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This is my chance. Right here. He’s unconscious. He can’t chase after me. I could let him bleed to death. That would be all my problems solved. Take the car and run. Never look back. Forget about the last couple of days. Erase them from my history.
Who am I? What kind of person am I? Am I someone who could leave a man to bleed to death?
That’s what I have to decide.
“Wake up,” I say, kneeling down next to him. “You need to stay awake.” I rip the sleeve of my dress, wadding up the fabric and pressing it into the wound to try to staunch the flow of blood.
He stirs, groaning loudly. “Hold that there,” I tell him. “I’ll go get help.”
“You need to get out of here,” he says. “We’ve been compromised. There’ll be more men coming for you.”
“Stop talking. Where’s Giuseppe?”
“Probably playing cards with Eva in the kitchen.”
“Keep that there.” I put his hand back on the fabric. His shirt is getting darker by the minute. “Stay awake. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m all right.” He gets to his feet, staggering as he does so. “I’m fine.”
“You going to let that stubbornness get you killed?”
He ignores me, walking toward the house, listing to the right with each step. I get an arm around him and he snarls but doesn’t tell me to let go. I do my best to guide him but he’s barely aware that I’m here.
We’re almost at the door when he collapses again, this time without even trying to get up. His eyes are closed. I get another thought about running, but I put it out of my mind. I can’t leave him behind to die, no matter what he’s done to me or anyone else. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I’d done that.
I sprint for the house, shouting for someone, anyone, to come and help. I’ve forgotten all about running away. All I care about at this moment is making sure Marco doesn’t die.
Nineteen
Marco
* * *
Iwake up in bed. There’s a searing pain in my side. I reach down to work out what it is. There are bandages covering the spot. I’m topless. My bottom half is in pajama pants under a blanket. A white blanket. Am I in hospital?
I look around me. I recognize the set up. It’s a surgical room all right, but it’s not in a hospital. It’s one of our safe houses.
What happened?
I try to think back. What’s the last thing I remember?
I was outside the house in the country. Why? I wrack my brains but before I can think anymore, I’m out again.
This time, when I come to, the pain has subsided. There’s a tube running out of the back of my hand into a drip set up next to my bed.
I think again. How did I get here? More comes back to me this time. I was outside, chasing after Anna.
Theo was there. He was coming to collect her and kill me. Piper must have found out where we were. Is that why I’m here and not there? Compromised. That was it. The country place is no longer safe.
Someone brought me here.
I’ve been shot. I recognize the pain in my side. Theo shot me.
I killed him.
The top hitman working for Piper and I took him out. He accepted the contract on me and it cost him his life.
From the pain I feel, it almost cost me mine. I’m alive though. I’m not sure how. There are still a lot of questions that need answering.
