Chapter 39

Arianna POV: 

We were in the car on the way to the office just another morning, I looked down at my phone checking to see if any emails had come through yet. I looked up as we neared the office Becca was waiting for us with my coffee. 

Nothing was out of the ordinary until the explosion threw Becca into the street. The driver slammed on the brakes, and my chest slammed into the seatbelt, making my head rattle around like a rag doll. I gasped as the air had been knocked out of my lungs and I yanked at the seatbelt trying to get it off of me. Eventually, I remembered to press the button and I opened the car door running up the street. 

"Becca!" I screamed for her as I ran my breath still not there. "Becca," I ran up to her as she lay in the street the back of her jacket singed from the flames. 

She lay unconscious and I checked her pulse, she was still breathing I lay my head against her chest and she was still breathing. Her face had some serious road rash. I turned around to see Giovanni behind me he knelt, grabbed me by my arms pulled me away from her, and checked my face. 

"I'm alright," I confirmed for him, I looked over to the two gorillas that stood outside our door both on different sides of the door one was slumped over in an unnatural way, and the other was shaking his head, blood streaming down the side of his face. 

"The people inside," I told him he held onto me. 

"Help is on the way. You only hurt yourself by going inside," His tone commanded me to stay. I nodded and grabbed onto him. 

"Are you alright?" I asked him gripping onto his collar as we sat in the middle of the street. 

"Yes," He looked up at the building the flames roaring the glass shattered in the street around us, and people now wandering out. I saw the ache in his eyes and he gripped me closer, his jaw set. 

The timing was all too intentional. I knew Giovanni felt responsible. What I didn't expect was the same feeling to well up in me, I knew what would end this, all I had to do was go home. What would happen then? He would continue his plundering of this city, drugs would continue to pour in, and he would only grow richer. 

Becca was taken to the hospital and I went with her, Luca followed us, but Giovanni stayed behind to assess the damage. As we pulled away in the ambulance I saw Detective Mosley's car pull up and Giovanni storm up to the naive blonde man. 

I pitied him, all the fury Gio had was now pointed directly at him. Would the detective realize who was at fault now? 

I used to have such faith that the people in charge of justice knew what they were doing. It never crossed my mind they could be just as mindless as the rest of us. Now with the wool plucked from my eyes, I saw they were just as human as the rest of us, susceptible to gullibility. 

I sat by her side as they examined her watching over her. This awful pit in my stomach that if I left her, some horrible fate would befall her. I stood waiting behind the wall as they did a CT scan. I watched the nurses' and doctors' faces, and their smiles, I wondered which were sincere, and which were fake. Who was true, who was hired? 

Luca stood behind us the looming shadow keeping anybody who may get it into their heads to help my father in check. Mostly I saw pity, perhaps that was why I was filled to the brim with outrage. 

I held onto her hand glaring at all of them as they passed by their sullen faces, accepting their fate as the cannon fodder in this grudge match. For a second I thought they deserved it, letting this happen to themselves in the first place, if they didn't fight they might as well roll over and take it. I shook my head at myself looking over at her sleeping face, her left cheek scratched from gliding along the pavement. 

"Hi there," an aide came in. "Just here to get some vitals," he closed the door behind him and walked towards her. 

"Okay," I nodded until my mind recalled the other aide in here not 15 minutes ago. 

Luca noticed it too. "If I were you I'd leave before I got hurt," He stepped forward moving his jacket aside to show his gun. 

"I'm just here to get some vitals," the man held up his hands but his fear didn't reach his eyes as he scanned the room like he was looking for something to defend himself. 

I felt my heart race but instead of the ringing in my ears that had taken over me before, I put my arm over Becca leaning over her. 

"Get. Out," I ordered him. The man pulled a syringe from his side and came for me lunging with the needle and I didn't move staring at him as Luca slammed him against the wall he knocked the syringe from his hand and it fell on the bed I grabbed it and tossed it over without realizing exactly what I was doing. 

Luca caught it and drugged the man. He slumped down his struggles against Luca ceasing just as the door opened again, I turned ready to take on whoever entered but it was only Gio. 

He looked down at the sleeping fool his body tensing again. "That's it," He growled stomping over to the bed and taking Becca into his arms. "Come on," He told us I hastily grabbed her I.V. bag off the pole and laid in her lap as we hustled out of the hospital. 

"Hey!" A nurse called to us but we didn't stop. 

We got to the cars Giovanni laid Becca down and Luca got in beside her, he was so gentle it shocked me as he grabbed my arm in a vice grip running me off to the other car as fast as my legs could manage. 

"Giovanni," I snapped at him but he still tossed me into the car slamming the door as he stormed off to enter on the other side. He got in the car ordering it to the house in a rough manner. 

"Giovanni!" I snapped again. 

"I don't want a single soul in a mile radius that we don't trust, no one gets within 100 yards of the house without explicit instruction from me," He yelled. 

I grabbed his arm and yanked on it. "Giovanni! What are you doing?" I asked him. 

"I'm making sure this doesn't happen again," His voice was hot and smoky with the rage boiling in him. 

"She needs doctors," I reminded him. 

"And she'll get them!" He slammed his fist into the headrest in front of him. He looked over at me as I flinched and regret coldly splashed over him. "I'll get - I'll get a private doctor," He grabbed my hand, and kissed my knuckles in apology. 

I placed my hand on the side of his face, "It'll be okay," 

He nodded pulling himself together, if we were alone I could have sworn he'd let tears go. I stayed quiet beside him as we drove through the city, making our way to safety. When he helped me out of the car he was far more gentle, wrapping his arm around me. 

They set up Becca in a spare room, and over the course of an hour, it was transformed into a lavish hospital suite. Her heart was beating steadily we all sat on the couch staring at her. 

"I've called Zia Viola, she's furious," Giovanni rubbed his face. 

I didn't acknowledge he admitted they were related to him in front of me. 

"She'll be thankful her daughter survived," Luca stated. "Still I think it's best if she goes home for a while," 

"Agreed," Giovanni looked over at his younger cousin defeated. "She'll be against it, but I won't let her be killed for my cause," 

"I'll talk to her," I offered. 

Giovanni smiled at me nodding in appreciation, he stood up putting on his jacket. "Where are you going?" 

"To play our move," He asserted. 

I followed him down the stairs going to help him until I saw them drag in the aide from earlier, still unconscious he followed them down the stairs to the basement. 

"Go back to Becca," He didn't look at me his shoulders slumping and his head hanging. 

I walked back wondering how they would get the information they wanted this time. The face of that man lunging at me and Becca earlier, I thought of his determination, all for my father. He seemed ready to die for him. 

I hope he did 

I sat down beside her as she still lay there softly inhaling and exhaling, unaware of the chaos today had been.