CHAPTER 111: STRUCK THE BULLET IN YOU

Sara and Luca finished their breakfast, and they stepped out of the cafe.

"Where should we begin then?" Sara asked, keen on exploration. "I heard about a small village here, one of those white villages. Shall we go and explore that region?" she suggested.

"If we go that far now, then we may not be able to return to the hotel until late evening," Luca countered, looking thoughtful. "Instead, let’s just explore the market here in town first." He then suddenly changed the subject. "Do you enjoy going on rides?" he inquired, his lips curving into a suggestive, teasing smile.

"Yes, I do. Why?" Sara asked, intrigued.

"Well, there’s—" Luca’s explanation was abruptly cut off by the ring of his phone. He pulled it out of his coat’s pocket and answered the call, walking a few steps away.

Sara let him talk, turning to enjoy the pleasant view of the bustling street around them.

"Luca, you should leave that place as soon as possible," Remo said urgently from the other side with worry.

"What happened?" Luca asked in a low voice. "I sent you the photo of that unknown guy a few minutes ago. Is this related to him?"

"Yes," Remo confirmed gravely. "He’s a trained shooter. His face was unknown to many, but two years ago, he ended up serving a prison term for a contract hit. Did you honestly not know about this?"

"How would I know about every piece of local news?" Luca muttered, his frustration evident in his tone.

"Well, just go to a safe place for now. You didn’t bring a gun either, I suppose," Remo said, quickly opening his car door. "I’ll arrive there shortly. Someone is trying to either harm you or Sara," he added.

Luca abruptly ended the call without a goodbye. He walked swiftly back to Sara. "Let’s go back to the hotel first," he stated.

"What? Why?" Sara asked, confused by the sudden change in atmosphere. Luca didn’t offer any explanation. He grabbed her wrist firmly and began dragging her straight toward the hotel entrance with a speed that left no room for question.

"Luca, what’s wrong? Why are you acting suddenly so strangely?" Sara asked again, struggling to keep pace with him, her worry escalating too.

"Sara, I’ll explain everything to you in the hotel suite," he stated as he quickly scanned their surroundings, his eyes darting to every corner, checking if the shooter was still close by.

"Is everything alright back home?" Sara asked, her eyes panicked, connecting his sudden fear to family trouble.

"Yes," Luca answered, though his mind was clearly elsewhere.

They reached the revolving glass door leading into the hotel lobby. Just as they were about to step through, the same man suddenly appeared directly in front of them, seemingly out of nowhere. Before either Luca or Sara could fully register the threat, he swiftly pulled a pistol and aimed it directly at Sara, his finger moving to the trigger.

Sara’s eyes went wide with fear. In less than a second, Luca reacted, grabbing the man’s arm and violently shoving it upward into the air. The gunshot occurred instantly, the sharp sound reverberating.

Chaos erupted. People screamed and began running frantically, pushing past each other to escape the confined space. Luca had instinctively shoved Sara away from the gunman, ensuring she was out of the line of fire, and then delivered a hard strike to the shooter’s wrist. But the man didn’t flinch or drop the weapon as if he was trained for such confrontations.

Sara, unbalanced by Luca’s forceful push, stumbled and fell to the floor. Her gaze locked on the terrifying struggle, and a desperate cry for her husband tore from her throat.

"Luca!"

The sharp shooter, despite Luca’s grip, pulled a knife swiftly from inside his jacket. He struggled violently, attempting to escape Luca’s restraint and hurt him with the blade, but Luca expertly dodged the attack.

On the floor, Sara had managed to yank her phone out of her purse, quickly dialing the police and urgently pleading for them to arrive immediately.

Luca finally exerted enough leverage to free the pistol from the man’s hand and followed through with a punch, landing hard on the shooter’s face. The gun clattered and slid across the marble floor, stopping near where Sara was present.

The man merely flicked his tongue to the side of his cheek where the punch landed, a sign of his resilience, and glared hatefully at Luca. His grip on the knife handle tightened menacingly as he abandoned the pistol and marched toward Luca with the clear, renewed intention to kill him with the blade.

Luca was quick, twisting his body to dodge the deadly thrust, but the sharp knife still sliced past, cutting clean through the fabric of his long coat and grazing his arm beneath.

Luca flinched slightly as the blade connected but managed to quickly recover, letting out a sharp, derisive snicker while glaring back at the shooter, refusing to show fear. Another knife strike came his way, but Luca dodged it with renewed speed.

In the brief space created by the dodge, Luca swiftly pulled the handkerchief from his pocket and, wrapping it around the shooter’s neck, spun on his heels. He used the leverage to tighten the fabric fiercely around the man’s throat, effectively cutting off his air supply. The struggle caused the knife to clatter from the shooter’s hand.

Luca immediately kicked the dropped knife away, sending it sliding far out of reach, before releasing the shooter’s neck just enough to let him gasp for air.

"Hands up!" A sheriff shouted loudly from their left. Two uniformed officers rushed forward. One immediately aimed his weapon at the perpetrator, while the other moved swiftly to subdue and restrain the attacker

"Luca!" Sara cried, scrambling up from the floor and rushing to his side, ignoring the remaining commotion.

"Sara, I’m fine," Luca assured her, though his voice was slightly strained. His arm was bleeding steadily, and beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

Another sheriff approached them, telling Luca that the ambulance had been called. The hotel manager and several members of the staff hurried over with pale faces.

"Luca, your arm. It’s really bleeding," Sara repeated, standing close to him, gripping his uninjured side. Tears were now pouring freely down her cheeks. His thumb reached up and gently brushed the tears away.

"It’s a small injury. Don’t be worried for me," he whispered, trying to reassure her. But in truth, the cut was deep and long. It was far from a small wound.

"We have first-aid ready in a private office," the manager quickly interjected. "Please, follow me inside."

"Yes, let’s go in," Sara said immediately, taking charge. She gently held Luca’s uninjured arm, providing support as she carefully guided him away from the chaos and into the hotel.

~~~

Once the makeshift first-aid was finished in the hotel office, the manager informed them that the ambulance had arrived.

"I don’t wish to go," Luca stated, still visibly tense.

"Are you serious? You’re injured! We are going to the hospital. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ll need stitches," Sara insisted, already pulling him gently to his feet. "A doctor needs to properly check you to make sure you’re alright."

"They can do that right here, in the room," Luca opined, determined to avoid the public spectacle of a hospital visit.

The manager quickly stepped in, eager to accommodate their high-profile guest. "Mr. De Augustino is right. We can arrange for the doctor to treat you privately right here in your suite."

Sara agreed, realizing this was the fastest way to get him professional care without more public exposure. She left the office with Luca, heading straight for their presidential suite. The manager, true to his word, quickly returned with the doctor in tow just a few seconds after they entered their room.

The doctor checked Luca’s vitals and even the wound. Indeed the stitches were required as the knife had cut deeper. Once finished, the doctor gave some painkillers to Sara, telling her to give them with the meal.

"Thank you," Sara said, relief flooding her voice. She looked intently at the doctor. "We don’t have to worry about anything else, right? Luca will be able to use his arm well, won’t he?" she inquired anxiously.

"Absolutely. The cut was deep, yes, but thankfully clean. It will heal perfectly within two weeks," the doctor assured her with a polite, professional smile. "Just ensure he follows the instructions for changing the dressing. Don’t be worried, Mrs. De Augustino."

Sara felt the immense weight lift off her shoulders upon hearing the diagnosis. She watched the doctor gather his things and leave with the manager.

The door clicked shut, and she finally turned to Luca, the held-back terror breaking free. She began to cry, the tears pouring down her face. "What was that? How could you do that to me?" Her voice trembled. "What if something happened to you, Luca? Do you even know how scared I was seeing you fighting like that?"

He had already risen to his feet. Sara immediately moved toward him, hitting his chest repeatedly with her hands, the blows harmless but fueled by fear.

"Why? Why did you fight with him? He could have struck the bullet in you!" she murmured before she threw her arms around him, holding him in a tight embrace.