Cautious (Sequel to Disastrous) (28 page)

With a steady aim on him, I stopped running but continued in a
rapid stride toward him. “No, but once I was asked if I wanted to be a part of
bringing you down, I didn’t have a second thought.”

He saw I wasn’t stopping, so he cocked back his gun, but before
he could pull the trigger, I shot at his hand. His gun, along with a few bloody
fingers, fell to the floor. He shrieked as he gripped his wrist in shock. “You
fuckin’ cock.
FUCK
!” He huddled over,
wincing in pain. I continued running with the gun still aimed at him. Laughing,
he stood slanted, squeezing his arm, trying to hold back the rapid bleeding.
“You know,” he grimaced through clenched teeth as he spat, “I’m glad I pulled
that fuckin’ trigger on your girl. Now she can fuckin’ join that two-faced
brother of hers.” He spat at the ground and laughed at me as he weakly stumbled
back.

Everything around me went red. All I could see was the fuckin’
cocky smirk on his face. One foot in front of the other, I charged at him with
every quick step I took. I knew I was closer, but it wasn’t fast enough. My
legs quickened and I sprinted at him. The moment I was close enough, I
tightened a fist, cranked my arm back and swung it directly at his face. There
was a loud crack as my knuckle smashed against his nose. Lou’s head jerked back
at the contact, forcing him to stumble a few steps.

With his eyes wide, he snapped his head forward. He glared at me
with intense and vicious eyes at the unexpected blow. Blood gushed out of his
nose. His jaw tensed, and the veins on his neck popped out in rage. His body
shook with adrenaline. “You’re a fuckin’ dead man, Marky. Dead!” He came after
me, but I didn’t give him a chance as I smashed my fist against his face again.
Crack.

And again.

Crack.

And again.

Crack.

With each blow, he was forced back until he was against the brick
wall.

I gripped his neck with one hand, squeezing it tightly, forcing
every fucking breath he had out of him. His eyes bulged out of their sockets;
he let out a desperate gasp for air. Gripping the sides of his face with both
hands, even with the gun I held pressed against the side of his cheek, I began
slamming his head against the brick wall. “You’re the fuckin’ dead man, Lou!” I
spat as I cracked his head against the concrete wall. “You’ll never see another
fuckin’ day.”

Crack! I grunted as I did it again. Hatred for this man was drilled
into every fiber of my being. I wanted nothing more than to suck the life out
of him.

His eyes fluttered with each blow of the head, but it didn’t
deter him from chuckling one last time. “I saw her gasp for air as she took her
last breath.”

Reaching my boiling point, I lifted my other hand, placed the barrel
of the pistol against his lips, and shoved it down his throat, causing his
teeth to shatter from the force. “I want to see your fuckin’ brain splattered
against the fuckin’ wall, your blood drenched against my fuckin’ skin, and your
dead body on the fuckin’ ground right along with the scum where you belong. Soon
no one will know who the fuck Lou Sorrento ever was!” My finger steadied
against the trigger, I breathed out a lopsided smirk, and that was the last
image he saw. Without a second thought, I yanked at the trigger.

BANG!

Just like that, the last I saw of Lou Sorrento were his eyes bulging
wide open as the bullet pierced his brain and the residue splattered against
the wall. His body dropped to the ground the moment I let go of the hold I had
on him.

Looking at his lifeless body lying on the ground, I spat on him.
All of the rage and disgust I felt for him was displayed in that one final
gesture. Turning my back on him, the meaning of his words finally sank in. I
ran fast. I ran hard—back to the woman I loved. There was no way she was
fucking gone.

As I entered the room, my blood was still pumping with adrenaline
from what just happened. I blinked a few times as the cloud of smoke from the
gunfire filled the room. My eyes searched for the one person I feared for the
most. It was a rampage and guns continued to fire. I quickly ran around
searching but could not find that familiar face.

My heart picked up its pace as I hovered over lifeless bodies and
held a tight grip on the gun in my hand, ready for anyone who got in the way.
As I continued my search, I finally spotted Jimmie. He was kneeling on the
ground, hovering over someone. My throat closed, and my entire body stilled as
I saw the person before him. For a mere second I grew faint but managed to
force my trembling legs toward them.

Jimmie quickly turned and aimed his gun at my approach. His mouth
dropped opened in relief at the sight of me. Tears swelled in his bloodshot
eyes, and breathing heavily, he stared at me, ready to break. “I’m so sorry. I
tried, but I . . .
Fuck! I fuckin’ tried . . .
” Immediately, he turned
his attention back to the person before him. “Come on, don’t do this to me.”
With bloody hands, he pressed against the wound as he grunted. My body
shuddered, terrified as I leaned over his shoulder to have a closer look.

My heart was ripped out of my chest as I gasped. My mind was
screaming and yelling, but I stood mute. I collapsed beside Jimmie, and the gun
I held dropped onto the cement floor, making a distant clinking noise. Forcing
Jimmie aside, I looked down and witnessed the one person that I loved more than
anything in the world covered in blood. I couldn’t breathe as my beloved was
gasping for a last breath. I watched as the face of my truelove turned slightly
blue while she continued to gulp for air, and then her eyes locked with mine
before her lids shut closed and her jaw spread open.

Traumatized by what I was witnessing, my throat collapsed as fear
coursed through my veins. Reaching down, I gathered up her body and pulled it into
mine. With a shaky hand, I tried to locate the gunshot wound.

I shook my head viciously. This could not be happening. This had
to be another nightmare.
I’m not going to lose you. Come on, wake up. Come
on, wake up!
My eyes blurred with tears, and I blinked them away as I
brought that face against my chest. “Come on, baby . . . Come on, you need to
get up.” With bloody hands, I caressed her soft, perfect skin. I tried to wipe
the blood off, but it continued to smear along her perfect cheek bones.

I wanted to scream from the top of my lungs as I rocked back and
forth, trying to keep myself from breaking down. I wanted so badly to be
strong. There wasn’t much I could do, but I needed to do something as I pressed
my fingers along her soft eyelids. “Come on, baby, open your eyes. Just wake up
for me.” AHHH! I needed to do something. I was useless! The love of my life was
motionless and helpless, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I felt a hand press firmly against my shoulder, pulling me away,
telling me that help was close by.

But help wasn’t there at that moment. Something needed to be done
now! “No, I have to do something. I have to at least try.” Still rocking, I
pressed my lips against the frigid lips that I had kissed a thousand times
before, those perfect lips that used to make all my worry and stress disappear
once they touched mine.

In between small gentle kisses, I began CPR. “Come on, baby,
don’t leave me. I need you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

MARCUS

“Sir, we need you to step aside.” A paramedic shoved at
my shoulder as he and his partner hurried to Mia.

With hefty breathing, I stayed kneeling beside Mia as I watched
them quickly work on her. They both lifted her body onto a stretcher. One held
a hand at the wound while the other placed an oxygen tube against her face.
Everything was happening fast as they rushed out of the building. I quickly
followed behind as I heard them discussing medical terminology that I couldn’t
understand. “Hemothorax” and “chest tubes” were mentioned.
What the fuck was
going on?

In the ambulance, the female paramedic quickly lifted Mia’s shirt
and swiped a cloth along her rib to clean the blood. Then she cut small
incisions along the fourth and fifth ribs. The male paramedic handed his
partner a couple of tubes. He placed the first tube in one incision and the
other tube in the second. Blood drained quickly from one of the tubes. “W-what
are you doing?”

The female nodded at her partner, who hopped into the driver’s
seat. “Sir, I need you to come in or stay back. We have to get to the ER now.”

I quickly jumped in and took a seat along the bench. The sirens
went on and the ambulance moved at a rapid speed. Mia gasped for air as her
chest expanded. My chest expanded along with hers in a sigh of relief. “Is she
going to be okay?”

“I don’t know, sir. It’s hard to determine how severe the injury
is at the moment. She’s lost a lot of blood. The gunshot appears to have pierced
her lung. The tubes right now are helping her breathe. They are removing the
blood that filled her lungs as well as pumping in air that she cannot breathe
on her own.”

“B-but she’ll be okay, right?” I couldn’t help the desperation in
my tone. I just needed to know she’d be okay. I needed to know that she’d wake
up in a few hours and I could hold her again. I needed to know that I was not
losing her.

I just needed . . . her.

Before I knew it, the ambulance came to a complete stop, the back
doors opened wide, and they pulled the stretcher out, rushing her into the
hospital. I hurried behind them, but I didn’t have a chance to look at her one
last time. They were too quick for me as they hurried out the doors. I stood there,
breathless, as my entire world came crumbling down.

***

As the minutes ticked by, my desperation increased. My
clothes were splattered in blood, and I wasn’t sure whose it was anymore. I sat
in the waiting room with other families surrounding me, waiting to hear the
news about someone they loved as well. Despite all of the hustle and bustle,
the only sound I heard was the clock ticking, second by second, minute by
minute.

My legs bounced in place. I ripped my nails apart as I chewed at
them savagely. The waiting game was excruciating, and I couldn’t take it
anymore. I was going fucking insane. I plopped my head back against the wall
and let out another groan in frustration. It had only been ten minutes since I
last asked for an update, but it felt like hours ago. When I thought to ask
again, the doors burst open. Glancing over, I saw my mother and Jimmie rush
through them.

I stood in place and waited as my mother with teary eyes ran over
to me. She threw her arms around me. As she trembled in my arms and sobbed, I
tried to keep myself from breaking down. I exhaled deeply and held tightly on
to her. I needed to comfort her, to keep myself from joining her in her
meltdown. “It’s going to be okay, Mom,” I whispered.

She pulled back with wide green eyes and sniffed. “She’s going to
be okay? You’ve heard from the doctors?” I shut my eyes and breathed slowly and
steadily as I shook my head.

“Oh, Marcus . . .” She leaned in and wrapped her arms around me
again.

Jimmie approached us. “Any news?” After I shook my head again, he
gently nodded to express his understanding, and sat down in one of chairs.

“You must be hungry, baby.” My mother pulled away and reached
into her purse. After she pulled out a tissue from her bag, she swiped it along
her cheekbones. “I’ll grab you guys something to eat.” She went to turn.

“Mom, please, food is the last thing on my mind. I’m not hungry.”

Her eyes saddened. “Marcus, I need to do something. Let me feed
my boys.” That was her way of keeping her mind occupied, a way to try and soothe
the wrong. I nodded, and just like that, she quickly dashed through the doors.

“Vinnie is pissed the hell off.” Jimmie said in a harsh whisper
as he looked around the room. I sat beside him and ran a frustrating hand down
my face.

“The last thing I give two fucks about right now is Vinnie and
his fuckin’ crew.”

“Yeah, well, how are they going to explain a dead fuckin’ Lou in
the hidden street behind the club? When the surveillance video shows you
running after him out of the building and then coming back minutes later with
blood all over you?”

I shut my eyes, and through clenched teeth, I spat, “Well, if I
recall, brother, you were the one that insisted I fuckin’ go after him. What
did you expect? For us to come back holding hands singing ‘Kumbaya’?”

“This is fuckin’ serious, Marcus.” He leaned over his thighs,
placing his elbows on his knees, shoving his hands over his head. “All of it was
worthless. We’re fuckin’ screwed either way!”

“I’ll take care of it.”

His head snapped up with wide eyes. “Oh yeah? And how do you
expect to do that? By spending the rest of your life locked up?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“Jesus, Marcus, what’s gotten into you?”

“What’s gotten into me, Jimmie? Out of all people, I would think
YOU would know what I’m going through right now. After what you went through
with Cynthia? My mind is racing thinking that the doctor will come out and tell
me that I lost the one person I’ve ever loved. My heart is shattered at the
thought that I may never touch or feel her again. My body is swamped with guilt
because, if I’d just told her from the beginning what we were doing, she would
have never shown up to the bust, and we would not be here right now. So spare
me a fuckin’ lecture, Vinnie, about what all the FBI agents or even you think I
should have done differently. I’m trying hard as hell to control everything and
hold it all in and not break down right now. I’m trying to be strong for her,
and if she gets out of this alive, I’m trying to find a way to beg her to
forgive me for all that I’ve done, because in the end she was always too good
for me. In the end, I never deserved her. She never deserved any of this.
That’s
what’s gotten into me.”