CHAPTER 1
CARA
“RAFE!” Gia screamed shrilly, the sound startling me as she sped around me and ran to Rafe. He just about caught her, and wrapped her tightly in his arms. Relief filled me as I watched her cling tightly to him, while Rafe clutched her close, in an attempt to soothe her. They were both alright, and that was all I had truly wanted.
Then, all of a sudden, the bubble of relief burst and Arran, Dio, and Callan were before me, crowding in. I tried not to jolt, but I was feeling a little out of it, with the pain I was in, and likely from the knock I had taken to my head, and they all just suddenly seemed to appear from nowhere.
“Easy, lass. Yer alright now. It’s just us,” Arran soothed as he reached a hand out slowly and moved some of the hair, that was stuck to my face with my own vomit, back behind my ear softly.
“Cara? Look at me, baby. Where are you hurt?” Dio demanded. I’d just managed to lift my head to meet Arran’s eyes, and I groaned as I tried to move my head again to find Dio.
“Both of you, just back off and let me check her over,” Cal barked, surprising me, even through my fuzziness, with the command in his words. I’d never heard him sound that serious before.
“Jesus Christ! Cara! How badly is she hurt?” I heard Rafe growl from somewhere behind us all.
“I’m o-okay,” I tried to reassure him, but the words came out quieter than I intended them to.
“Let me be the judge of that.” I looked up and found Cal knelt between my legs now, leant so close to my face I couldn’t miss him.
“Hi,” I whispered, hating seeing the worry on his face.
“Hi gorgeous,” he replied, and finally he smiled. It wasn’t his full, megawatt smile, but it comforted me still. “Can you tell me what happened? Where hurts the most?” he asked.
“My shoulder…I th-think it’s dislocated,” I nodded my head to the left to indicate the arm, which I knew wasn’t hanging right from its joint, but that just made my head throb angrily too. “And my head. They…I took a hit…b-butt of a gun I think. I passed out.”
A roar that sounded completely feral and lethal rattled through the air around me, and I instinctively reached for Cal as fear caused my heart rate to speed up unnaturally.
“Dante!” Arran called with alarm. I turned with concern, but I was too slow, and Arran had run off down the street, presumably after Dante. I watched on as Dante ripped a wicked looking knife from somewhere at the small of his back and lunged for one of the guys bleeding out on the sidewalk – the one who had opened the door to the garage to me earlier, with his roll neck jumper. Dante plunged the knife into the guys throat – right through that roll neck - then slid it sideways, as though he were simply running a hot knife through butter. Blood began to spurt out, spraying everywhere, including at Dante, but he either didn’tnotice, or didn’t care, because he simply tossed the body aside and grabbed the next – the youngest guy who had grabbed my arm when I tried to run to Gia.
A sound of distress slipped from me as Dante slashed his blood covered knife through the air, and instantly Cal was turning me to face him again.
“Focus on me, Cara, okay? Just stay with me right now,” he told me, and Rafe called to someone to get Dante under control in the background.
“Don’t l-let anyone hurt him. He…he’s upset,” I pleaded as I looked from Cal, over to Dio who was still knelt beside me.
“No one is going to hurt him,Piccola. They couldn’t if they tried right now. Not with the rage he’s in,” Dio assured me.
“Cara? Look at me now,” Cal said more firmly, and I listened, turning my face and meeting his eyes. “Good. You said you passed out. Do you feel nauseous, or lightheaded?”
“I threw up…my hair…you sh-shouldn’t t-touch me,” I warned him as I realised the state I was in.
“Sshh now. I don’t care about that,” he soothed as he cupped his hand around the right side of my face and softly traced his thumb over my cheek.
“What do you think, Cal? Concussion?” Dio asked. There was an unevenness to his voice. It was nowhere near as cool and steady as it usually was.
“I think so, and she’s right about her shoulder. We need to get her home and call the Doc in, as soon as possible,” Cal replied, then he turned to me again. “I know you have to be in a load ofpain right now, babe, but do you think you can let me pick you up?”
“I…I can walk if you help me,” I told him shakily.
“No being brave right now, Carr. Cal will pick you up and carry you. I won’t risk you falling and angering those injuries anymore,” Dio told me flatly, and I didn’t have the energy to argue. Instead I just looked to Cal and nodded.
“We need to get out of here ‘afore the police turn up. No way that shoot out went unnoticed,” Arran called loudly, and when I searched him out with my eyes, I was relieved to see he had his arm around Dante. Dante was covered with blood, and panting so hard and fast that I could see his body quaking with the movement. He had his head lowered, and I wished he would look up and meet my eyes.
“Where’s Gia?” I asked with worry when I couldn’t see her, but then Rafe turned around from where he had been issuing orders to his men, and I was relieved to see she was still clinging to him desperately. She was shaking and I could hear the sound of her sobs too. Rafe had one arm wrapped around her, rubbing it up and down her back soothingly.
When Rafe turned and his eyes met mine, he grimaced. He started to head my way, but Gia stopped him, refusing to move from where they stood together in the middle of the road, away from the bodies.
“I’m okay,” I mouthed to Rafe, or hoped I did. He looked pained, like he was choosing between us, but I didn’t see it that way. Gia needed him and I had Cal and Dio. I was fine. Finally, he just gave me a single nod, then wrapped both of his arms around Gia and tried to calm her.
