CHAPTER 161

CHAPTER 161
Celine

In the moment, just as I rolled and landed on my back barely an inch close to the edge of the bridge, I hastily aimed directly at the spot I'd placed the coin in, Marco's neck blowing up in flames as I pulled the trigger.

Instantly, the SUV jerked off the bridge and exploded in high flames mid air, shards of glass from the window flying in the air.

I fell over the edge of the bridge, my ten fingers narrowly grabbing onto the railing as a last minute lifeline, causing the gun in my grip to crash into the sea below.

From a fair distance I could see Antonio’s car screeching loudly against the wood as it came to a forced stop. Then he hurriedly got out of the car looking all pale and drained, yet somehow still forgetting all of that pain and ache in his body as he bolted towards me, with Matteo racing right behind him.

Behind me, I could hear the burning SUV crash into the sea with a sickening splash, just as Pedro's Highlander and the other SUV also came to a stop behind the BMW.

Then they all hurried out of the cars, their feet stamping against the wooden floor as they ran towards the edge of the bridge.

My fingers were slipping off the railings by the second.

Holding on like this tugged at my bruised stomach. It felt like my hands were rapidly detaching from my shoulder. Still I tried my best to hold on, his worried face giving me the hope I needed.

But just as Antonio and Matteo reached me, I felt a sharp pain on the side of my stomach, and my hands slipped off before my mind could process it, Antonio’s outreached hand failing to grab mine as he hastily crumpled to his knees, watching me fall below.

“Celine!” he yelled out with eyes widened in horror, the cold water swallowing me whole.

I began to sink slower than the ruins of the SUV that had already begun to submerge deep into the abyss of the sea, my arms and legs spread out wide.

I didn't see him jump, but I heard the splash up on the surface, then I saw his face locked on me, as he began to swim my way.

In a twinkle of an eye, Matteo had dived in, effortlessly weaving through the soft current as he swam my way.

My vision was beginning to blur slowly, and my lungs were quickly getting filled with salted water, but I could still see how visibly weak Antonio’s strokes were, and it scared me that he'd end up drowning in his selfless efforts to save me. 

Matteo must have sensed this, because he bypassed him and came straight to me, probably figuring that the faster he got to me, the higher chances of him not passing out in this water.

At that moment, my eyes fluttered shut for a brief second, swinging wide open as I felt a hand firmly grabbing on to mine, my gaze landing on Matteo's face.

Then Antonio appeared beside me, his arms wrapping around my waist.

They nodded to each other, holding on to each side of my arms, and together they began to swim with me up to the surface. 

We reached the top of the water in no time, and they guided me up towards Pedro and the other Luna Nera brothers who were standing by the edge of the bridge. 

They all took my hands and pulled me up onto the bridge, carefully lowering me to a sitting position.

I coughed out as I used the railing as a backrest, water pouring out of the sides of my mouth.

After that, they broke into two groups, some hauling Matteo up while the others drew Antonio out of the water.

The moment he was in the safety of the bridge our eyes locked and he rushed towards me and dropped to his knees, pulling me into his arms.

“Antonio,” I cried out onto his shoulder as I quickly stood on my knees and held on to his back passionately, his right hand moving up to cradle the back of my head.

“I got you.”

“I got you.”

He mumbled continuously, our heavy panting circulating in the quiet air as he patted my hair down.

“You're safe now,” he added, the fear in his voice still lingering.

We stayed like that in each other’s arms for a while, then he slowly pulled away from me, rising to his feet.

“Come on, let's go home,” he said softly, offering me a weak smile as he extended his open palm to me.

I returned the smile and placed my hand on his palm, then he guided me up, and we all began to make our way towards the car, his arm resting on the small of my back as he held me close.

Just midway to the car, his knees suddenly snapped beneath him, his body slumping forward. I quickly caught him with both hands in reflex, his weight pulling me down with him as his knees speedily crashed to the floor, his face drained of color.

“Antonio!” I yelled in panic as his eyeballs rolled inwards and disappeared, holding on to him tightly as his eyes fluttered shut and his head fell on my shoulder.

“Get him up!” Matteo said to Pedro in urgency, bolting towards the BMW.

Pedro and two of the guys hastily leaned over and pulled him away from my shoulder, lifting him into their arms. Then they raced with him towards the car, while I trailed behind them, unshed tears glistening in my eyes.

Matteo pulled the backseat door of the BMW open and I hurried over to the other side and got in, resting Antonio's head on my lap as he was placed onto the seat.

Matteo shut the door and hopped behind the wheel, backing the car up as Pedro’s Highlander and the SUV equally did.

I pushed Antonio's hair off his forehead and rested my palm on it, the coldness of his skin forcing the tears down my cheeks.

His lips were blue in a scary way. His body temperature was low…too low, and I could barely feel his pulse behind his neck.

Soon we were out of the bridge and Matteo stepped on the gas pedal, speeding off.

It took a short while, but we arrived at the hospital. 

But by the time he was rushed into the emergency room—leaving I and his brothers halting by the hallway outside the glass door—he'd gone into what they called hypovolemic shock due to excess blood loss which had cut off oxygen supply.

As if that wasn't life threatening enough, hypothermia was added to the list, and this was because of the exposure to cold his body had undergone when he jumped into the water.

All I could do was cry and pray he'd make it as I and the others watched the medical personnels do their jobs, moving fast before his major organs started to deteriorate.

Firstly, they took off his wet clothes and replaced them with warm hospital clothes and a thick blanket to regulate his temperature, then they intubated him. 

After that they proceeded to stop the bleeding, after which they administered him some IV fluids and transfused several pints of blood.