Garden of Roses ✔️

Chapter 22

Zara

          I hear a gunshot and instantly feel a sharp pain in my abdomen right before my legs bend in the knees and I collapse onto the ground. The pain gets a hundred times worse in a matter of seconds, and I feel like I can't even breathe for a few moments.

My hands instinctively fly to the source of pain, touching the place where the bullet pierced my skin. My shirt is soaked and it feels unnaturally warm under my fingertips. When I raise my hand to look at it, I see that it's covered in blood.

I'm giving my best to breathe normally. The pain coursing through my body is making it extremely difficult. I can't move. I can't do anything except lay there and drown in the waves of agony.

Camilla and Dante materialize next to me and are now leaning over me to assess the damage. Camilla's face is wet with tears as she grabs two fistfuls of her hair when she looks down at where I was shot.

Dante doesn't hesitate before taking off his jacket and trying to stop the bleeding with it. I can't see exactly how bad it is. Soon, I feel the rest of my clothes get soaked, just like the front of my shirt. I highly doubt that is a good sign.

He has to roll me to my side and lift my upper body slightly so he can wrap the jacket around me. I can't help but hiss in pain at the slightest movement of my torso.

When he ties the jacket, it starts to hurt even worse because of the pressure. I guess that's necessary. The sounds around me are becoming muffled and I can't understand a word they're saying. The sound of ringing in my ears is only getting louder by the second.

My eyes catch a dark figure that is standing on the roof of the huge house. I blink a few times so my vision would become less blurry, and then I realize it's her.

Isabella is standing on the roof victoriously, her silver gun glistening in her hand.

Did she just call Dante sweetie? God, why am I even thinking about this right now? Were she and Dante close back when she worked for his father?

Okay, this is not the time to be thinking about this. I need to focus. What is happening? They're speaking, but I can only understand every fifth word.

If only my head wasn't throbbing, and if there wasn't for the irritating ringing in my ears, maybe I would be able to understand what was going on.

Are they just going to leave me here? I'm not an expert, but I think they should help me off the floor and into the car before I bleed out completely.

I feel Dante's arms wrap around me and I'm lifted from the ground. The movement almost forces me to pass out from the wave of sharp pain that shoots through my whole body.

I'm not able to even hiss this time. I don't have the energy. Camilla's face comes into view again. She has stopped crying. Now she looks pissed, even more than half an hour ago.

Camilla tries to smile at Dante, but even I know that the smile is fake. She is going to stay here to take care of Isabella.

Dante stands there with me in his arms until I hear Lorenzo say something behind us. Whatever it is, it makes Dante finally move. My head falls back, and I see trees moving above us. Or am I moving? I don't even know anymore. It makes me dizzy and I try to hold on to Dante, my arms falling back down lifelessly. He's saying something about letting me go, or not letting me go. I can't focus enough to comprehend what he's talking about. My eyes close and I'm enveloped in darkness again.