Come Back To Me

**Althaia**

“No, no, no, please wake up!” My tears fell down his face, and no matter how much I called out his name, he was still unresponsive.

“Y-you can’t leave me… We-we haven’t had enough time… Please, come back to me.” Still, nothing. I sobbed as I cradled his head into my arms.

*This couldn’t be the end.*

“Come back to me, my love…” I whispered, refusing to accept I was holding my dead husband. It had me frantically looking around his body to figure out what was happening to him.

His gunshot wound!

I had forgotten about it and I quickly ripped his shirt up and unstrapped his vest, but nothing prepared me for the sight.

It was bad.

His wound was open and blood flowed out too fast. I immediately tried to stop the bleeding with my hands, watching them getting covered by his blood. I rapidly blinked away my tears to clear my sight but they continued to stream down my face as I tried to think how to help him.

I shakily grabbed his shirt again, tearing a large enough piece of cloth to wrap around him. I tied it as tightly as I could while still adding pressure. Damiano was still unmoving. He wasn’t even making a sound. I moved up to him again, checking his pulse on the side of his neck, holding my breath as I did. I let out the biggest breath of relief when I felt his heartbeat. It was faint and slow, but it was still there.

“Althaia!” I looked over my shoulder, seeing Lorenzo with Cara unconscious in his arms.

“Please, go save Cara!” Lorenzo looked at me, and then at Damiano. I could see he was hesitating to leave.

“Is he okay?”

“I got him, Lorenzo. Just help Cara.” I practically ordered. He gave one small firm nod before running to the exit with Cara. I let out a small breath, relieved that Cara was in good hands now and would get help.

“Damiano, wake up.” I whispered, caressing his cheek, hoping for some kind of response. I kept calling his name, touching him, and hoping, praying he could hear me and come back to me.

I let out a choked-up sob, and a small smile formed on my lips when I saw movements behind his closed eyelids. He let out a breath as he started to say something, but I couldn’t make out what it was.

“What are you saying?” I leaned down, my ear close to his mouth.

“… Beautiful angel…” He muttered, and my smile got wiped away.

*Beautiful angel?*

Who was he talking about? Never once has he ever called me an angel. I looked at him with a frown, jealousy bubbling in me.

“Who are you calling beautiful angel? I don’t care if you’re on the verge of dying, you better not dream about another woman! Wake the fuck up!” With that, I slapped him.

Damiano’s eyes snapped open as his head got whipped to the side.

“Fuck, woman! How the fuck are you this tiny yet so fucking strong.” He suddenly erupted, groaning.

“Who were you calling beautiful angel, huh?” Damiano let out a lazy grin as he looked at me.

“You’re my beautiful angel. So fiery, my love.” I clamped my mouth shut, feeling heat rush to my cheeks as he cupped my chin. It didn’t go unnoticed how his movements were slow. Even when he was blinking it was slow.

“I thought you left me...” My voice cracked and my lip started to tremble as I sniffed.

“No, no.. I was just… resting my eyes.” He started to close his eyes again, and I had to get him out of here fast to get help. He was looking paler by the second.

*Shit, the explosives!*

“We have to hurry and get out of here. Are you in a lot of pain? Can you move?” I was afraid to even try and move him in case I worsened his condition.

“It hurts like a bitch.” He grunted and clenched his jaw. That meant it was really bad. He was the type of person who could endure a lot of pain, and this meant it was critical.

I helped him to get on his feet when the sound of footsteps running toward us made me look up.

“Thank God it’s you.” I breathed out when I saw it was Giovanni. There was no time to be fighting off Gaetano’s men in here when the whole thing was about to blow up. I would rather not have my body blown up into pieces and splattered all over the place.

“Shit, are you okay?”

“We’re okay. Gio, Michael is still down there. He got shot and needs help.” I told him. Giovanni was also injured, and bleeding from the side of his head, but he was still well enough to be able to help.

“No, you need help.” Giovanni frowned when he saw Damiano’s condition.

“Giovanni, we don’t have time! Go help Michael, now!” I shouted, ordering him to get going.

“I will pull the rank card if you don’t go.” I gave him one hell of a look and he finally got going.

“That’s my Donna.” Damiano half chuckled as I helped him to his feet. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leaning on me for support and I had to use my entire strength to keep us both upright.

“Have I ever told you how hot you look when you’re angry?”

“Damiano, this really isn’t the time nor the place to be saying such things.” I was already breathing hard, struggling to keep his weight on me as we made our way to the exit.

“Sure is.”

“Did you hit your head or something? Because you’re not thinking straight.”

“I’m thinking about my wife’s pussy like I always do. I would say my head is just fine.”

“My God… Is the pain making you high? Nevermind. Stop talking and keep walking, you’re heavy!” If I wasn’t busy dragging him with me, I would have been embarrassed by how he talked.

“All muscles, baby.” I shook my head and focused on getting out.

I was panting, my body aching and sweating as we finally got out of the building with Giovanni and Michael close behind. Outside was even more chaotic. Shouting, gunshots, cars on fire, and dead bodies on the ground.

It was a literal warzone!

I looked around, seeing Damiano’s men had the upper hand and it appeared to be under control. There were so many armed men present, some I recognized and some I didn’t.

My eyes landed on a group of men, standing in a semi-circle, guarding someone. My eyes went down, seeing Cara’s father on the ground, beaten and tied up.

“Did you catch Gaetano too?” I asked Damiano, feeling hopeful that this nightmare was ending.

“No. The bastard is hiding like the coward he is, and let his brother out in the open.” Damiano groaned. I looked at him, seeing his condition has worsened.

“Sixty seconds! Get away from here!” Renzo shouted out, and everyone started to move.

“Shit… Althaia, you have to go, now.” I felt him trying to move away from me, but I held him tightly, almost wanting to slap him again.

“You really need to get that head checked if you think I’m leaving my husband behind. Shut up, and keep walking!” Right now, I didn’t care if I caused him more pain as I held him tightly, and walked as fast as I could. He would be okay as long as I got him far enough away from here.

“Antonio!” I shouted after him when I saw him. Antonio spotted us, shouting orders out in Italian, and ran to us with a bunch of men once they noticed us. As soon as they grabbed Damiano, I collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. It was physically impossible for me to get up and keep going.

“Forgive me for touching you, Donna.” I recognized him as Niccolò. I let out a small gasp in surprise when he picked me up in his arms and ran. I held onto him tightly when I started to hear low explosions. I looked behind him, my eyes widening in horror when I saw the end of the building erupting in flames. It kept going, one explosion after the other, like a domino effect.

“Cover your face!” I quickly covered my face with my arms just the second when a massive blasting sound erupted. The blastwave was immense. So much it sent us flying forward. Niccolò broke most of the fall for me as we rolled around on the ground.

I got on my hands and knees, coughing and squinting my eyes as I shielded my face from the heat.

“Are you okay?” I asked him, and get gave me a thumbs up.

“All good.” He reassured me. I nodded, waving away the smoke that was quickly filling up the area. I looked around for Damiano, stumbling up to my feet when I saw him lying on the ground.

“You need to take him to the hospital, and get him treated right away.” I told them as they helped me get Damiano up on his feet.

“Do you think everyone got out?” I asked Antonio as I looked around, luckily seeing many of Damiano’s men present.

“From our side, yes.” I nodded.

“Okay, that’s good. Did anyone find Gaetano yet?” Antonio shook his head, and I sighed.

“I guess he was still in the building then…” It was the only explanation since the outside was heavily guarded. There was no way he could have slipped out without any of them noticing.

“We will do rounds to check for any survivors.”

“Please, anyone who is severely injured, send them to get medical attention immediately. To the men who are well enough, let them search the area for Gaetano. He can’t have gotten far away.” I told Antonio, and the men nearby stood and listened to me as if I was their commander.

“Understood, Donna.” I was a little taken aback by how he addressed me. It did feel weird when it came from him, considering he was Damiano’s right-hand man and I saw him as someone superior.

“I need to get Damiano treated, but update me on what’s happening. If you need anything, let me know, and I will have someone be on their way.” Antonio gave a firm nod before ordering the men to get going.

“Look at you, they don’t even need me anymore.” I looked at Damiano and he gave me a half-smirk.

“Of course, they need you. And I need you, too.” I gave a small smile, putting his arm around my shoulders again as we got led to a car.

It all felt weird. I wanted to be relieved that it was over, but I couldn’t until Gaetano was found. I hope they would find him, if they didn’t, this mess could happen all over again.

I blinked a few times as something caught my attention. I looked ahead, focusing on the ground. The ground was softer there, and it looked like a piece of the ground was moving upwards. I stopped walking and kept focusing on that spot.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” Damiano asked, and I shook my head.

“Something is not right over there…” I trailed off, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me because of exhaustion.

But they weren’t.

It suddenly flew up and someone sprinted away.

“It’s Gaetano!” I shouted and pointed in his direction. My body reacted on its own, ready to run after him, but stilled when I remembered I was supporting Damiano.

“Capture him! Alive!” Damiano shouted out and his men went after him.

“He’s getting away!” I was frustrated and desperate to end this shit nightmare once and for all. But it was obvious to see his men were exhausted but were pushing through to catch him.

The sound of a gunshot rang out loudly in the air, having everyone stop in their tracks. I saw just in time for Gaetano to fall to the ground. I let out a breath when I heard him scream out, holding his leg. He didn’t deserve a quick death for everything he had done.

“Wait, what’s happening.” I frowned, seeing the familiar faces coming from the other side.

Alexei and Nestor.

Alexei slowly walked up to Gaetano, looking at him with a despised look before turning his attention to Damiano. His men followed behind him, aiming their guns at us.

I felt Damiano’s body tense, cursing under his breath as he pulled me behind his back to cover me. My heart started to frantically beat as I looked around, assessing the situation. We were in no condition for another war, especially against Alexei.

“Now, you’re going to tell me where she is.” It was the first time I was seeing Alexei in such an enraged state.

“Where the fuck is Jacinta?!” He yelled, and guns being racked echoed out loudly. I stepped out from behind Damiano.

“Althaia, get back!” I ignored him as I stood in front of him and his men with my arms wide open, trying to cover and protect them in some way.

“Alexei…” I stepped closer to him with my heart in my throat when one of his men turned his attention to me, ready to fire. Alexei noticed and smashed the back of his rifle into his face.

“Don’t fucking aim at her!” Alexei roared out, and Nestor shouted something in Russian.

“I’m not sure what’s happening here, but I already told you. My mother is gone.” My eyes flickered back and forth between him and Nestor, confused why he was demanding where she was.

“If you want to know where she is buried, I can -”

“I will stop you right there. I went to the cemetery and dug up her casket.” He said, and I gaped at him in pure shock.

“You ruined my mother’s grave!” I yelled at him.

“No. Your mother was not in it.”

“What? What do you mean?” I breathed out, scared and dreading that someone had taken my mother.

Alexei didn’t answer me and looked at Damiano. I turned around, seeing him looking at Alexei with a firm look.

“Damiano, what is he talking about?” He continued to look at Alexei before finally looking at me.

“Your mother is alive.” My legs gave up under me.