Emergency.
1144 Words
"Stefano!" shouted his mother, concerned in the midst of the situation they had gotten into.
That confrontation wasn't a coincidence; the woman with jewelry around her neck was on the verge of tears seeing the disaster.
Luckily, nothing had happened to him, apart from staining his clothes with the blood of the girl who had been injured in his place.
That situation made everyone feel uncomfortable.
"I'm fine, mother," the man replied, sensing that something didn't fit.
In the end, those who tried to attack him had to flee upon realizing that their bodyguards were quite capable and well-armed.
This lasted for at least twenty minutes during which tension was palpable, and they even called the police for assistance. People were all evacuating the area, crouching in fear of being in the dangerous zone.
Natalia was on the table where the Mancini family had intended to have a quiet dinner.
"What will we do with her?" Lucca, one of Stefano's younger brothers, finally asked.
"We'll figure it out, Lucca. It's not the right time," Giulio replied, truly fed up with the situation involving the eldest among them, as they couldn't catch a break for even a moment.
Ever since their father had dealt with an Arab group in a business deal gone sour, everything had gone from bad to worse.
Now they were considering eliminating the son who would inherit the real estate agency.
At that moment, Stefano had to grab the weapon he always carried and threaten the opposing group, as he wouldn't tolerate such acts in front of his family, especially not in front of his mother.
He fired a few warning shots, hitting one of the men.
The opposing group retreated, realizing they were outnumbered. They vanished like a smoke bomb, disappearing before the police arrived at the scene.
They were just a group of thugs, but they could very well be part of any mafia network, given their conspicuous red tattoos.
Stefano's younger brothers were surprised to see him open fire without hesitation.
"You had a gun this whole time?!" Lucca asked, alarmed, holding his head below table level in a crouched position due to what he had witnessed.
"It shouldn't surprise you," Stefano replied, holstering the weapon in a concealed holster they hadn't managed to detect.
"Of course it's surprising. Where did you learn to shoot?" Giulio asked with a furrowed brow.
The mother of these men was truly shocked by all the violence they were experiencing at that moment; she couldn't believe it.
"What matters is that everyone is okay," she retorted, trying to stop trembling.
"Not everyone..." Lucca replied, looking at the unconscious girl on the table.
"Damn," Stefano commented, running a hand through his hair, stressed.
He approached the girl to inspect her wound and make sure she was still alive.
"Is she even breathing?" Giulio asked.
"She's alive. It was just a shoulder shot, exit wound. She can recover," Stefano clarified.
"What's the plan? We can't let the police see this scene. You're carrying a gun, for God's sake," Lucca continued his panicked speech.
"We can take her with us, I suppose," the dark-haired man replied.
"You suppose?!" Giulio chimed in, playing along with the younger one.
"Enough already!" the mother interjected, truly tormented by what they had gone through in that short span of time. "Do you want us to take her to the hospital? That would put us in the spotlight, whereas this is still something we can control."
"You can't be serious, mother," Giulio persisted.
"I think it's the most sensible option. We can cooperate with the police. They know we're not the ones they're looking for. As for me, they can investigate all they want. I defended myself and you two ingrates," Stefano spoke with a furrowed brow.
He approached the girl's body again to stop the bleeding with several cloth napkins from the restaurant, tied together.
No one said another word.
When the police arrived, everyone gave their version of the story, including the employees and remaining people in the establishment.
The officers knew not to mess with that family; it would be a big problem for them.
The officers understood the whole situation and after identifying the girl's body, they allowed her to leave with the Mancini family for more private medical attention.
Of course, it was an agreement on both sides. Stefano knew he was partly responsible for the fact that the girl had been shot.
He should have suspected something when he saw those suspicious people in the restaurant.
He was to blame for not telling his bodyguards, but he could do nothing more than provide whatever medical help he could to the girl.
Once in the car, they arranged for a private ambulance to pick up the girl and take her to the mansion.
"And after she recovers, what then? You think she won't say anything about us?" Giulio wanted to know.
"We can always bribe her," Stefano said, his words devoid of remorse.
"Well, I had forgotten how disposable women are to you."
"It's not my fault you haven't gotten a girlfriend yet, Giulio. Drop the subject," Stefano bitterly retorted.
"You didn't have to say that," Giulio commented, then fell silent for the rest of the drive to the mansion.
Upon parking by the entrance, they all got out and noticed the ambulance was already there.
Stefano felt obligated to check on the girl's condition, so after being attended to by the housekeeper, he decided to go upstairs.
There was something about her that seemed strange and attractive at the same time.
He climbed the stairs to the second floor and knew she was in the room at the end of the hallway, which had its door open.
He decided to knock a couple of times out of politeness to the health staff.
One of the nurses came out to attend to him.
"Good evening, sir," she said a bit nervously. "Do you want to know how the patient is doing?"
"Good evening. Yes, of course."
"Everything is under control; however, she'll need plenty of rest, proper nutrition, and specific medications."
"Okay, that's a relief. Just put it all on my tab, please."
"I understand. Do you know any of the girl's family? They might be worried," the nurse commented.
"When she wakes up, I'll make sure she contacts her family. Don't worry."
The woman nodded.
"You can visit her tomorrow morning," the professional suggested.
"Perfect, I'll do that."
Stefano couldn't help but glance into the room as the woman turned around.
Inside, he saw the girl with long hair lying on a gurney, attended to by doctors working on her skin.
That skin looked so soft that suddenly his hands itched to touch it.
He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and headed to his own room.
He'd see her in the morning.
- Writer
