Chapter 7

Alora's POV

For a moment, everything froze around me as I watched Dante's bloody body being carried in, looking nearly lifeless. His skin was pale, and the sight of him in such a state sent a chill through me. I almost thought he was gone, but then I noticed the rapid rise and fall of his chest—a faint sign of life.

Suddenly, Bianca's voice pierced the atmosphere. "Oh my God, baby!" she screamed, rushing forward, her shoulder almost knocking me off balance as she shoved past. "Alora, what are you doing? Move!" Her urgency snapped me out of my daze.

We scrambled into the medical bay where we had treated Gianni earlier. The room filled with the scent of antiseptic, and the metallic clatter of instruments being set up echoed around us.

Bianca surprised me with her speed and precision. She was clearly skilled, though it was easy to forget that when I was used to her prickly attitude. If she wasn't so annoying, I might have even respected how quickly and smoothly she moved.

When Dante was finally stable, I attempted to sit by his side. But before I could reach the chair, Bianca shoved me hard enough that I stumbled back, landing painfully on the floor.

"What the hell, Bianca?" I snapped, wincing at the pain shooting through my lower back.

"Go somewhere else," she commanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

What the hell was she saying? If I left Dante, then who was going to take care of him? "Bianca, I'm sure you're forgetting that I’m supposed to take care of the patient. Where should I go?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She crossed her arms and glared. "I'll take care of him. He’s my boyfriend, Alora, not yours. I’ll be the one to stay with him."

Oh. Okay then. I couldn’t help but wonder why Bianca acted so insecure. She was gorgeous and confident, the kind of woman who could walk into a room and turn heads effortlessly. And then there was me—just plain Alora. But for some reason, she seemed to have this grudge against me, as if I were a threat. We hadn’t even known each other for six hours, and yet, she was already acting hostile towards me.

With a sigh, I walked out of the medical bay, exhaustion finally catching up with me. My eyelids drooped, and my body felt like it was carrying heavy stones. How long had I been awake? It was all starting to blur together—the tiring double shift at the hospital due to the accident victims on the freeway, Gianni's incident, and now Dante. There was only so much a nurse could take.

I made my way to my room, the bed looking like a cloud, pulling me in immediately. The second my body hit the mattress, I was out cold.

The next morning, sunlight flickered through the curtains, dragging me out of my deep sleep. I had forgotten to close them last night, and now the light was streaming in too brightly. I glanced at the clock—10:30. I bolted out of bed, heart racing as memories from the day before flooded back. Dante had been shot; I should be checking on him. But then Bianca's face flashed in my mind, and I let out a breath of relief. At least she was there, keeping watch over him. Funny, I never thought I’d be grateful for her presence.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "Alora, it's me, Gianni. How are you?"

His cheerful little voice brought a smile to my face. “Come in, Gianni,” I called out.

He stepped inside, his eyes widening as he looked at me. "You look tired. Are you sure you don’t want to rest some more? You didn’t sleep much last night.”

I laughed softly. "I’m fine, don’t worry."

He chuckled, his laughter starting out as a small sound but then turning into a full-blown laugh. “Well, Dante wants to see you,” he said.

I blinked in surprise. “Dante? He's awake already? How is he even awake? He took two bullets yesterday.”

Gianni's laughter only deepened, and he gave me a knowing look that made me feel like I was missing a crucial piece of information. “Alora, you’re so naive, aren’t you?” he said, shaking his head.

I frowned, trying to grasp his meaning. “What do you mean? If someone gets shot…”

"Alora, it's going to take more than two poorly aimed bullets to kill a mafia don, okay? More so the Don of the Italian Mafia. Chill, girl, you're in the mafia now. I think there's a lot you have to learn. Don't worry, I'll be there to teach you," Gianni said with a playful smile. He then grabbed my hand, pulling me along. "Okay, okay, let's go. We need to see Dante quickly, have breakfast, and then I'm taking you out on our first date."

I laughed at his words. This kid was going to be the death of me if I had to stay in this house much longer. "Oh, Gianni, I'll miss you when I'm gone," I said, then quickly clarified, "Not dead—just, I mean, gone back home, that’s what I mean." Just shut up, Alora.

We made our way downstairs and finally reached the living room. I was taken aback to see Dante sitting there, his hair tousled to one side, already dressed in a suit. "What in the... How is this even possible?" I muttered. Bianca was perched on one side of him, and on the other, there was a man with a mop of brown hair and a broad frame. I entered slowly, offering a polite greeting to the room, “Hello, everyone. How are you?”

The man—who looked very attractive and had ocean-blue eyes—smiled at me warmly. Bianca gave me a quick nod.

"Alora, can we talk?" Dante said. "You can have breakfast first, and then meet me in my office."

I nodded and then sat, but immediately, Dante got up to leave. Bianca turned to him. "Baby, remember what I said, right? I'll be traveling today, but I'll be back maybe by tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes as I turned to sit. As I turned around, I noticed the stranger at the table looking at me and chuckling. "It's nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

"I'm Alora," I replied, smiling and taking his hand.

"Everyone in the mafia knows the girl who saved the Don's brother."

"Really? I didn't know I was famous."

"Yes," he replied, winking. "I'm sure your news has gone as far as Congo."

I laughed. "Come on, don't be silly."

"No, I'm being serious. Your news is everywhere. In the mafia, of course. Don't worry, you have nothing to fear. I'm Luca. Luca Bellini. I'm Dante's cousin. The handsome man in the family."

I laughed again, but suddenly, I heard Dante's voice. "Alora, my office now!"

He was glaring at me, but I didn’t know what I had done. I quickly excused myself from the table without even eating and followed him to his office.

Once inside, he suddenly turned to me. "I want you to understand something, Alora."

"Yes?" I asked. "What is it?"

"You will stay away from the mafia men. You came here because you were not safe. You have no place in this life after everything is cleared up."

I furrowed my brows. Didn’t he say that once someone was in the mafia, they couldn’t leave? How on earth did I have no place here now?

"Okay, Dante. But I don’t know what you mean by staying away from the mafia men. I haven't even spoken to any of your men yet. And if I have to be a nurse, I would need to communicate—"

"Just shut up for once, Alora," he said, suddenly yanking me closer to him.

I gasped as his warm breath landed on my face. He towered over me a bit, but I wasn’t too short. Okay, fine, I was really short, so I had to strain to meet his eyes. None of us spoke a word for a moment, just staring at each other's faces. His lips looked really plump and inviting. I gulped as the thought of kissing a man I met yesterday crossed my mind.

Just as I leaned in, the door slammed open, and we jumped away from each other. Bianca strolled in, her eyes narrowed.

I stared at the floor, avoiding their gazes as I quickly walked outside. I was almost at the end of the hallway when sharp nails dug into my skin as Bianca pulled my arm.

"What was that, Alora?" she asked.

I feigned ignorance. "What?"

"You think I didn't see you trying to seduce my boyfriend? Stay away from him. In fact, let me make a promise to you today—you’re going to be leaving this place soon, and I promise you won’t be alive to know."

I watched her retreating form, feeling a knot form in my stomach. What did she mean? Was she really planning something? I had to be careful if I planned to leave from this place alive.