Page 93 of Bellini Born

After what felt like forever, we finally reached the foyer, where several firefighters were hosing down the charred remains of the entryway. One of them shouted over his shoulder when he saw us, and more heavily geared rescue personnel rushed inside.

“Help her,” I croaked, windpipe raw.

Summer was hefted into the arms of one fireman and rushed out the door, while another assisted me in getting to my feet.

Hobbling on weak legs, I made it outside just in time to see Summer lying flat on a gurney that was lifted into the back of an ambulance before the doors slammed shut, obscuring her from view.

I stumbled in my haste to reach her before they took her away, but I wasn’t quick enough. Sirens pierced the still of the night, the emergency vehicle tearing down the driveway before turning the corner.

“Whoa, easy there.” The man at my side gripped my shoulder.

“Take me to her,” I demanded, my voice sounding rough, like I’d smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for a decade.

“We need to get you checked out,” he protested.

I made a feeble attempt at shrugging him off. “I’m fine.”

“With how long you were inside, you’ve suffered a fair amount of smoke inhalation. At the very least, you need oxygen.”

He didn’t fucking get it! Summer was the very air I breathed. There wasn’t any medical intervention that could replicate the pure oxygen she injected into my lungs by simply existing.

“I’ve got this,” Enzo interjected, speaking to the firefighter keeping me upright. My cousin placed both hands on my face. “You got her out. You did that.”

“She’s hurt.” That admission rolled up a throat lined with razor blades.

“She’s in good hands. Let the medics check you over, and we can follow behind her.”

I couldn’t shake the memories of rushing to the hospital less than a year ago, only to receive the most devastating news a person could get.

“What if—” I swallowed roughly. “What if when I get there . . .” The end of that sentence hung in the air, the words too terrifying to even utter aloud.

“Don’t think like that.”

How could I not when I’d already lost one partner due to a tragic accident?

His brown eyes, which matched mine, softened. “Come on. Bet we can convince them to treat you while using those fancy sirens to get you to Summer even faster.”

I let him urge me toward the waiting ambulance. “The girls?”

“Safe and sound and staying warm in the back of one of the SUVs. They’ve been cleared by the EMTs. Rico’s going to take them and Teresa to the penthouse.”

Good. Knowing they were being well cared for allowed my mind to be fully focused on Summer.

I only prayed I hadn’t gotten to her too late. Not sure I would survive it if that were the case.

“What do you mean, I can’t see her?” My fist came down on the reception desk, making my frustration known.

The woman sitting behind it didn’t even flinch. “Are you family?”

“Well, no,” I confessed, agitated beyond measure.

“Then, I’m sorry, sir, but my hands are tied. It’s hospital policy that only immediate family members are allowed to accompanypatients into triage. That means parents, siblings, spouses, and children.”

I scoffed. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“Matteo Bellini. That ring a bell? My family—our businesses—have donated entire wings inside this hospital.”