her down into the armchair nearest us. When she was sitting, I opened the bottle of water and handed it to her, prompting her to take a long, gulp. While she was drinking, I brushed my hands over her cheeks, gently wiping away her tears, then I opened the bag of chips and set them in her lap, tentatively she began to pick at them.
“Natalia, what happened?” I asked. “You… hugged me in front of Marcello.”
“Yeah.” She swallowed. “They know. Everyone does.”
“Everyone? How?”
Fresh tears started to stream down her cheeks. “I thought my dad killed you. I was so convinced.”
“I haven’t seen your dad since yesterday,” I said. “I’m okay.” I squeezed her arms. “I’m here.”
“I love you,” she whimpered out. “I was so scared. Please don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Natalia,” I replied. “I… I love you too.”
She relaxed her shoulders slightly, though she was still far from being calm. “My father, he wants to form a coup against all of Chicago. He said he’s sick of being walked all over and that his command is final, he…” She swallowed. “He had Savio beaten within an inch of his life. Right in front of all of us. He even threatened your sisters. He looked me directly in my eyes and told me that he wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate any distractions. I thought…” She started to cry again. “I thought he killed you. I thought that’s why you weren’t at the table.”
“It was just a threat,” I replied. “He wanted to scare you.” Then I took a deep breath. “There’s something else I have to tell you.”
“What?” she said.
“Gianni… He’s alive.”
Natalia’s gaze slowly crawled up to me, her eyes puffy and red. “What?”
