The Dancer and the Don | ✔️

Chapter 31

Oh. My. God. This is the last freaking chapter before the epilogue! I almost cried so much during this chapter that sometimes I couldn't even see the screen. I really hope you guys have enjoyed this rollercoaster as much as I have. Another long chapter, here we come.

Thank you SO MUCH for reading! I love you guys!

********

"Jesus Christ, man, what happened to you?"

Nathan let go of Francesca to help Maran pull Tony inside. Maran quickly shut and locked the door behind them before picking him up and laying him on the dining table. Fran climbed onto it and put her face over her husband's before she let out a sob.

"Fran, baby, it's alright," he tried to assure. His mouth was so swollen she only understood a few words that had come out of his mouth. All she needed to hear was her name before she started crying so hard she couldn't breathe.

Nathan lifted her off of the table to set her in a chair so he could rip open Tony's shirt. She sat up with a sniffle and watched her husband groan when any part of his body was being moved.

"Shouldn't we call a doctor?" She asked.

"Hey, boss, hey, stay awake! Where are the rest of the men?" Maran quizzed.

"Safe house," he whispered through a wheezing cough.

"Shit, should we call Doc? I don't know what to do," Maran said worriedly to Nathan. Fran watched her husband fall asleep. Nathan's hands shook him away and he groaned loudly

"What's the situation, boss? How can we help you? We're not doctors!" Nathan was yelling now. Fran whispered words of encouragement and love in his ear while he groaned again. His arm slowly rose enough to rest on her leg and give a small squeeze.

"They're gone," he whispered, sounding choked up. He was fading off to sleep again.

"Who's gone? Boss?" Nathan moved to shake Tony's head. He startled awake once more.

"Sangue Verde—gone—tired," he muttered before his head finally hung limply towards his right side. Francesca scrambled to feel for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

"Call someone. Call someone now!" Francesca screamed at the two frozen men standing next to her. Maran was holding pressure on a bleeding wound and her words seemed to snap Nathan, who was still holding her husband's head, to run into the kitchen.

She could hear him on the phone in the other room but didn't bother to listen. She was trying to keep track of her husband's pulse as best she could.

"Mommy?" Both Francesca and Maran flinched in surprise before looking up at the voice. Ella stood at the bottom of the stairs rubbing her eyes with both fists. It took a split second for Francesca to look down at her husband then yell for Nathan.

"Ella, keep your eyes closed, okay? We have a surprise for you. If you look at it, the surprise will go away."

"No!" Ella gasped, clenching her eyes shut, "I don't want it to go away!" Nathan walked into the room still on the phone, but quickly said some words of dismissal before lifting Ella up and taking her upstairs.

It felt like it had been hours before he came back down.

"Doc will be here in thirty minutes, we just have to keep him stable until then," Nathan said as he too climbed onto the table to put pressure on another bleeding wound she had missed. Fran focused her fingers on Tony's pulse in his neck.