Chapter 88 Intruders

Chapter 88 Intruders
Minutes feel like an eternity. All my senses are heightened as I stay silent inside my walk-in closet. There's nothing but silence outside. My heart jumps out of my chest at the sudden loud bang. A gunshot. And then another one follows right after. The muffled, pained grunt from my bedroom leaves me restless and fearful.

Who's that? Who just got hurt? Is it Dante or the intruder? Did Dante get shot? Fuck. What should I do now? I can't stay here and let Dante fight by himself. I have to help him.

Thuds and groans from outside snap me out of my faze. My mind races again as I listen to the fight in my bedroom. My mind tells me all the things I can do, but my body won't do as it says. I stay there behind the counter. My body freezes in place in panic. The fear in me paralyses me as the fight outside between Dante and the intruders goes on.

Come on, Alessandra. Get up. You need to help Dante. You should help him. You can't let him fight alone.

Another gunshot wakes me up from my trance. My heart continues to race as I wait for the confirmation. I wait and listen to everything that's happening, hoping the intruder is the one who gets hurt. Not Dante. All I need to hear is Dante's voice to relieve my worries. If he says something, I'll know that he's succeeded in fighting the intruders.

"Check the walk-in closet and the bathroom."

My breath hitches. The voice doesn't sound like Dante at all, and from what he says, it's definitely not Dante but one of the intruders. Does it mean- Shit. Dante's hurt. If they're not fighting with Dante anymore, then Dante must've been hurt badly. I can't stay here. I need to go outside. I can't let him die. Not after he finally accepts his feelings for me.

Squatting behind the counter, I wait for the right time to go outside and attack the intruders. I'm not sure how many of them are in my bedroom now, but hopefully, the bullets in my gun would be sufficient to knock them down quickly. It needs to be enough. I can't act recklessly. If I'm hurt, I won't be able to help Dante. So, I need to be in good condition before I can help Dante. I still must act quickly, though. Every second counts. Dante's probably dying outside, and I don't have that much time left to save him.

The sound of the door opening makes my ears perk up. I listen to the slightest sound the intruder makes, trying to locate where he is. From what it sounds like, he's probably still in the doorway, hasn't moved a single inch from where he's standing. I ignore the pounding in my chest and take a peek at the doorway. There, I see the intruder dressed in all black. His eyes scan the room for his target: me. My heart stops for a split second when his gaze falls onto me. Cursing at myself in silence, I continue to hide behind the counter, gun ready to shoot at him.

Taking a deep breath, I point the gun up where the intruder's head will possibly be. I wait for the man, listening to his footsteps. He keeps closing in on me slowly. Once he's in my view, I aim at his head and pull the trigger. He falls to the ground in an instant. Lifeless. Blood continues to stream down his face from the deep wound in his eyebrows.

A hand grabs me by the hair before I can celebrate my victory. Fighting through the pain in my scalp, I grab onto the man's wrist and point my gun at him. Once I pull the trigger, the bullet hits the ceiling instead of the man. The man grabs my gun and throws it away before I can shoot him again.

I claw onto the man's arm, trying to break free from his grip on my hair. My resistance is futile as the man continues to drag me out to the bedroom. I try to get up, but the burning pain all over my scalp is unbearable and makes it difficult for me to move the rest of my body.

Fuck. This hurt so fucking bad, but I need to get the fuck up. I need to fight him back.

A gunshot echoes through the room. At the same time, the man's grip on my hair loosens as he drops onto the floor. I sigh in relief and turn around. By the doorway, Carlo stands there with his gun in front of him. He lowers his gun, and a frown makes its way towards my face. Carlo's white shirt has turned crimson from the blood flowing from his wounded shoulder.

Shit. Everyone's hurt. Fuck. Dante. I need to help him.

I rush to Dante. His face has gone pale from the amount of blood he's lost from the wound in his stomach. My heart sinks at the sight. I quickly apply pressure to his wound, and he grunts at the amplified pain. His black shirt is now glistening red from the blood pooling around his stomach. With my heart racing, I search around my room and find my sweater hanging over the chair's backrest. After grabbing the sweater, I put it over Dante's wound and press on it again, making him let out a pained grunt once again.

No. I can't lose him. We need to get him to the hospital right now.

"Please. Help him," I say. Carlo already kneels beside me, checking Dante's pulse. My vision turns blurry as tears cloud my eyes. Carlo's figure turns into an unintelligible shape as he leaves my side. I turn to Dante and blink my tears away. My body trembles as fear of the terrible possibility consumes me.

Even with death approaching him, Dante still tries to soothe me by holding onto my bloody hand. My stomach drops even more at the feeling of his weak grip. A sob leaves me as the fear of the inevitable swallows me even deeper. This can't be the end. He must survive this. Fuck. Where is everyone? If no one's coming, I'll drag Dante to the hospital myself.

"Hurry!" Carlo shouts.

My gaze shifts to the doorway. Two men approach Carlo and then hurry into the room. When they find Dante on the floor, they quickly check on him. I stare at my mind and Dante's intertwined hands. The blood-soaked hands and the smell of iron only make me dizzy and nauseous.

What if Dante dies? No. I won't let him. He can't die just yet. We just get together. He finally wants to be with me without letting the fear of my father looming over him anymore. It can't end like this. He must stay alive. I don't want to lose him just like I lost my brothers and my mother. I don't want to lose him like this.

A piercing pain shoots through the back of my left upper arm. My heart skips a beat as another gunshot rings through the room. With the pain in my arm, I turn around and see another man on the bathroom floor. Dead.

"Fuck. Wait a second. You, get him to the car now," Carlo says. As the two men carry Dante out of the room, Carlo goes to the closet. I wince as the pain grows intense. My nails dig into my arm as I try to toughen myself through the piercing pain.

I push myself from the floor and bite my cheeks as my pain worsens. I turn my head around and stare at my wound. Blood oozes from it. I furrow my eyebrows as a headache hits me. I let out a breath and inhale slowly. Dante has it worse. I'll be fine. I should be worried about him, not myself.

"Hope you don't mind me using this," Carlo says, wrapping a floral scarf around my arm. I nod at him.

"It's fi-"

A grunt escapes me as Carlo tightens the scarf around my arm. He secures it tightly and then looks at me. Through my blurry vision, I stare back at him.

"Let's go," Carlo says.

Carlo leads me to the car, and I immediately get into the backseat and find Dante sitting there on the other side of the car. Ignoring my own pain, I sit next to him and hold onto his hand. He squeezes my hand weakly and then smiles. Why is he smiling like that? It won't calm me down. I won't calm the fuck down once we get to the hospital and get the help he needs. I need him to stay alive. He can't leave me like this. I won't let him.