SEVEN
1903 Words
Alessandro Ricco
When I saw her lying by the side of the road, helpless and unconscious, my mind drifted to the first day I saw her at the counter. She wore a stunning smile that lit up the room. Her eyes, oh, they were like sparkling gems, drawing me in their beauty. When I said hi and she opened her mouth to respond to me, I saw her flashy white teeth, well-arranged, and speaking elegantly.
The more I spent time with her, the more I spoke to her, and the more I noticed her confidence. It was magnetic, making me want to know more about her. I mean, it is just hard not to be captivated by her presence as a man. She is the kind of girl who makes heads turn and hearts skip a beat.
Alessandro Ricco Talking about a girl like this is not my norm, but come on, you've got to appreciate what’s real, and Riley, oh, she is an angel straight for heaven.
I know my life is complicated, and I would never wish to introduce her to my world, but can you blame me? The more I think about her, the more I wish I could fly this car and just make sure I saved her life.
I have already spoken to my doctor, who is always one call away. I pay him so much money for such situations and, in most cases, to treat my men, bullet wounds, and other things that I can’t involve any hospital with because of my reputation, and I have crossed paths with the police and the CIA, who are always ready to get hold of me if they get any shred of evidence against me.
"Drive faster; she has lost a lot of blood. Ask my doctor to prep everything; she needs medical attention, and the home is closer than the hospital." I order, and the guys swing into action, with my driver speeding on the highway like a madman.
I look at Riley, and I pity her; her face is bruised, and she has a busted lip and a swollen eye. I’m pressing her stomach wound, trying so hard to stop the blood from oozing out. I can’t imagine what those bastards did to her.
Can you imagine getting mugged and killed in the process? I mean, they got what they wanted; why couldn’t they just leave her alone for heaven’s sake?
"Boss, the doctor has prepped everything as instructed, and he is just waiting for us to arrive." One of the guys breaks the silence, and I nod, looking at my driver through the rear mirror. I think he understands what I want to say; he speeds up, and soon I feel like we are flying, which doesn’t matter to me at the moment. I just want her alive and out of danger.
As soon as we get home, the guys help carry Riley in, and she is wheeled to my small hospital room, which has everything the doctor needs to take care of her.
"Mr. Ricco, I am afraid you have to let us take care of her from here. You got to have faith; she is going to be okay." The doctor stops me from going on, and I sigh exasperatedly, throwing my arms in the air dramatically.
"Fine, just make sure you save her life, or I will kill you instead."
"I know, and since I love my life so much, I will save her life. "Just go and clean up; you look like you came from the battlefield." He adds while pointing at my blood-soaked shirt, and I nod absent-mindedly.
I walk to my room and go straight to the shower. I stand in the shower and let the water cascade down my back, washing away the blood from my body.
My mind moseys back to my ex-girlfriend, Brenda Perez. I have never loved a woman that much, apart from my brother, and Brenda was the woman of my dreams, or so I thought. We did everything together; she had my back almost every time, stepping in in my absence to make sure everything was in line, even in my absence, until that day when I found her pants down with someone I considered family, a friend, and my confidant.
The thought of her on top of someone else made my blood boil in anger, and I have never recovered since then.
"f**k!!!!" I shout as I hit the wall several times until my knuckles are all bloody.
Wearily, I walk out of the shower, grab one of the towels to wipe myself, and then walk to my room and change into something comfortable.
"You guys should go have some rest. Make sure you are here first thing tomorrow morning. You will be meeting a client of ours from Columbia. He is in the country for only a few days, and we can’t afford to miss this unless you want that bastard Luiz to snatch him from us. The two of you will drive to the airport; I have the plane tickets ready. You will be flying economy class to avoid all the attention; don’t make me regret my decisions." I instruct my right-hand man, who just nods without questioning me.
"You can count on us, boss." He adds, and I nod and usher them to leave.
After almost an hour of waiting on the doctor, he finally emerges, wearing a worn-out smile.
"She is sedated and out of danger for now. "I don’t know how to put this, but she is a lucky girl; the knife was cut so deep that it almost raptured her intestines, but that didn’t affect the unborn baby; otherwise, she would have lost the baby." He says, and I look at him confused, a million questions running through my mind.
She is pregnant. Is that my child? Was she trying to look for me? Was she running away?
"Mr. Ricco? I said I had to leave. I have surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning, and I have to get some sleep." The doctor’s voice cuts my journey to another fantasy world of thoughts short.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I was kind of zoned out. You said she is pregnant; how many weeks?"
"Probably four to five; I can’t be sure unless we do a scan."
"No, don’t do that." She has the right to accept the scan or not. You are free to leave, and thank you for saving her life. "My guys will drop you off at your place and make sure you are all safe at home if that’s okay."
"Yeah, it is okay, and you don’t have to thank me; this is what I signed up for saving lives." But before I leave, can I ask a question?"
"Yeah, sure, go ahead."
"Who is she to you?" "You seem to be invested in her wellbeing; I have never seen you so shaken and afraid."
"She is a nobody; we found her by the road left for dead, and I am just being a good person. The faster she heals and gets back to her feet, the better for all of us. Goodnight, Doc."
When I walk to the room, I am holding my heart in my hands. Riley is sleeping peacefully on the bed; her face is still swollen, but she looks pretty regardless. I drag the chair next to her bed and hold her hand, gently squeezing it.
"Riley, what is going on?" Why were you out so late into the night? Where were you heading? "This is a dangerous city; you have to be careful not to get caught up in the mysteries of the night," I state this as I rub her arm.
I reach for the hair falling on my face and gently brush it to the other side. "I hope you feel better when you wake up, and I hope the child you are carrying is mine. I want it to be mine; don’t deny me that opportunity." I whisper in my ears.
I don’t know how long I have been sitting in that room just admiring her beauty and wishing she could wake up and tell me what was going on. I am feeling drowsy, so I kiss her goodnight on the cheeks and walk to the door. I admire her for a few seconds before I close the door behind me and almost bump into her night nurse.
"Sorry, Boss, I didn’t see you coming."
"It is okay; take care of her and make sure she is comfortable." I will leave very early in the morning, so I won’t be able to check on her. Give her what she needs, but make sure she gets enough bed rest." I instruct her, and she nods.
"Okay, sir, I will take good care of her."
"Good, and before I forget, ask the maids in charge of cleaning to make sure one of the rooms upstairs is clean and arranged specifically for her."
"Okay, sir, have a good night." She replies with a smile, and I nod. As soon as I get to my room, I check emails and confirm my meetings in the morning before I retire to bed.
I wake up early in the morning to get ready for work. I have to keep up my appearance as a CEO and billionaire during the day and a Mafia Lord at night. I walk past Riley’s room to check on her, and she is still sleeping. I instruct the maids to take care of her and make sure she never leaves their sight before I get to the car and drive off to work.
"Morning, Mr. Ricco, everything is set; you have a meeting in twenty minutes and another in the afternoon. "I have prepared your schedule and sent it to your email.
"Thank you, Laura. "Cancel my afternoon meeting; I have somewhere else to be."
"But, sir, I have been pushing that meeting for a week now."
"And you can still push it to next week; get everything ready for the meeting and come to my office after that."
"Okay, Sir."
At around noon, I decided to drive home and check on Riley, who was still asleep, or maybe the drugs she was put on were heavy. I pull the seat next to her and try talking to her as the doctor instructed, but she is not responding.
"Just close your eyes, try to imagine something memorable, and assume this is not happening. Try and relax; don’t panic; everything is going to be okay." I say this to her when I notice her flinching in her sleep.
"Where I’m I?" She asks as she tries to sit up, but I stop her and gently push her to lie on her back.
"You are safe now; that is all that matters." The nurse will check on you to make sure that everything is okay, and then we can talk about what happened. Is that okay?"
She mumbles okay under her breath, and I wait for the nurse to give us the go-ahead to talk.
"How did I end up here?" She asks a few minutes later, and I sigh, looking at her.
"We have a lot to talk about. How about you eat something, then you can tell me what happened?"
"Okay, thank you for saving me. I owe you, my life."
- Writer
