Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Andrea!”
As the gun goes off, Marcello leaps in front of her.
I don’t think twice before I rush right back into the heat of the fire, not giving a shit if the next bullet hits me. Because I need to know if Andrea … if Marcello is okay.
They’re right there on the floor in front of me, I just know it, but I can’t see shit because of all the men in the way that are fighting each other. So I push past them and shove them aside, ignoring their growls and threats of violence. Mario has my back, shooting at any Irish or Polish guy who dares to get close to try to grab me.
When I finally spot them lying on the floor, I choke on my breath, my throat constricting the sound of my shriek.
“Marcello!” I run to his body and lift it.
Underneath is Andrea, groaning with confusion. “What happened?”
Above them, a soldier she was patching up crawls away from the obvious danger.
“Harper?” Andrea mutters as I check her for wounds.
“Molly tried to shoot you,” I answer, and her face turns cold as ice.
“What?!” she exclaims, but then her eyes dart to Marcello, and she gets up from the floor to try to wake him. “Marcello? Marcello!”
I help her turn him around, where a gunshot wound is clearly visible near his abdomen. Tears well up in my eyes as the blood pours out.
“Oh, no …” Andrea swiftly tears away some fabric to wrap around his waist, but it stains red easily.
I lift Marcello onto my lap so I can have a closer look. He coughs, and blood spills from his mouth. I try to wipe it off, but more gunshots make it impossible for me to fully focus on getting him to safety. On keeping him alive.
Mario fires off some bullets at the balcony, causing Molly and Frank to temporarily pull back into the room beyond, so I can talk to Marcello.
He was so determined to finally get to Frank and Molly, but when they tried to hurt Andrea, he immediately turned around and ran down to save her.
“Marcello, why? Why did you do that?” I ask, my voice fluctuating in pitch, unable to keep the pain from seeping through.
He groans and coughs again, blood spilling from his mouth, so I wipe it away. “I wanted to spare you … from the same pain I was forced to endure when I lost my mother.” His hand rises to meet my face, caressing my cheek ever so softly with his last bit of energy.
My heart swells with warmth, and I place my hand on top of his as tears run freely down my cheeks. He sacrificed not only his wish to pursue Molly and Frank, but he also sacrificed his own body to save the one person I need the most.
“I can’t even describe how grateful I am …” I reply, swallowing down the lump in my throat as I finally come to the realization that his love for me is not merely in the form of lust. And that my own love for him is nothing to feel ashamed of. “Or how much I love you.”
A soft smile forms on his face as we stay here for a few seconds, basking in the glow, however long it may last. And I lean over to press a kiss on his forehead, my lips lingering on his skin as long as possible. But the mere thought of not having this for all eternity, of not being with him, of not having his heart for the rest of my life, fills me with fear.
“I don’t want to lose you,” I whisper, clutching his hand tight.
He groans and clenches his muscles tight in order to sit up straight, but it hurts to see him in so much pain. “I’m not dying yet.”
“Don’t move. You’ll hurt yourself even more,” I say.
“No, we have to move. Now,” he says, and he points at the balcony where Frank and Molly just reappeared.
Mario is getting more bullets from one of his soldiers, which means the Irish have an opening and intend to use it.
“Go!” Marcello growls, flicking his head toward Mario as if he wants me to run to safety while I would much rather stay by his side. I quickly help him up from the ground, despite my reservations to move him. He could be further injured, but it doesn’t seem like he cares at all. “Claudio! Hand me a gun!”
I turn my head only to see a gun flying right by me, landing straight in Marcello’s hands. Claudio is still gunning down some Polish dudes trying to come in through the area below where Marcello and Claudio emerged from. The place is flooded with dons and henchmen, but Marcello doesn’t even seem to care that we might be outnumbered.