No Way Out
Diamond’s heels pounded the linoleum as she tore down the corridor, the fluorescent lights blurring above her. Panic clawed up her throat. Her pulse was a war drum in her ears.
“Diamond!”
A voice stopped her cold. Alessandro emerged from the waiting area, eyes locking onto her like a searchlight. His face was tight, but his smile was quick, relief bursting through the tension.
“Diamond, where have you been? The doctor came out and said that—”
“They’re coming!” she blurted, breathless. “La Rosa Nera soldiers are outside the hospital! They’re here!”
The words slammed into the crew like a bullet.
“WHAT?!” The exclamation shot out in unison—Alessandro, Gabriele, Luca, Enzo, Marco, and even Serena’s usually steady voice cracked.
“Shit!” Serena’s laptop bag swung against her hip as she stepped forward, eyes wide. “How’d they fucking find us?”
“There’s no time for questions!” Diamond snapped, her voice like a whip crack. “We have to go—NOW!”
She grabbed Alessandro’s arm. “Where’s Adriano? Are they still operating on him?”
Alessandro’s smile was gone, replaced with grim urgency. “They finished. He’s fine, well—” His jaw flexed. “He’s still unconscious. They moved him to the ICU.”
Gabriele was already moving, his suit jacket flaring behind him. “You all heard her. Let’s move now and get him the hell out of this place before we’re cornered.”
They broke into a sprint, Diamond’s hand still locked with Alessandro’s, weaving past startled nurses and patients in wheelchairs. The ICU doors loomed ahead, and they shoved through them like a wave crashing against the shore.
They barged into Adriano’s room and stopped in their tracks the moment they laid eyes on him.
Adriano was pale against white sheets, a constellation of wires and tubes connecting him to machines. The heart monitor’s slow, steady beep was the only proof he was still in this fight. An oxygen mask covered the lower half of his face, the plastic fogging slightly with each shallow breath. His chest was swathed in thick white bandages, a drainage tube taped in place. The rhythmic hiss of the ventilator made Diamond’s stomach turn.
The doctor who had operated on him—a middle aged man with sharp, sleep deprived eyes—stood near the bed with two nurses, a clipboard in hand. They all jumped at the intrusion.
“What’s going on? Who are you people?” one of the nurses started, but the doctor cut her off, glancing between the crew and Adriano.
“They’re with the patient,” he told her curtly, then faced Alessandro. “What is this?”
Alessandro stepped forward, his voice firm and urgent, unable to hide the panic in his tone. “I need to leave with my brother. Now.”
The doctor blinked. “Excuse me?”
Gabriele spoke up, his tone was sharper and much colder. “It’s urgent. We need to move our brother out of this hospital now.”
One of the nurses, a younger woman, frowned. “Why? Move him where?”
Alessandro’s patience snapped. “We don’t have time for this,” he growled, shoving past the doctor toward Adriano’s bed. He reached for the wires, his fingers brushing the IV line, only for the male nurse to grab his wrist.
The doctor immediately stepped in,“Stop. All of you, stop right there. Listen to me very carefully. The patient cannot be moved from this room under any circumstance.”
Alessandro’s glare could’ve cut glass. “You don’t understand—”
“No. You don’t understand,” the doctor shot back, his voice rising. “Your brother just underwent open heart surgery after a gunshot wound that nearly killed him. He’s only stable because of the equipment in this room and the team monitoring him every second. If you move him—pull these tubes, disconnect these machines—his heart could fail. He could go into respiratory distress. He could bleed out internally before you even get him into an elevator. Worst case? He dies within minutes.”
The words hung heavy in the air like smoke.
Alessandro’s jaw clenched. He slowly backed away from the bed, muttering a curse under his breath. Diamond’s throat felt tight. She turned to him, desperate. “What do we do?”
Gabriele dragged his hands through his hair, eyes darting toward the door as if expecting La Rosa Nera to burst in any second. He turned back to the doctor. “Excuse us for a second.”
The crew spilled out into the hallway, forming a huddle just beyond the ICU door. Alessandro, Diamond, Gabriele, Marco, Luca, Enzo, and Serena—all wearing the same expression.
Fear mixed with desperation.
Alessandro started first. “I say we still move him.”
Diamond’s head whipped toward him. “Are fucking you crazy? Didn’t you hear what the doctor just said? He could die, Alessandro. Die.” Her voice trembled, but her hazel eyes burned into his.
Alessandro countered, “We can find another hospital—”
“—and what?” Gabriele cut in, his voice low but vicious. “Even if we find one in time to keep him alive, what’s to say La Rosa Nera won’t follow us there too?”
The point landed like a gut punch. They all went quiet. The sound of Adriano’s heart monitor beeping faintly through the glass was the only thing filling the silence.
Marco spoke up. “Then we tell the doctors. Tell them he’s in danger.”
Luca turned on him instantly. “Oh Marco, use your fucking brain for once.” His tone was pure venom. “What the fuck do you think happens when we tell them? They call the cops. Then the Feds get wind of it. Then every badge in this city starts sniffing around, and guess whose name gets dragged into the spotlight?” He jabbed a finger toward the ICU door. “Adriano’s.”
Serena crossed her arms. “He’s right. Drawing law enforcement attention to him while he’s vulnerable, especially when he's already gotten in trouble before? That’s the last thing we need right now. We keep the police out of this.”
“Then what the fuck do we do?” Diamond’s voice cracked. She scanned each of their faces, her eyes glassy with tears. “We’re running out of time. They’ll be here any minute now.”
The huddle fell into a heavy silence.
They all looked at each other—Alessandro’s frustration, Luca’s cold logic, Marco’s restless pacing, Serena’s clenched jaw, Gabriele’s twitching fingers. Defeat was starting to seep in.
Right when it felt like the world was crashing down on them and they had no other choice but to simply sit back and accept their fate, Enzo spoke up for the first time.
“I have an idea.”
Every head turned toward him.
“What is it?” Alessandro asked, his voice taut.
Enzo rubbed the back of his neck, glancing toward the ICU window where Adriano lay. “There’s a good chance it’ll work…” He hesitated. “But you’re not gonna like what I’m about to say.”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys. So I just wanted to say that I know uploads may seem slower nowadays but that's because I'm in the process of publishing my second book which will be out soon, but don't worry, that doesn't mean I'll put this one on hold. I assure you that you'll have new chapters every day until it's completed. The genre for my new book is Fantasy and for a little spoiler, let's just say it'll put you under a spell 🪄. And also, I'd really appreciate it if you shared my book with any friends you know that love to read online novels. And keep the comments coming. I love reading and interacting with them. Stay tuned, love y'all ♥️😘