Surrender 01 - Surrender

and dad spending more time with Ari. This was quickly spinning out of control and he felt as if he were free-falling .

Chapter Twenty-Four

    “Oh, Arianna, you poor little thing.”
    Ari turned to find Rafe’s mother and father walking through her doorway. What were they doing in her room?
    “I’m fine,” she automatically responded.
    “You are far from fine, darling. I simply can’t believe that such a thing happened to you. I am furious with my son for not calling us at once. Poor Rafe was shot, you were shot, and he doesn’t even bother to call his own mother,” she said as she sank down in the chair next to Ari’s bed and grabbed her hand.
    “Rafe was shot?” Ari gasped.
    “You didn’t know?”
    “No. He didn’t say anything. I really don’t know a whole lot. The last thing I remember was feeling like I had been punched in the chest and then seeing blood on my shirt. Everything went dark after that. The doctor said I was very lucky the shot didn’t enter an inch to the left or I would have been dead. I’m incredibly grateful that if I had to be shot, at least it happened in a hospital, where they were able to operate immediately.”
    “You little darling. I’d be a lot more grateful if neither of you had been shot in the first place. How terribly tragic this all is. A brand-new mother was killed — her new baby left in this world without a mama. Two others were taken too soon from this world, as well. I know it’s selfish of me, but I’ve been so worried. The thought of losing my Rafe tears at my heart. It would be unimaginable. I’ve been so worried about you, too. I know we don’t know each other well, but you’re such a sweet little thing, and knowing you were hurt just breaks my heart.”
    Ari’s eyes filled at Rosabella’s kind words. How could the apple have fallen so far from the tree? Rosabella was kind, caring, compassionate — all the things Rafe wasn’t. Of course, that wasn’t entirely true. Rafe had his moments of unbelievable kindness, but he quickly pushed them away and hid behind his mask of coldness.
    “Where was Rafe shot?” Ari needed to know.
    “He went after the gunman, and that madman managed to shoot him in the arm before Rafe took him down.”
    “Rafe ran toward the guy?” Ari gasped.
    “Well, of course he did, dear. The man had just shot you,” Rafe’s father said as if it was the most natural thing in the world for Rafe to attack a man aiming a weapon at his head.
    “I…I didn’t know.” Ari felt terrible about how selfish she’d been. All she’d been doing was worrying about her mother. She hadn’t even noticed that Rafe was wearing a bandage. Maybe she really was a self-absorbed person.
    “Mom. Dad. What are you doing here?”
    Ari turned her head to find Rafe looming in the doorway, looking none too happy. She cringed involuntarily.
    “Raffaello Palazzo, don’t you dare use that tone of voice with me. You are in huge trouble. I can’t believe that I had to find out from a doctor that my only son was nearly killed. You should have called your father and me immediately,” Rosabella stormed.
    She squeezed Ari’s hand before getting up from her chair and rushing over to Rafe to throw her arms around him. Even though she was reading him the riot act, the love in her actions shone forth. So like a mother — terror made her yell when she felt more like crying.
    “I’m fine, Mom. I wasn’t almost killed. The guy barely nicked me,” he said as his uninjured arm came around her, his tone gentle.
    “You aren’t speaking the truth. I thought I taught you better than that, Rafe. The doctor told me the shot had to be removed. I don’t care if it’s merely a flesh wound. If you’re shot, then you need to call your mother,” she scolded.
    “I was a bit busy, Mom,” he said, though his voice carried a gentler tone as he noticed the tears streaming down his mother’s cheeks.
    “Of course you were, son. Poor Ari. I can’t believe anyone would fire a weapon at this sweet little girl,” she said, her voice softening.
    “He will pay.” The menace was clear in Rafe’s tone.
    “Yes he will, son. They have him under lock and key on another floor,” Martin said as he came over and patted Rafe on the back.
    “Yes, the staff have been quite secretive about his location,” Rafe growled.
    “Son, you need to let the law take care of him. You stopped him and now he will go to prison, where hopefully they’ll execute the worthless scum.