Revenge | A Steamy Mafia Bad Boy Romance (14 page)

Chapter 17

  Amber rubs her palms over her eyes as she coughs before spitting the last of what came up into the toilet bowl.

  She stands up, walking over to the sink and turning on the tap before sinking her head down into the sink and sucking in some of the cool running water to swish around her mouth.

“If I could stop throwing up for a second, that’d be great.” She whispers to herself, as she wipes the back of her shaking hand against her mouth.

  She holds herself up against the bathroom counter, closing her eyes as she takes breath after breath, desperately trying to relax herself.

  Well, this is it.” She says, opening her eyes and looking at herself in the mirror. “I can’t turn back now.”

  She walks over to the toilet, cringing as she flushes it before sitting on the side wall of the bathtub.

“I’m just glad my parents came to their senses and left.” She says, scratching an itch under her ponytail before standing back up and walking towards the bathroom door.

  She steps out of the bathroom, before walking down the stairs, taking ginger steps in an attempt to keep herself quiet.

  Amber walks into the kitchen, making her way towards the sink. She picks a cup off the counter and turns on the tap to fill it.

“They’ll be here any second…” She whispers to herself as she puts the cup under the running water. “And then…Whatever happens, happens, I guess. But at least it will be over.”

  She leans her butt against the counter as she sips from the cup, the small gulps of water easing her nausea.

“Oh my, God…” She whispers under her breath as she hears a quiet knock on the back door.

  She places the cup back onto the counter before nervously gliding over to the door at the other side of the kitchen that leads into her backyard.

  Amber hesitates, her entire body fighting to reject her every command as she slowly reaches for the doorknob as another light knock happens.

  She bites the inside of her lip as she swings the door open, stepping back as six or seven men rush past her and very quickly place themselves around her front room.

“Is that the money?” She asks, watching as a man places a large briefcase on the kitchen table in full view of the front door.

  She jumps as she feels someone’s warm hand wrap around hers and she quickly turns to see Johnny as he begins to pull her close to him.

  “Johnny, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do…” She whispers to him as their embrace breaks.

  He grips the tops of her arms gently as he rubs his palms up and down them as he kneels down to look into her eyes.

“Answer the door. That’s all. Answer the door, let them in and then disappear.” He says, placing a small kiss on her forehead. “Go upstairs and hide in the bathtub. Go into the basement. It doesn’t matter… just back up, we’ll surround them and then you run and hide as fast as you can. And don’t come out for any reason until I come and get you.”

“Are you sure?” She asks, frantically nodding her head as her stomach flips and the room begins to spin.

“Open the door. Back up. Run away.” He repeats, his voice soft and husk. “Don’t worry about anything else, alright?”

  She nods before stopping and sucking in her breath as the whole room falls silent as someone knocks on the front door.

“I’m so scared…” She whispers, her worried eyes looking at Johnny.

“It’s alright, you’ll do great.” He whispers back to her as he gently pushes her forward towards the door.

  She looks back towards Johnny, watching his head nod up and down with reassurance as he crouches down, raising his gun towards the front door.

  Amber works up the courage, flinching as she hears the knock at the door again, louder this time.

  She grabs the doorknob, turning it to let them inside. As she pulls the door open just a crack she gasps as she feels the door push back at her.

“Where’s my money!?” Oliver shouts as he steps inside, a group of men following close behind.

“Amber, move!” She hears, ring out from behind her as her frozen body fights to turn around and run away.

  She steps back out of the way as she watches the suited men pull the thugs inside the house before a loud bang shakes the air around her.

  The world stops around her as she feels a searing, burning pain in her side.

“Johnny…” She whispers, as the room begins to spin and the floor raises to meet her face.

Chapter 18

“Amber, move!” Johnny screams as he watches the woman stand there in fear as the thugs push inside her house.

  He quickly lowers his gun as he runs forward towards her, reaching out to her to pull her back before the loud bang of a gunshot stops him in his tracks.

“No!” He says as watches Amber slowly turn around, her hand covering up her quickly staining shirt as she slowly falls to her knees.

  He winces as he hears another shot ring out, and another, and another as he crawls towards her.

“Johnny…” She whispers as she collapses onto the floor.

“Amber!” He says, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her towards him.

  He pulls her up onto his lap as the gunshots continue to ring out before pulling up her shirt and finding the bloody wound on her hip.

“Fuck!” He screams, picking her up in his arms. “For fuck sakes!”

“Get her outta here, Johnny!” He hears not even looking up to see who it was.

  He picks her up, not even feeling her weight as he gets to his feet and cradles her in his arms as he runs with her out the back door.

“It’s okay, Amber, it’s okay.” He whispers to her as he runs out her back gate and down the dark alley before coming out the other side under a bright street lamp.

  He panics, nearly dropping his keys as he reaches to pull them out of his pocket before unlocking his passenger side door and placing her in the front seat.

“Amber, it’s okay sweetheart, it’s alright.” He whispers to her placing a kiss on her cheek as he brushes his palm over her clammy forehead. “Oh my, God, you’re burning up.”

  He shuts the door, running around his car to the other side before sliding in the driver’s seat and turning over the engine.

“Hold on, Amber…” He whispers to her as he pulls onto the street. “Please hold on.”

  He hits the gas, racing as far as his car will go, occasionally glancing over to Amber to make sure she’s still breathing.

“Move!” Johnny screams as he approaches a car stopped at a red light before deciding to just drive around it as the light flashes back to green.

  “We’re almost there, baby, it’s okay, we’re almost there!” He says to her, letting out a relieved laugh as the bright lights of the hospital building come into view.

  Johnny parks under the emergency room awning, not even bothering to turn off his car before jumping out of the driver’s seat and running around the car to Amber’s side.

“Help! Someone please help!” He calls out as he throws open Amber’s door and pulls her onto him, lifting her out of the car.

“Please, someone help her!” He shouts as she runs through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room. “I need some help, please!”

  He collapses to his knees as nurses rush over to them, pulling her out of his arms and placing her on a stretcher.

“Sir!” One of the nurses says to him. “Sir, what’s happened to her?”

“She’s been shot.” He says, panting, his heart racing as he watches them wheel her away. “She was shot.”

Chapter 19

  He sits on the curb just outside the emergency room, watching as the sun comes up over the high rises downtown as ambulances slowly pass by him to make room for more emergency vehicles.

  Johnny sucks in deeply as he finishes the last drag of his smoke before flicking it onto the ground and stomping it with his shoe.

  Out of the corner of his eye he notices Amber’s mother walk out of the sliding emergency room doors and over to him. Johnny looks away embarrassed, his face flushing bright red as he chokes back his emotion as the woman sits herself down on the curb beside him.

“She’s been out of surgery for a little while now, Johnny.” She says to him, watching as he nods quietly. “The doctors said she’s doing very well.”

“That’s good to hear.” Johnny finally say, his voice cracking before he clears his throat.

“She’s very lucky, they don’t foresee any complications.” Her mom says stretching out her legs. “And she’s also very lucky that you were there to act so quickly.”

  He nods, the morning breeze blowing through his hair.

“She’s awake, by the way, if you want to go see her.” Amber’s mother says to him, a soft smile crossing her lips.

“You wouldn’t mind?” He asks, turning towards her.

“Well, I mean, it’s not really my business.” She says, quickly folding her arms. “But, I’m told you were the first person she asked for as she woke up. So, she’s very eager to see you.”

“What’s her room?” Johnny asks, standing up in front of the woman and reaching his hand down to help her up.

“Fourth floor.” Amber’s mother says, grabbing Johnny’s hand. “Room four-ten.”

  He walks with her into the hospital his heart racing as she breaks away from him, making her way back over to Amber’s dad. He give him a little nod as he watches the man nod back at him before he makes his way over to the elevator and presses the ‘up’ button.

  Johnny nervously waits for the door to open before he steps inside and presses the button to the fourth floor.

  He’s never been a fan of hospitals. As his dad always put it, it’s where the sick go to get sicker.

  His heart pounds in his ears as the elevator stops and the big metal doors open up to the fourth floor.

  Johnny steps off of it, his breathing shallow as he walks up to the nurses station and clears his throat to get the seated nurse’s attention.

“What way is room four-ten?” He asks, the antiseptic stench filling his nostrils.

“Four-ten?” She asks, standing up from her seat and leaning forward over the wall before pointing down the hall. “It’s at the very end, over there.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” He says to her, keeping his voice low as he steps away from the desk before making his way down the hallway.

  He stops outside the door, listening to the barely audible chatter of the nurse as she makes her way back into the hall.

“Oh!” She says, opening Amber’s door as she looks up at Johnny. “Looks like there’s a visitor here!”

  He smiles, watching her waddle down the hall before be forces his foot to step inside.

“Amber?” He whispers as he walks towards her.

“Johnny!” She says, her voice harsh and dry as she grunts while trying to sit up.

“No, no!” He says, rushing towards her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder to keep her down. “Please, just relax.”

  He pulls a chair away from a small table in the corner of her room before dragging it over to her bed and sitting down beside her.

“How are you feeling?” He asks, whispering to her as he entangles his fingers in hers to hold her hand.

“Tired.” She whispers back, turning her head to gaze at him with tired eyes as she smiles.

“Yeah, I bet.” He says, chuckling as the tension in his stomach eases. “Are you in a lot of pain, Amber?”

“No.” She says, lazily shaking her head. “Not at all.”

  She points up to an I.V. drip.

“I’ve got the good stuff.” She smirks. “And besides, the doctors told me it was barely anything. I could probably go home tonight if I wanted.”

“Well, no…” Johnny laughs. “You should probably stay here for a little while longer. We’re getting your place all cleaned up for you, though, so it’ll be like nothing even happened when you finally do get to go home.”

“You got ‘em?” She asks.

  Johnny nods his head smirking.

“Well, I got you out of there before it was over. So it wasn’t me.” He chuckles. “But I did get a call a few hours ago. It’s done. Don’t worry yourself about it.”

“Good.” She says, nodding her head up and down as she closes her eyes and leans back into the pillow.

  She sighs, a soft smile upturning her lips before she opens her tired eyes once again and squeezes Johnny’s hand.

“Johnny…” She starts, her eyes twinkling. “The doctor’s also told me something else…”

“Yeah?” Johnny asks, smirking as he leans in. “What was that?”

“I’m pregnant…” She whispers to him, giggling as a tear falls from her eyes. “They said I’m pregnant…”

“Amber…” Johnny whispers, standing up from his chair before closing the gap between then and placing a kiss on her forehead. “Are you sure? They’re sure?”

“Yeah…” She sniffs, smiling. “They told me not to worry about the baby… I didn’t even know there was one!”

  Johnny chuckles, letting out a single sob as he buries his face into her shoulder.

“Oh, my God.” He whispers as he pulls away from her, his legs shaking as he sits back down in his seat before leaning down and resting his head on the mattress by her legs as he grabs her hand and brings it over to his mouth before placing a small kiss on her knuckles. “I’m gunna be a dad…”