My protector
The last two classes seem endless.
I explain to Anabela why I was late for the last class, and she jumps for joy when she discovers that Dominic was the one who saved me at the party.
She tells me that he's the heir to the Russian mafia and that he's in his last year of high school because his parents are spending the end of the year in Italy on business.
"Dominic may have saved me, but I don't fit the role of a princess who needs to be protected," I say irritably, and Anabela laughs.
"Give him a chance, Elena, after all, he's a hottie," she says, and I agree.
If Chris is divine, Dominic is a god.
His dark brown hair contrasts perfectly with his light brown eyes; his face is harmoniously and perfectly sculpted and defined.
I could draw him endlessly.
I'm pulled from my reverie when the bell finally rings, announcing the end of classes.
“Elena has a message from the principal for you,” the teacher says before I leave the classroom.
I say goodbye to Anabela and walk to the principal's office, trying to make my way through the crowd.
When I finally arrive, I find the room locked. I look around, expecting to find the secretary at the reception, but the hallway is empty.
This must be a joke.
I wait a few minutes and receive a call from Antoni ten minutes later.
“Elena, where are you?” he asks, worried.
“The teacher told me to go to the principal's office, but it's locked,” I explain, and he sighs.
“You can sort this out tomorrow, bambina. Come meet us in the parking lot,” he says.
“I'm coming,” I reply and hang up.
The school is almost empty when I leave; I see only one or two students as I walk towards the exit.
I'm crossing the entrance to the parking lot when a buzzing hits my ear, and then my ear burns.
I freeze in place and bring my hand to the spot where it hurts, feeling something wet my fingers.
My hands are already trembling when I see the red liquid staining my fingers.
I feel the blood trickle down my ear and my brain starts working again seconds later.
I look around the parking lot searching for my brothers' car when two more shots are fired. One hits the car near me and the other hits my arm.
I scream in fear and feel a weight pulling me to the ground.
Dominic has a gun in his hand and looks very angry. He assesses me and, when he sees my wounded arm and ear, he is filled with hatred.
"Call your brothers," he says calmly.
My hands tremble and I need all the sanity I have left to find one of their numbers.
I call Antoni, who is in my call history; he answers on the first ring.
"Stay where you are and protect yourself," he says as soon as he answers.
Dominic carefully takes the phone from my hand.
"It's me, Movinsk, I'm protecting her," he says coldly. "She has a wound on her ear and arm, but nothing serious. I'm taking her home."
I listen to Dominic's words, but I don't think. I'm terrified.
He hangs up and puts the phone in his coat pocket.
"Elena, I need you to run as fast as you can to that blue BMW," he points to a car that's not far away.
"Are you going to leave?" the question automatically escapes my lips.
"No, my angel," he says, brushing a strand of hair from my face. "I'm going to take her safely to her family."
I believe his words; he saved me from an attack once, and I know he can do it again.
I obey his order and run as fast as I can toward the car he indicated.
I throw myself to the ground as soon as I see the blue car narrowly escaping a bullet lodged in the bodywork of the car in front of me.
I hear some shots in the distance and see Dominic coming towards me, shooting at someone I can't see.
He unlocks the car door as soon as he finds me and helps me get in.
As soon as we're inside the car, he speeds off from the parking lot. I hear the sound of shots hitting the car, but none penetrate the bodywork.
"It's bulletproof, angel," Dominic says as he speeds away from the school grounds.
At some point during the drive, I hug my knees and put my head between my legs.
The adrenaline from the whole situation is wearing off and my arm starts to ache.
I feel the car slow down until it stops.
Dominic tears a piece of his shirt from under his jacket and ties it around my bleeding arm. I groan in pain and hold my breath to avoid screaming.
“Breathe, angel, you’re safe now,” Dominic says as he carefully traces circles on my back.
I do the breathing exercises Matteo taught me; it takes me a few minutes to calm down, and Dominic is patient with me.
“Why did you leave me on the grass?” I ask, trying to distract my mind.
I lift my head when he doesn’t answer and see an amused look on his face.
“I didn’t imagine you wanted the mafia families to see us together,” he says and starts the car again.
“I don’t care what others think,” I say, looking at the road.
“You must give your brothers trouble,” he says, laughing, and I can’t help but smile.
When we arrive at my house, he stops the car at the entrance and opens the door for me.
“I need to go, my father heard about the attack and is sending me to meet him,” Dominic says as he leaves me at the entrance.
“Thank you for saving me once again,” I say sincerely.
“Whenever you need me, my angel,” he says, handing me back my phone before getting into the car.
He rolls down the window as soon as he starts the car and smiles at me.
“I added my number to your contacts,” he says before driving away, and I freeze in the driveway, watching the car leave.
I take a deep breath before getting in.
As soon as I enter, Matteo pulls me into Lorenzo’s office. He looks anxious and worried.
“Calm down, brother,” I plead, but he doesn’t listen.
I enter the office and find Lorenzo, Dante, and Nicco, all on the phone.
As soon as they see me, the three hang up and focus on me, looking for injuries.
“Are you okay?” Lorenzo asks with his usual coldness.
He’s probably worried about the guys who haven’t arrived yet, and so am I, but my panic won’t help.
I start to answer, but Matteo steps forward and begins to examine me. He touches my arm carelessly, and I have to move away.
"Hey, Matteo," I shout, taking a step back. "You need to calm down."
I sit on the office sofa near Nicco, who is the calmest person in the room.
Matteo takes a few deep breaths and composes himself. I don't know what's happening to him, but he needs to calm down.
"Sorry, bambina, I was worried about you in the middle of that shooting and I lost my head," he replies.
"I understand, but please calm down," I whisper, and he nods.
When I see that he's better, I let him examine me.
He asks me to take off my shirt so he can better see the bullet that hit my arm, and I want to cry when he says the bullet didn't go through.