Chapter 1 - The Blood on the Velvet
The man called Enzo Valenti did not wait for the terrified restaurant manager to dial for an ambulance.
He moved with a sudden, terrifying speed that completely defied his large, heavily muscled frame.
His expensive suit jacket was already off, carefully draped around my bleeding shoulders to catch the darkest of the crimson stains.
"Clear the exit," Enzo barked to the men who had been sitting with him.
His voice was not a request.
It was a violent command that sent three fully grown, dangerous men scrambling to push tables and stunned patrons out of his path.
I tried to tell him that I could walk, but the moment I opened my mouth, a sickening wave of dizziness washed over my brain.
The pain in my back was no longer just a sharp sting.
It had blossomed into a roaring, blinding fire that made my teeth chatter uncontrollably.
"Do not speak," Enzo ordered softly, looking down into my eyes as he carried me through the main dining room.
"You are going to shock, and I need you to stay awake for just a few more minutes."
I could hear Leo, the little boy, crying softly behind us, being carried by one of the massive bodyguards.
"Is he really okay?" I managed to whisper, my head resting against Enzo’s chest.
Beneath his crisp white dress shirt, I could feel the heavy, frantic thud of his heart.
"Leo is perfectly safe because of what you did," Enzo replied, his jaw clenched so tightly I could hear his teeth grinding.
"But you are bleeding all over my favorite shirt, so you owe me a favor."
It was a strange, dark joke, meant to keep my mind tethered to reality, and surprisingly, it worked.
We burst through the front doors of Lumina into the freezing, rain-swept night.
A sleek black SUV was already waiting at the curb, its rear doors thrown wide open.
Enzo did not hand me off to anyone else.
He climbed into the spacious back seat with me, keeping my body angled so the glass shards would not be pushed deeper into my flesh.
"Drive to Dr. Rossi," Enzo commanded the driver, his voice echoing in the confined space.
"If you stop for a red light, I will personally shoot you."
The tires squealed against the wet pavement as the heavy vehicle launched forward into the city traffic.
I tried to focus on the leather interior, on the sound of the rain, on anything but the agonizing burning in my shoulder blades.
Enzo’s large, warm hand cupped the side of my face, his thumb gently brushing away a stray tear I hadn't realized I shed.
"What is your name?" he asked, his dark eyes searching my fading gaze.
"Clara," I breathed out, my eyelids suddenly feeling as heavy as lead.
"Stay with me, Clara," Enzo urged, his tone shifting from authoritative to desperately pleading.
May you like
"You do not get to die tonight."
That was the last thing I heard before the world finally faded entirely to black.
