He closed his eyes with relief, yet there was still a shadow of disbelief when he opened them again. Cupping my face in his hand, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. “Thank you.”
I agreed to go back to Luca’s, where the security was better, and thirty minutes later, we walked out of the hotel hand in hand. I waited on the sidewalk, shifting my weight from foot to foot in these damn heels, as Enzo let go of my hand and walked over to the valet counter to have them fetch the SUV so he could take us back to the lake house. It was too early in the morning for most people to be out and the streets were empty other than the very occasional car, usually a cop. They were either sleeping or just falling into their beds after a night at the clubs.
Feeling a sense of peace for the first time in a long time, I smiled at the girl who ran past me with Enzo’s keys, watching her as she jogged around the corner to go get the SUV. As I turned my head back to Enzo, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. It was just a glint of light off of some kind of hard surface, but it was enough to make me turn my head.
A black car was coming toward us with its headlights off. At first, I thought the person driving must’ve just forgotten to turn them on. It happened a lot in the city because the streets were so lit up anyway. As it reached the hotel, it slowed and the passenger side window rolled down. The man inside was looking straight at Enzo.
From that moment on, everything seemed to happen both in slow motion and crazy fast all at once.
The barrel of a gun slid out the window, and it was pointed at Enzo. My eyes shifted to him, talking to the other valet, and I moved without realizing what I was doing, my mouth open to scream his name.
I watched as his head whipped around, his eyes latching onto me, trying to see what was wrong before the car caught his attention. He threw out his hand—to reach for me? To push me away?—just as I heard the pop of gunshots. Terrified he was going to die right in front of my eyes, I threw myself at him. I think I was trying to knock him out of the way.
Something hit me in the back, right above my left shoulder blade, and again, a little bit lower. The force of the impact threw me against Enzo, but he caught me and lowered me down to the ground. Pain flared through my torso until I gagged on it as I tried to hang onto him. To pull him down with me out of the way.
Black dots danced in front of my eyes. They began to flutter closed, and I fought to keep them open as I watched Enzo. He was crouched over me, one arm around my shoulders and the other hand holding his gun as he fired shots back at the car. I heard a squeal of tires and smelled burning rubber…
The next time I opened my eyes it was to see Enzo’s face above mine, his dark eyes searching my face, and I was so happy he took off his sunglasses so I could see his beautiful eyes.
“Sera!”
“SERA!!”
I opened my mouth to ask if he was okay. I tried to tell him that it hurt. That I was sorry. But I couldn’t get my voice to work.
And then blackness danced at the corners of my vision, closing in until there was nothing.
CHAPTER20
Enzo
Blood. There was so much blood.
My cell phone kept slipping out of my hand as I tried to dial 911. Holding Sera up off the ground with one arm, I wiped my other hand on my pants and tried again. This time I got through.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
I gave him my location, but not my name. “I have a gunshot victim on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. She was hit twice in the back and she’s bleeding profusely and she’s unconscious. Please hurry.” I ended the call before they could start asking more questions.
The valet pulled up with the SUV, her mouth falling open when she got out, leaving it running for me. I couldn’t be here when the ambulance showed up because the police would be hot on their tail. I’d be taken in for questioning, stuck in a goddamn holding room while Sera fought for her life.
That wasn’t fucking happening.
“You.” I pointed at the girl who still stood next to the SUV with her hands covering her mouth. “Come here.”
She shook her head, her eyes about to pop out of her head.
I pulled out my gun and pointed it at her. “I don’t have time for this shit. Get the fuck over here. And give me your jacket.”
This time, she did as I told her.
“Come around over here and hold her head on your lap up off the ground.” I was trying to move Sera as little as possible. “Wad up your coat and hold it over the wounds to try to stop the bleeding.”
She looked at the blood. Looked at me. And then back at the blood.
“What’s your name?” I asked her.
“Cynthia.”
