She cleared her throat, but I ignored her and glanced behind my shoulder. Gianluca watched her like a hawk as he stepped closer. He gave me a short glance as if to warn me not to move. The woman coughed, grabbing my attention again. I turned toward her, and arched my eyebrows.
“Excuse me,” she chirped. “I was wondering if you could help me get the green book...”
She pointed toward the upper rack, and my eyes followed her movement. I scanned the shelf, but couldn’t see any green book.
“It's right there,” she pointed to a random spot on the shelf.
“I'm sorry. I don't—”
“Olivia, come here!” Gianluca snatched my elbow, practically dragging me out of the bookstore and toward the exit.
“Gianluca, what's happening?” I was alarmed by his behavior.
“We're leaving!” he snapped and reached for his phone, instructing the driver to wait for us in front of the mall.
We raced down the hallways, and Gianluca kept looking behind his shoulder, as if expecting we would be followed. The SUV parked by the entrance as we approached the exit door. Disturbed by Gianluca's strange behavior, I stepped outside and rushed toward the car when I heard a piercing scream.
“Get down!” Gianluca hollered.
A surge of sharp burning pain spread through my chest. Gianluca pushed me to the ground, covering my body with his own. People panicked and stampeded back inside the mall as a rain of bullets blasted our way.
I glanced up in instinctive shock. A luxurious black sedan slowly drove by and a man with an automatic rifle leaned out the window. He bellowed through the red bandana across his face and fired shots at us.
The sound of screeching tires and screams echoed in my head as my life slowly bled out. My lips parted to call Gianluca’s name and ask him to get off me, but I only gurgled and dry-heaved. His motionless body pressed onto my wounds as I helplessly watched that car speed away into the distance. I tried to scream, but couldn’t make a sound. Electric spots danced in front of my eyes as our driver got out of the car and people gathered around us. Many echoing voices suddenly morphed into the crashing of waves. Then, everything went black.
***
.
.
.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Incessant beeping slowly infiltrated my ears as shockwaves of sharp pain spread through my body. Every movement was burning agony, and the pressure on my chest made it difficult to breathe. I must be dying. Endless darkness stretched before me and I fought against the weight on my eyelids.
Inch by painful inch, my eyes opened half-way. The blurred image gradually sharpened into a shadowed white ceiling. Desperate to uncover where I was and what had happened, I jerked my head to the side. A dark silhouette of a man sat in a chair under the window. Arms crossed over his chest, he stared in my direction. Was he an angel...or a demon waiting to drag me to hell?
I had to get to the bottom of this, but pain made it difficult to focus and think. The mystery deepened when I smelled the spicy scent of Alessandro's cologne. Goosebumps erupted on my skin and the hairs on the back of my neck rose up in dread. Was he the one who had hurt me and caused me this horrible pain? Suddenly, I remembered. It wasn't him, but the people in that black car. They killed me. They killed Gianluca. I urged my eyes to open completely and whimpered when my body wouldn’t cooperate. The man stood up and strode toward the bed. It was too dark to make out his face, but he looked so familiar. I parted my dry lips, but no intelligible sound escaped. All I could do was watch as he leaned closer and laid a soft kiss on my forehead. I moaned from sudden pain...
“Shh, tesoro,” the man whispered. “I'll get the doctor. Close your eyes and go back to sleep.”
Alessandro! It was Alessandro's voice. I was sure of it. I wanted to call after him, but he already walked away. Weakness took over and my eyes closed of their own accord. I was falling right back into the dark oblivion.
The next time I woke, I couldn’t open my eyes, but I heard voices. One of them was Alessandro and the other...was that man I hated...Lorenzo!
“I thought you were over her,” he said coldly.
“Lorenzo, I’m not in the mood,” Alessandro reprimanded him.
“I'm just saying. I told you from the beginning this wouldn't work. Girls