The Guest

Playlist for this Chapter: Don't Blame Me by Taylor Swift, Enemy by The Score.

* DOVE *

I stood there frozen, Nico's reassuring smile faded when he realized I wasn't looking at him.

"What a sight." His voice echoed as he clapped his hands and Nico turned around, tearing his gaze from my terrorized face and to the man behind. His lips curled in distaste.

"Is she going to walk down the stairs now? And I assume you'll be waiting for her at the bottom ready to whisk her away right?" He chuckled, an evil grin on his face as his gaze finally landed on me.

"Hello darling. We meet once again." Giovanni said, his voice echoing in the quiet hall and making chills run down my spine. My steps faltered as I walked backwards slowly.

Just then he whipped his gun out from his back and pointed it at me, and all the men with Nico including his cousins and uncles pointed their guns at Giovanni, including Nico.

Oh shit.

However, Giovanni wasn't alone. He had an equal number of men behind him all pointing their guns at me.

"Leave Dove." I heard Nico's cold voice from below but he didn't look at me. Valentino grabbed my arm and pulled me up but we froze in place when a gunshot was heard.

"The girl will stay." Giovanni said and looked at me. "Come down darling. Or your sweet Nico dies." He gestured to Nico and now half his men pointed their guns at Nico and half at me.

"No." Nico said and I could feel the power radiating from him, his dangerous aura as I pulled way from Valentino.

He was the Don of the Italian Mafia now. Not Nico.

"Leave Dove." Jake's voice resounded in the hall and Giovanni glanced at him.

"Oh hello brother, didn't see your there." He told Jake who scowled.

"I'm not your brother. Not anymore." Jake said but Giovanni shook his head.

"Alright, alright, no need to get feisty." He said and looked at me again and cocked his head to the side as his eyes raked over my body.

"I see you're still the same darling. I can see why Ace is so infatuated with you. Come here now." he said but Nico growled.

"Keep your eyes off of her or I'll gauge them out. You came to talk, let's talk." Nico said.

"Oh but I came for one thing only." He said and glanced at me intently. "Her." He said and someone suddenly knocked Valentino out and grabbed my arm.

"Nico!" I shouted but my screams got muffled when the man put his large hand on my mouth. Nico looked back suddenly and his eyes widened with anger.

"Let her go!" He bellowed and a gunshot went off. The man holding me fell to the ground with a thud and I saw Matteo had killed him.

Oh god, not again.

"Run Dove!" Stuart shouted and I sprinted up the stairs when gunshots resounded in the hall. Just as I turned to the hallway to Nico's room a man caught my arm and shoved me to the floor.

I fell and winced when pain shot through my legs, but before I could do anything, the man grabbed me along with another one and carried me down.

The hall was like a battlefield as bullets whizzed past us. I screamed and thrashed around but the two men held me tightly.

When Nico's uncle Stefano saw us he aimed his gun at the men holding me and managed to injure one of them, only to be replaced by two others.

I saw the a gun on the floor as we reached the end of the staircase. And I knew this was my only chance. I suddenly lifted my leg with a lot of force and hit the man who tried to grab my legs, and heard a crack when his nose made impact with my foot, making him fall back.

The sound of satisfaction.

I twisted myself causing the arms of the man who was holding me to twist as well, making him loosen his grip on me and punched him square in the face.

Another man came running at me and I eyed the gun that was a little behind him. So I ran to him, but when he came close I slid down across the floor and from under his legs, stopping just in front of the gun.

Thank god these floors are slippery.

I quickly loaded it, turning around and shooting him in the leg. His scream echoed in the hall and for a moment everyone's eye fell on me, including Nico.

A gunshot was heard, making me fall to the floor on instinct on my stomach as the bullet whizzed over my head and I rolled aside, getting up again to shoot the man who shot at me, right in his shoulder.

He groaned and fell on the floor, clutching his shoulder as blood poured out.

They looked taken aback for a moment but I smirked, kicking the next man who tried to grab me, in the face as he stumbled backwards holding his nose and I shot his arm.

The fight continued and I saw people taking cover, fighting for their life and in the array I saw Giovanni and Nico wrestling each other.

I kicked the man who had taken down Matteo and was choking him and Matteo shot him in the head. I helped him up and he looked at me shocked.

"Badass." He said and I smirked, as we walked over to help the others.

Stuart was trying to fend off another man and was injured. Blood was oozing out of his leg and I grabbed a vase from a nearby table and ran to the man who was shooting at Stuart, hitting the vase over his head with all the force I had, knocking him unconscious.

I ran to Stuart and helped him up, putting his arm over my shoulder and carried him to a safe corner out of view.

"Stay here, you're hurt." I told him and he nodded, wincing in pain and clutching his leg, his face drenched in sweat.

I grabbed a piece of table cloth from a random table and ran to him, tying his wound tightly.

"Thanks." he said breathless and I nodded, turning my back on him and returning to the others. A man charged at me with a knife but I dodged it, grabbing his arm and twisting it, so that the knife dropped from his hand.

Good god these men are so immature.

He tried to punch me from his other hand but I ducked, quickly grabbing the knife and stabbing him the stomach with it and he fell to the floor as I retracted the knife back making blood flow out of his stomach and mouth as he fell on the ground.

I walked over him and saw Giovanni pointing a gun a Nico who was unarmed. Without hesitation, I aimed and swung my arm just like I'd learned and threw the knife with such force that it whizzed past people and landed straight in Giovanni's thigh, who screamed in pain.

I grabbed a gun from the floor and shot a couple times at him, but he dodged the bullets, but luckily one hit him in the same leg I stabbed him and he fell down, looking at me with hate in his eyes.

That's right asshole, that's payback.

Nico punched his face, but before he could do anything further, one of Giovanni's men shot Nico and the bullet hit him in the stomach, making him fall to the floor in a puddle of blood.

My soul dropped out of my body when I saw his pale face, the fear of losing him enveloping me completely.

I can't lose him. Not now, not ever.

The same man who shot Nico now loaded his gun and pointed it at Nico's head as and without thinking I shot the man in the head. Killing him. He was hovering over Nico, about to finish him but I killed him.

I killed someone.

I ran to Nico, who was loosing a lot of blood. I took his pale face in my hands, tears blurring my vision as I screamed for help. The sounds of gunshots slowly disappeared and Matteo and Salvatore came running to me.

"Please, you have to help him, he's been shot!" I said and both of them lifted Nico up, grabbing either side of him and carrying him up the stairs. Everyone was gone. Dead bodies and the stench of blood everywhere.

I saw Nico's men and remembered Stuart was injured too. When I was sure Nico was taken care of, I saw Valentino who ran towards me in a worry.

"Are you alright Donna?" He asked and I nodded quickly.

"Call the doctor, Nico's been shot and Stuart too. Tell him to bring help. Many men are injured. Hurry!" I told him and he nodded and ran off while I ran toward where Stuart was.

He was still in the same corner, his eyes closed as he breathed with difficulty. I helped him up and he leaned his weight on me while I led him to a spare bedroom.

"Come on now Stuart, don't die on me. I really don't want to face Adriana's wrath." I tried to tell him as I laid him down on the bed and he cracked a small smile.

"Tell... tell Adriana that I.. I love he-..." I shushed him and shook my head.

"No. You tell her yourself. Not me, you." I said and he nodded, breathing hard when a doctor came in running with Valentino close behind.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked the doctor who was bandaging Stuart's leg.

"He needs to rest, but yes, he'll live." He said and I sighed in relief.

"Donna, the Don was asking for you. You should go, I'll stay here. He's in the the room at the far end of the hallway." Valentino said and I nodded, taking one last look at Stuart before running out and into the said room.

As soon as I entered, I saw Nico sprawled on hospital bed with multiple I.V's attached to him and a doctor bandaging his wound.

His face was deathly pale, his hands and clothes covered with blood as he struggled to breath. My heart clenched at the sight but I swallowed the emotion.

"Is the bullet out?" I asked and everyone looked at me. Matteo nodded solemnly.

"Then what's wrong?" I asked and walked over to Nico quickly, taking his hand. He offered me a weak smile and I looked at the doctor.

"What's wrong?" I asked the doctor again who frowned but Nico squeezed my hand.

"Nothing my love, I'm fine, see? You saved my life. I'm fine now." He said but I didn't believe him and looked to the doctor instead.

"I swear if you don't tell me I'll shoot you myself." I said and the doctor looked at me horrified, matching the faces of Nico's uncles and cousins and his men.

Nico chuckled but then winced in pain and I shot him a glare.

"Shut the fuck up Nicholas and keep quiet." I looked at the doctor now who gulped and glanced at Nico then at me.

"He.. He has a rare blood type, AB negative. And he's lost a lot of blood. But no one's in the family matches his." He said and my heart dropped as I looked at his uncles and cousins.

"No one?" I asked but they shook their heads solemnly, when it dawned on me.

"Wait. Take mine." I said and the doctor frowned.

"Your blood type?"

"O." I said and a flicker of hope passed across his face and everyone's face lit up.

"No. You're already weak." Nico said but I glared at him.

"If you know what's good for you Nicholas you'll stay quiet." I said and he shut up, his lips in a thin line. I pulled my sleeve up and gestured towards the doctor.

"How much does he need?" I asked.

"Three bottles. Maybe more." He said and I nodded decisively.

"Do it." I said and the doctor carefully drew blood from my body and plunged it into Nico. They drew nearly four bottles from me and the effect could be seen on my face that had now paled and I felt dizzy, but I tried my best not to show it.

Not now Dove, don't give up now.

Nico's face gained its color back a bit and looked much better than before. I stood up carefully when we were done and walked to him, cupping his cheek. He covered his hand with mine and smiled faintly.

"Thank you. Now you saved my life twice now." He said and I chuckled.

"Yup. And now you owe me two wishes." I said proudly and he smiled, kissing my hand.

"Anything for you my love." He said and Matteo chuckled. I blinked my eyes a few times as my vision became hazy suddenly.

"Are you okay my love?" Nico asked and I released his hand, clutching my head as black dots begin to cloud my vision.

I heard their worried voices but they came out muffled, and I tried squinting my eyes but nothing worked.

"Dove?" He said again as I swayed dangerously and fell back, bumping into a table making the things on it fall off, but luckily Matteo caught me before my head hit the floor, and everything faded as I fell back into the abyss I'd crawled out of.

But I don't regret anything I did today. Nothing at all.

I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.