Chapter 71 Seventy One
Antonio finally broke the silence.
“Let’s get you home,” Antonio said, stepping beside Salvatore. “You’ve lost enough blood. The doctor needs to look at that shoulder.”
Salvatore didn’t respond. Instead, his eyes searched the ballroom until they found Mira.
She was still standing exactly where she’d been, her eyes fixed on the blood staining his white shirt.
“Mira,” Salvatore said quietly. She looked up. “Let’s go.”
For a second, she actually took a step. Then another hand caught hers.
Matthew. His grip wasn’t rough, but it was firm enough to stop her. “Mira, don’t.”
She looked back at him.
“You can’t seriously be thinking about going with him after what just happened,” Matthew said. “Someone just tried to kill you.”
“It wasn’t—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Matthew cut in. “Look around.”
He gestured toward the ballroom. “The place is covered in blood. People are running for their lives. A man just accused him of murder.”
His voice softened. “You are not safe with him.”
Mira’s heart pounded. She looked from Matthew……to Salvatore.
Salvatore hadn’t moved. He simply stood there, one hand pressed against his bleeding shoulder, watching her quietly with his unreadable hazel eyes.
“Mira,” he called again, his voice softer this time.
Matthew tightened his hold on her hand. “Don’t,” he said. “Come with me instead.”
For several long seconds, nobody spoke.
Salvatore broke the silence. “My shoulder hurts, Mira,” he said quietly.
For some reason…Those words tugged her heart.
Her eyes dropped to the blood soaking through his tuxedo. Then she looked back at Matthew.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
Before he could answer, she gently slipped her hand from his. Matthew didn’t try to stop her again. He simply watched as she walked across the ballroom.
Each step carried her closer to Salvatore. Closer to the man she’d sworn to destroy. She stopped in front of him.
“You should be in a hospital,” she said quietly.
A faint smile appeared on Salvatore’s face. “I’ve been told.”
She stared at him, tears threatening to fall. “This isn’t funny.”
“I know.” He whispered
“You almost died,” Mira said, trying to steady her voice
For a brief moment, neither of them moved. Then Salvatore broke the silence. “ Am not easy to kill.” Mira looked up at him to see the grin on his face” asshole.” She muttered.
Salvatore laughed, then glanced past her. His eyes met Matthew’s across the ballroom. The smile on his face widened ever so slightly.
Without making a sound… He mouthed two words only Matthew could read.
She’s mine.
Matthew’s jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists at his sides. He didn’t look away. Neither did Salvatore. For one long, silent moment, the two men stared at each other across the ballroom.
Then Salvatore calmly looked back at Mira. “Shall we go?”
Without waiting for Matthew’s reaction, Antonio stepped forward, motioning for the guards to surround them.
Within seconds, they escorted Salvatore and Mira out of the ballroom, leaving Matthew standing alone, his eyes fixed on the doors as they closed behind them.
The cool night air hit Mira the moment they stepped outside. The flashing lights of security vehicles reflected off the wet stone driveway. Guards spread across the estate, barking orders into radios as others searched every inch of the grounds.
Someone was still out there. Someone who had walked into a room full of people… …and almost killed her.
Antonio opened the rear door of the car. “Get in,” he said.
Salvatore waited. Only after Mira slid inside did he follow, settling beside her with a quiet grunt as pain shot through his shoulder.
The door closed. For several moments, no one spoke. The only sound was the steady rain tapping against the windows and Salvatore’s uneven breathing. Mira stared at the blood spreading across his white shirt.
It was everywhere.
She looked away…. Then back again. “…You’re still bleeding,” she said quietly. “You need a hospital.”
“No.”
She turned to him.“No? Do you have a death wish? What the hell do you mean by no?”
“I have my own doctor,” Salvatore said, his eyes closed as his shoulder hurt. “And this can’t kill me; it’s a simple wound.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “A simple wound? You were shot. How is that simple?”
“I’ve survived worse.”
Her brows knitted together. “…That’s so tough, man bullshit or what? Is it something to be proud of that you survive something worse than a gun wound?”
“What I meant was you don’t have to worry about me.” He said softly, his finger brushing her cheek.
Antonio, seated in the front passenger seat, let out a tired sigh. “You two seriously want to argue right now?”
Neither answered. The car pulled away from the hotel. Mira glanced out the window. Behind them, Matthew still stood beneath the entrance lights.
He hadn’t moved. He simply watched the car disappear into the night.
Inside the car, Salvatore leaned his head back against the leather seat. His breathing had become noticeably slower.
Mira frowned. “You don’t look okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Mira shot back
“I’m alive.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
A faint smile touched his lips. “Are you really that worried?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
She folded her arms. “I’m worried because if you die before I expose you, I’ll never get my story.”
Antonio snorted from the front seat.
Salvatore actually chuckled. “Wow…”
“What?”
“You’re going all full reporter mode on me now, huh? I can’t wait to see how you would tell my story.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Another wave of pain crossed his face. This time he couldn’t hide it.
His jaw clenched. His fingers dug harder into the wound. Blood seeped between them.
Mira noticed immediately.
Without thinking… She reached over and pressed both hands firmly against his shoulder.
Salvatore stiffened. So did she.
For one longer moment… Neither of them moved.
Their eyes met. His were filled with surprise.
“So much for not worrying,” he murmured.
She immediately glared at him. “Shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Antonio looked at them in the rearview mirror and shook his head. “I swear the two of you are exhausting.”
Neither of them said a word. Mira kept pressure on the wound. She told herself she was only stopping the bleeding.
Nothing more. Yet every few seconds she caught herself looking at his face.
He looked paler than before. His breathing was growing heavier. The realization unsettled her.
“Antonio,” she said.
“What?”
“Drive faster.”
Antonio smiled to himself. “I already am.”
Salvatore looked sideways at her. “You don’t have to do this.”
She refused to meet his eyes. “I’m doing it because I don’t want blood all over this dress.”
He looked down at her hands pressing against his shoulder.
Then back at her face. A tired smile appeared.
“You’re such a darling.”
She didn’t say a word. But for the rest of the drive
She never once removed her hands from his wound.