MATTEO (book 2)

66. XENA

I'm woken up by shouting and heavy footsteps, the bedroom door swings open and Romeo runs in, looking pale and sick.

"Romeo-"

"Where's your phone?" He asks.

The first time I have ever seen Romeo look panicked.

I hand him my phone from under the pillow and his eyes widen. "Or you're so stupid. Mamma, it was Xena." He runs down the stairs.

Neves and I look at each other before we're both running down the stairs too.

The entire Reign family was here, apart from Matteo.

"What's going on?" I ask, worried.

"You didn't pick his damn phone call up and now he's probably laying somewhere dead." Romeo pushes me, but Arabella pushes him back, scalding him.

My heart starts to raise as one of the twins says something, and then starts typing on his laptop.

He yells out an address and every single Reign man in this building, left.

Ilaria grabs me, letting me run out of the house with her. "What's happening?" I ask.

"Here, put these on." She dumps a bunch of clothes in my hand.

I pull them on over the shorts and tee I was wearing. "Ilaria, please-"

"Matteo's house was broken into last night. When Romeo went by in the morning, Leo was tied up with his leg broken and there signs of struggle in Matty's room." She starts crying. "The Russians have this stupid thing when they kidnap. They give us one phone call to make and if that person can arrive in time, get through all the men. Matteo would've lived but if... If not, they kill on the spot." She wipes her cheeks. "It's not your fault. Don't.. Dont blame yourself. We just... There might be a possibility he's still alive." She says, but she didn't believe it herself.

I fucked up.

He can't die.

They pull up outside a warehouse and we all run in, taking different rooms.

I run down to the basement and look through the rooms.

I had a feeling.

A horrible gut feeling that the last room on this floor would be it.

So I run down the narrow hallway and push the door open.

My heart drops when I see him slouched to a chair, head fallen and blood dripping from his chest.

I run, fall to my knees and feel his skin warm under my hands. "I found him." I shout. "Help." I shout louder, tears falling.

I look at the bullet wound in his chest, holding pressure to it, his blood covers my fingers.

I lift his head up, checking his pulse under my fingers.

I couldn't feel a thing.

Romeo runs in and pushes me away right away, lifting his brother over his shoulder and carrying him out.

I look at the ground, the heroin vials on the floor.

They drugged him before they killed him.

I pick his phone up off the ground, his background a picture of me laying in his bed as his lock screen. I unlock it.

He only called me.

Why did he call me?

Why didn't he call his brother or his dad or even his mom?

Luca walks in. "Xena, we need to go." He looks around, picking up one of the vials off the floor, and somehow he seemed relieved.

He calls somebody. "They gave him heroin before they shot him." He takes a breath. "I'll bring her down."

He drops it on the floor and crouches to me. "We need to go."

"I didn't pick up the phone."

He takes the phone off me and lifts me up by my hand. "I don't think he expected you to." He walks me out of this room, but into another. He looks around before picking up a necklace and a ring.

Matteo's necklace and ring.

He shoved them in his pocket before walking me slowly back to the car.

"Where is he?"

"On his way to the hospital."

"He's dead."

He looks at me. "When Matty takes drugs or drinks, he gets this huge adrenaline rush. I watched it happen. I'd watch him get in fights with his face beat black and blue but he wouldn't feel a thing because of the adrenaline."

"A fist is different to a bullet."

"My boy is strong. He's not ready to die." He rubs my shoulder.

"He didn't have a pulse."

"His pulse is very weak in the ambulance."

I look up. "He has a pulse?"

"Yes. It's weak but it's there. He's still warm. He's reacting well to light."

I didn't know whether to cry or not.

"None of us blame you, kid." He wipes my tears. "If anything, it was probably a clever move to call you."

"Why would that ever be clever?"

"Because we know how much he loves us, and you didn't get to know how much he loves you." He smiles. "I think he wanted to give you some closure. He's a very predictable boy." He says, on the urge of tears himself. "Come on, let's drive."

We're silent as he drives me to the hospital.

The Reigns had an entire room to the self.

Ilaria hugs me right away. "He's in surgery."

Those words.

"Is he okay?"

"He's weak but he's alive." She mumbles into my neck. "They're treating the bullet wound. They said everything else will heal on it hs own."

Oh my God.

He's alive.

I sob uncontrollably into her arms.

She let me do so, then led me into the bathroom. "Let's get his blood off you." She wipes her eyes.

She washes my hands for me and then smiles behind me. "Forgive him."

I look at her through the mirror. "I was always going to."

"Good. Because he's going to make you his wife, and I couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law."

I turn to face her. "I've done nothing but hurt him."

"You've given him nothing but hope." She wipes my cheeks. "Made him a stupid boy in love. That's what we want for him."

I smile, but I don't speak of the subject again.

We were all waiting patiently and quietly before a surgeon walks in. "Surgery went well. He'll recover from the bullet okay. Other options for rehab should be discussed when he wakes up, we found a lot of alcohol and heroin in his system."

The unanimous sigh of relief of everybody fills up the room.

"He should wake up soon. But, he's very weak and needs rest so if we can limit this to just family in the room, it would be greatly appreciated."

He leaves, but Asher and Arabella leave with him.

Romeo looks at me, he doesn't say anything to me but he gives me a simply nod of the head and a soft smile, but then he looks back at the ground.

He's okay.

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million dollar question, will romeo and xena ever tolerate each other ?

also why y'all believe i'd ever kill off the main character ?!!?! (i most deff would)

wx:1147