STAY WITH ME
682 Words
It was everywhere.
On the polished wooden floor.
On my hands.
On Marco's shirt.
The room had dissolved into chaos.
Dante's men rushed in and out, shouting orders as they searched the estate for the sniper, but whoever had pulled the trigger had already disappeared into the night.
"They're gone!" someone shouted from outside.
"Search the woods!"
"Block every road!"
"No one leaves this county!"
Dante never looked up.
His attention remained fixed on Marco.
"He's losing too much blood."
"I've called the doctor," one of his men said.
"It won't be fast enough."
I stared at Marco's pale face.
Just minutes ago, I'd wanted answers from him.
Now I wasn't sure he'd live long enough to give them.
His breathing grew weaker.
I squeezed his hand.
"Marco..."
His eyelids fluttered.
"You don't get to die yet."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"You sound... like your mother."
My breath caught.
"You knew my mother better than anyone."
"I did."
"Then tell me the truth."
His eyes opened just enough to meet mine.
"She loved you..."
His voice cracked.
"...more than her own life."
Tears burned behind my eyes.
"And my father?"
Marco closed his eyes.
"He loved power... more than either of you."
The words struck harder than I expected.
"No..."
"I'm sorry..."
His voice faded.
"I should've protected her..."
Before I could ask who he meant...
He lost consciousness again.
"Marco!"
I looked desperately at Dante.
"Do something!"
"I'm trying."
Dante pressed a clean cloth firmly against the wound.
"Stay with us."
Marco didn't move.
For the first time since I'd met him...
I saw panic in Dante's eyes.
Not loud.
Not obvious.
Just enough to know he understood exactly how important Marco had become.
The doctor arrived moments later.
He quickly examined the wound before looking at Dante.
"He needs surgery immediately."
"Can you save him?"
The doctor hesitated.
"I'll do everything I can."
Everything.
Not certainty.
My stomach twisted.
As the doctor and two guards carried Marco from the room, Caterina remained standing silently by the window.
She hadn't cried.
She hadn't spoken.
She simply watched.
I walked toward her.
"You knew this would happen."
She didn't deny it.
"They always silence people who know too much."
"You've been hiding for fifteen years."
"Yes."
"Were you hiding from Vitale?"
She finally looked at me.
"I was hiding from everyone."
Before I could ask another question, Dante joined us.
"We're leaving."
"What?"
"This house is compromised."
"They know where we are."
"They'll come back."
His tone left no room for argument.
Within minutes, we were back in the convoy.
This time, no one spoke.
The silence felt heavier than before.
Halfway home, I finally broke it.
"Dante."
He turned toward me.
"If Marco dies..."
"He won't."
"You don't know that."
"No."
His voice softened.
"But I know this..."
He reached across the seat and gently took my hand.
"We're done reacting."
I looked at him.
His eyes had changed.
The calm, calculating man I'd married was still there.
But now there was something else.
Resolve.
"They've attacked my home."
"They've tried to kill my wife."
"They've silenced the only witness."
He intertwined his fingers with mine.
"They've mistaken my patience for weakness."
A chill ran down my spine.
"What are you going to do?"
For the first time...
Dante smiled.
It wasn't warm.
It wasn't kind.
It was the smile of the man people called the Wolf.
"They wanted a war."
He looked out the window into the darkness.
"They're about to discover why my enemies never survive one."
As the convoy disappeared into the night, neither of us noticed the black sedan following at a distance.
Inside it, a man closed a folder containing our photographs.
He picked up his phone.
"They're closer than expected," he said.
A woman's voice answered from the other end.
"Then separate them."
The man looked at the photo of Dante holding my hand.
"They've already fallen in love."
There was a long pause.
Then she replied with quiet certainty.
"Then make sure only one of them lives long enough to regret it."
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