Page 17 of Wounded King

"Told you to kill the bitch first, that's what you get for having a bleeding heart for nurses," another man says. Shit, there are two.

It's past midnight. I should have been home hours ago, but since Marcello's surgery is tomorrow, I wanted to stay and make sure he got a good night's rest, especially after the fiasco with Waspo. Luciano is still in the cafeteria, and I have no clue where the four guards who are supposed to be standing outside are. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

All that runs through my mind as I clamp down on the stranger's calf, hard enough to draw blood.

A kick to the side of my head forces me to let go. Another kick lands in my side and has me coughing for air. That's it for me. I'm not some badass chick like in some of the action books I read. I'm just a nurse. And I'm in pain.

A shot rings out, and I scream, pressing both hands over my ears. I expect to feel more pain any second now.I'm sorry, Felix, pops into my head. So sorry. Hopefully, my sister will take him in.

Another shot.

At least Marcello is unconscious and has no idea what is happening. I can very well imagine what it would feel like for him lying immobile on the bed, knowing he's about to die, because that's pretty much where I am. Except, I'm notonthe bed, I'munderit.

A body slumps heavily to the ground. Two eyes stare sightlessly at me, while a red third sits in the center of his forehead. Blood slowly dribbles out. My hands move from my ears to my mouth as I try to choke down another scream.

Two more shots ring out, deafening me.

"Violet!" Luciano screams. At least I think he's screaming, it's hard to tell, because I can't hear much.

I want to crawl out from under the bed, but two bodies lie in front of it, barring my way, and I'm not about to crawl over them. Besides, I'm pretty much frozen in fear.

"Violet!" This time, I hear Luciano's voice a bit better.

Shhhh, the sound of the first body being moved aside, leaving a trail of blood and… brain. Bile rises in my throat.

Shhhh, the second body is being pulled away. His head moves, and I make out a gaping wound where his skull used to be. Brain matter splatters over the ground. As a trauma nurse, I've seen plenty of gory things, but this?

"Violet!"

A hand of steel clasps around my arm and pulls me out. "Are you alright?"

My head hurts.

"You're bleeding," he states, pulling gauze from the metallic bedside shelf where he must have seen me do the exact same thing every time I clean Marcello's wounds.

"I'm okay." I shoo his hand to the side and press the gauze against my wound. "How is Mr. Orsi?"

Something flickers in Luciano's eyes. Regret? Resignation? It looks sad, but it's come and gone so fast that I hardly notice it in my worry for my patient. Yes, patient, I tell myself, but I know I'm lying. There is no need to call myself out on it.

"He's fine. You saved his life." Luciano says, looking at Marcello in affection, avoiding my eyes.

"I did?" I wonder how? I was cowering under the bed.

"Whatever you did to delay their attempt to kill Marcello was enough time for me to get here."

"How did you know?"

"I was already on my way back, but I ordered the guards to talk to each other the entire time I was gone so that I would know everything was alright." He points at the little earbud that I had assumed was a headphone. Well, I suppose it is, but instead of filling his head with calming music like I had assumed, it kept him in contact with the guards.

"When they abruptly stopped, I knew something was up." Luciano finishes, and bile rises once again in my throat.

"They're dead?"

Luciano looks angry. "Yes."

"Drop your weapons," a woman yells as police officers swarm the room.

What follows is a shitshow. Six dead bodies need to be photographed, and whatever else police officers do at a crime scene.