“Switch it off!” roars Massimo from the other side of the room. Candice is standing next to him. The two are staring back at both Dominic and the recording with dismay.
Dominic switches it off but he smiles. “Of course boss, you would side with him. You’re well versed in fucking the enemy’s daughter. Maybe I should find someone to fuck too to join the club.”
“Dominic you’re in trouble,” Massimo says.
“No, I’m not in trouble. I’m fine. I’ve never felt better. Never felt more alive. You should try it. When I’m like this I forget the pain. I forget I have no one.”
“That’s bull shit and you know it!” I cut in.
“Is it? You two stick together. Andreas was the loner. All I had was Pa and he’s not here anymore. He’s dead and I was just expected to move on and get revenge. Like that’s gonna solve anything or bring him back. We don’t talk about how we feel, not with me anyway. You all leave me out.”
“That’s not true,” Massimo says.
It isn’t true but Dominic believes that.
“It’s fucking true,” Dominic counters and fires another shot. This time he gets the window and the glass smashes.
“Dominic please put the gun down,” Candace says.
“No.” He wails and shoots the metal panel on the wall.
I almost die as I watch the bullet ricochet off the metal and recoil into her, hitting her right in her chest.
She screams out a sound so piercing it seems to rock reality.
“Candace!” Massimo shouts as she falls to the ground. He grabs her and Isabella rushes over to them crying hard.
It must be shock that has me paralyzed because I can’t move. I watch Dominic as he realizes what he did.
He lowers the gun first and then it slips from his hands. He’s shaking his head and looking at them.
“No… oh God, no. Candace, my angel,” he says. He takes one step to go to them but I intercept.
I rush him with the rage I felt and send a punch straight to his face knocking him to the ground. He scrambles to get up but can’t. He’s stunned from my blow and the fucking drugs he’s taken.
“Fucking bastard, don’t you dare go to her. You don’t deserve her. You don’t. We all grieved when Pa died. Don’t tell us bullshit to make it okay for you to believe the lies you tell yourself.”
He’s staring back at me with tears streaming down his cheeks.
I pull out my phone to call 911.
When Massimo starts CPR, my heart breaks. There’s so much blood everywhere.
Candace isn’t moving and she’s not breathing, all she’s doing is bleeding.
I can’t lose her. We can’t lose her.
Massimo continues CPR, but it’s not working.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tristan
The paramedics came and took over from Massimo. We all stood on and watched as one agonizing second after another ticked by. With each passing second I saw Candace’s life slipping away.
Candace.
Candace the girl who means so much to us. Such a true friend she felt like family. Such a true friend there was never any doubt about trust when it came to her. She’s the kind of person who will always be true to you and always put herself last. She’s the heart of us. The person who keeps us from slipping away into the darkness of our world. She’s …
She can’t die.
Everything fades around me as I continue to watch the paramedic trying to save her. As he resorts to getting the defibrillator I know we’re in serious trouble. The severity of the situation has gone past hoping she’ll make it with the right people helping her. Those trained to save lives.
It’s gone past that. The time for miracles has arrived. The time for prayers and wishes, anything that will help. The last time I saw my brothers cry the way they are was when Ma was found dead in the river. We were all children. This is years later and if we lose Candace I don’t know how I’ll be able to deal with that type of loss.
I see the look on the paramedics face. His colleague is looking at him like he should stop, but I think he keeps going because of us.
All of us.
He looks to me, and I silently bid him to continue. Never stop until she comes back. Never stop until the life comes back to the girl we love so much. Never stop until he pulls her back from wherever she’s gone.