My eyes scour his body, and not seeing any blood except for what’s coating his knuckles, I feel intense relief.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” Adriano’s hand wraps tightly around my arm, and it makes pain flare through every nerve ending.
Everyone is frozen in place, looks of horror on their faces.
A whimper escapes me as I glance down, and seeing all the blood on my shirt, arm, and the floor, it only sinks in then that I’ve been shot.
Adriano presses his other hand to the side of my neck and roars, “Bring the fucking first aid kit and call the doctor!”
Everyone moves at once.
Feeling a little delirious, I stare at his face. “You’re okay.”
His jaw clenches hard. “Stop talking.”
Tori sinks down beside us and wraps a towel around my arm before her worried gaze meets mine. “You’re going to be okay.” A sob sputters from her, then she brushes her palm over my hair and leans forward to kiss my temple where I can still feel the barrel pressing into it. “Mom’s here. I’m going to take good care of you.”
Tears flood my eyes while my lips curve into a smile. “Mom. I like that.”
“The two of you can bond later,” Adriano snaps angrily. “Give me that fucking bag.”
I notice Little Ricky handing him a first aid kit, but then my sight blurs.
“Laurie!” Adriano snaps angrily, ripping me back to the here and now while he presses gauze to the side of my neck. “Stay with me.”
“Uh-huh,” I mumble, my vision going spotty.
“Keep it there, Ma. Press hard.”
Tori does as he says, then he pulls the towel away from my arm, and when I see blood flowing freely from the hole in my arm, I feel nauseated and even more dizzy.
Everything keeps going from blurry images to black as Adriano tightly wraps a white bandage around my arm, my blood seeping through it everytime a new layer is added.
It feels as if my body turns weightless.
“No, Laurie!” I feel Adriano holding me. “Where the fuck is the doctor!”
“Let me take over. We can’t wait,” I hear Big Ricky snap, his tone tight with worry. “Lay her down on the bed for me.”
The whoosy sensation lifts, and Adriano’s gravely worried face comes back into focus as he picks me up.
“You’re okay,” I mumble.
It’s all I care about.
“Keep talking to me,mia piccola farfalla.” A harsh breath shudders from him as he gently lays me down on the covers.
When he locks eyes with me, I see how much pain he’s in, and a tear escapes from my eye, rolling down my temple, while I gasp, “I couldn’t lose you.”
His eyes shut briefly before he looks at me again, something raw and furious moving across his face. “Never again, Laurie. It’s my job to protect you, not the other way around.”
Big Ricky appears beside me with an injection, and when I see the long needle, my eyes go squint.
“Laurie!” I hear Adriano roar as everything goes black.
I keep going in and out of consciousness, only able to hear something every now and then.
“I can’t lose her!”