Love Affair in Venice (COMPLETE)

11: Quickening Heartbeat

Vanessa trembled as she held up her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. "P-Please. Take whatever you want. I d-don't have m-much but you can take my purse, wallet and cellphone." She kept her head low to the ground, unable to meet the gaze of her assailant. Vanessa's teeth were chattering furiously as fat droplets of rain rolled down her cheeks, neck...and into her cleavage.

The hooded Asian man holding up the gun gestured for her to pass him her belongings. She quickly complied, tossing him her purse and all its contents.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she continued to shakily remove her diamond studs and pressed them into the mugger's outstretched hands.

The mugger continued to point his gun at her. She looked at him with dazed confusion. "Th-that's all I have. I don't have anything else left."

He nodded towards the stilettos that landed nearby when she fell over. As Vanessa grabbed the heels, she almost wanted to laugh. They were the cheapest pair of shoes she owned and had cost her a bargain at $45. What a silly thing to steal.

Before she could toss the stilettos over as well, she saw Aiden step out of his car and sneak up behind the thief. He was still several feet away, stalking closer and closer. Vanessa's eyes widened and she wanted to tell him, "He's got a gun!" But she couldn't do so without letting her aggressor know that someone was behind him.

Unsure of how to act, Vanessa stayed still and helplessly watched Aiden draw near.

When Aiden was almost upon him, the hooded man turned around, as if sensing someone else's presence.

Seeing Aiden, the mugger panicked and pulled the trigger.

All Vanessa heard for several seconds was the gunshot followed by a sharp ringing sound in her ears.

"Aiden! NOO!!" Vanessa screamed, trying to get up on her feet. Failing to do so, she army crawled towards Aiden, whose body lay motionless on the sidewalk a few feet away.

The panicked shooter, realizing what he had done, made a run for it. He quickly disappeared around the corner.

When Vanessa finally reached Aiden's body, she was relieved to discover that he was breathing. The bullet had penetrated his abdominal area and blood was quickly soaking through his white dress shirt. Aiden's breathing was weak and shallow, his chest rising and falling almost imperceptibly.

Vanessa snaked her fingers into Aiden's pant pockets, searching for his cellphone.

No luck.

He must've left it in his car.

Aiden's sports car was parked almost 40 feet away. It would take forever for her to crawl over there and he could be dead by then. So Vanessa sat up, propped Aiden's head onto her lap and started screaming, "HELP!! SOMEBODY HELP US! PLEASE! HE'S BEEN SHOT!!"

The rain pounded harder and harder against the pavement, drowning out the majority of Vanessa's cries. She began sobbing at the futility of her efforts and for the first time in a long time, she prayed to God. "Please, God, if you're listening, don't let Aiden die. Not here. Not now. Please!"

Perhaps it was the prayer or just plain luck that brought a patrolling police car down the street towards them. Maybe someone had heard the gunshot and called 911. Either way, the blaring sirens turned off when the police vehicle pulled up to them.

A heavyset officer came out of the car and seeing Aiden's condition, called for backup. He took a quick statement from Vanessa and called for more backup officers to cruise around and see if they could catch a short Asian man wearing a hoodie and running away with a woman's clutch.

A few minutes later, an ambulance was on scene. A flurry of uniformed paramedics swarmed over Aiden, throwing him onto a stretcher which was then shoved into the back of the ambulance van.

A second ambulance arrived a few seconds later. By then, Vanessa had forgotten all about the pain in her ankle and legs. Her mind even blocked out the memory of the hold-up. All she could think about was Aiden and whether or not he would survive.

While a paramedic shone a small flashlight into her pupils and asked her a series of questions about how she felt, Vanessa answered robotically. Her mind was elsewhere. She was making a pact with God.

God, she thought, I know I haven't gone to church since I was a child and I never talk to you or pray like I should but I'm asking you now - please let Aiden live. He is a good man, despite his occasional lapse in judgment. He's too young to die. Not like this. Not here. Not today. Not because of me. Please. I'd give anything for him to live.

After wrapping up Vanessa's ankle in several layers of gauze and giving her an ice pack, the paramedic cleared her to go home and rest. He prescribed her some painkillers as well.

"Is there someone you can call to take you home?" one of the paramedics asked.

"Can I hitch a ride from you guys to the hospital?" Vanessa asked. "I want to see my- err- the man they just took away- he's my ex-fiancé. I need to make sure he's okay."

The paramedics said they couldn't take her because they needed to attend to another emergency.

Thankfully, the police officer decided to give Vanessa a ride. Opening up the passenger side door, the police offer waited for Vanessa to slip inside before shutting it again and taking the driver's seat.

Finally out of the rain and in the cozy backseat of the police car, Vanessa clutched the sides of her arms for comfort.

"You're soaking wet," came the officer's gruff voice. "Are you sure you don't want to go home and change first? Your man...he's probably going to be in surgery for a while. Why don't I drop you off at home so you can shower and put some comfortable, dry clothes on?" The police officer asked.

"No. I-" Vanessa didn't want him to know where she lived. Besides, she wanted to be there as soon as Aiden left surgery. She didn't want him to be alone. Especially since she was the whole reason he got shot. "I'll buy some clothes from the hospital gift shop. Thank you."

"He that important to ya?"

Vanessa hesitated. Less than 30 minutes ago, she wanted nothing more than to be rid of Aiden forever. Now, she wasn't so sure. She hadn't expected to feel this deeply for him. But then again, they were in a romantic relationship for two whole years. There were bound to be lingering feelings.

"We were engaged once," Vanessa mumbled. She tried not to think about how her drenched dress was soaking up the car seat and plastering uncomfortably against her waist and thighs. Then, out of the blue, she added, "He cheated on me, so I left him."

She could see the police officer arch his eyebrows through the rearview mirror but he stayed silent. "Don't worry, I think he will be fine. Judging by the look of his injuries, the bullet didn't hit any major organs or arteries. He probably won't be able to walk or sit up very well for a while but he will live. And we'll catch the bastard who did this. Trust me. If my hunch is right, it's probably the same guy we've been tracking for a few weeks now. Wanted for breaking in and entering, armed robbery and petty pickpocketing."

Vanessa nodded slowly, her face still set in a grim scowl. She was glad for the small ounce of reassurance but she would also definitely be hiring her own men to track down that coward.

***Next chapter posted tomorrow! What do you think will happen next for Aiden and Vanessa? And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Marco. Plot twist coming up! Vote if you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you!***