Page 50 of The Diávolos: Part One
Xander is lying on his stomach next to Evan, his back covered with blood. I can’t see where his injuries start and end.
“What the fuck happened?” I shout to no one in particular, and I can feel anger bubbling inside of me.
Evan’s eyes flicker. He’s close to losing consciousness.Fuck.
“Whoever did this won’t get away with it,” I whisper, the rage seeping through my words. He squeezes my hand and tries to speak, but I stop him by putting my finger up to his mouth. “I need you to save your energy to stay alive. I’m not letting you leave me.”
Leon walks over and informs us that the doctor is on his way.
“Doctor?” I ask. I turn to Dion. “They need to go to ahospital. They are bleeding out, for God’s sake!” I shout, my tone clearly frantic.
“We can’t go to a hospital, Angelica. Do you know what they’ll do once they find out they’ve been shot? They’ll call the police and start a whole investigation, and that’s the last thing Evan needs.”
I don’t break eye contact with Dion. When my father used to tell his men not to go to the hospital, it usually meant that some shady shit was involved. I can’t help but wonder what Evan has gotten himself into. First, he brought me back to Academia, a club in the heart of Old Cebrene, an area controlled by the Vasilakis family. Could he be involved with them? Second, he behaved like he owned the place. Third, the basement looked like a torture dungeon. There’s something he’s not telling me, and I need to get to the bottom of it fast. My life might be in danger, and I already have enough on my plate from dealing with my father’s wrongdoings. I’m not letting anything come between me and my freedom again. For now, though, there’s only one thing that matters, and it’s making sure Evan comes out alive.
I nod and turn my attention back to Evan, who is drifting in and out of sleep and I grab his face. “Evan, please. Stay awake. Keep your eyes on me,” I plead. “The doctor will be here soon.”
I give instructions to Leon to keep Xander awake. He looks in much worse condition than Evan. It looks like he jumped in front of Evan to protect him. It would be heartbreaking if he didn’t make it.
Dion comes back with two wet rags and hands one to Leon and me. I run the cloth over Evan’s forehead, and he tries to smile. His mouth barely rises, but it makes me forget that my heart is bleeding.
I might not know what to call this thing between us, but my heart seems to know, and I can’t let him die in my arms.
A few minutes later, the doctor arrives with two helpers, and they immediately get to work setting up IVs and laying out all the equipment to start operating on the men.
They carefully place Evan and Xander on separate tables, give them some anesthetic, and start meticulously extracting the bullets from the wounds.
I sit at a table far enough to not interfere, but close enough that I can keep an eye on Evan. After a couple moments, it dawns on me that half of my top is missing, and my bra is exposed. I timidly cover myself with my arms.
I don’t know how I managed to do it, probably out of sheer panic, but I tore the top half of my dress almost to shreds to use on Evan, leaving me almost topless. I want to hide under a rock. I’m half-naked, while surrounded by strangers. Dion sees me fidgeting in my seat and joins me at the table.
“Here.” He takes off his suit jacket and tosses it at me.
“Thanks,” I say, avoiding all eye contact.
“Let’s agree not to remind Evan that I let you strip in front of us to save his life.” He chuckles nervously, playing with the collar of his shirt.
“It won't end well for you, huh?” I say, as I teasingly nudge his shoulder with mine.
“Nope. He’ll hunt me down and gouge my eyes out.”
“At least you’ve just confirmed he’s seven shades of crazy with everyone, and not only with me,” I state.
Dion shakes his head. “You’ve seen nothing yet, which is why I need you to do me this solid.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” I mime zipping my mouth shut, locking it, and throwing away the key.
He laughs and I suddenly remember how defeated Aria sounded the last time I spoke to her. He was the last person to see her, so I figure he might know something.
“Hey, did something happen with Aria when we were here a few nights ago?” I ask, innocently.
Dion awkwardly shifts in his seat. “Um, no. We stayed for a little while longer. Then, I took her home. Why?”
He’s acting suspicious. They’re both being secretive about that night, so there must be something they’re not telling me. “No reason. I spoke to her recently, and she seemed a little spaced out.”
“Well, nothing bad happened on my watch,” Dion confirms.
I nod and decide not to push the matter. I wrap Dion’s jacket tighter around my body and debate what to do or say next when he interrupts my thoughts.
