Prologue
The present day -
Sammy’s POV
I collapsed onto the couch in a pair of loose grey pyjama bottoms, being careful not to spill any of the steaming mug of hot chocolate I was clutching tightly on to. It had been a long night shift at the hospital and I was glad to be back at home, out of my uniform and under my soft, blue checked blanket.
The sun was starting to peek through the blinds as the world started waking whilst I was yawning and winding down before bed. I started scrolling through Netflix, trying to find something short and funny to watch before heading off to bed when I heard commotion outside of my front door.
My face screwed up in confusion, it wasn’t time for the guards to switch over. Could it be him? Had he gone back on his word and come for me? Knots twisted in my stomach, my palms becoming clammy as I reluctantly threw off the blanket, slipping on my slippers and pulling my dressing gown tighter around me.
I heard several loud bangs which had me stopping dead in my tracks. I stood paralyzed, listening, hoping it was the sound of a nearby car backfiring. But several moments later there was a loud thud on my door, followed by more thuds, coming in quicker succession as they grew louder.
I moved then. Running to grab the disposable mobile phone and hunting knife from inside the fake games console that hid in plain sight on my tv stand. I stationed myself next to the shuddering front door as I stamped my pride down and rang his number with trembling fingers. The number I had promised myself I would never call, no matter how my body had yearned for him this past year.
He answered on the first ring and a triumphant voice in the back of my mind screamed that he had missed me too, that he had been waiting for my call.
“Sammy?” His deep, accented voice answered and even with the threat of violence a mere foot from me I felt a rush of warmth spread through me, igniting every one of my numb nerve endings. Colours burst behind my eyes and my comatose heart kick started. My mind reeled against my body’s betrayal.
“I heard several bangs and now someone is trying to break down the door. I don’t know how many of them there are.” I whispered quietly and calmly, not wanting the intruders to realise that I was standing in wait for them.
“Vaffanculo!” He shouted at the other end of the line before he started reeling off instructions to whoever was nearest to him. My Italian still wasn’t the best but I made out a lot of swear words, my name, address and the word kill many times. I had become well acquainted with that particular Italian word.
“Are you hidden Sammy? Do you have the knife with you?”
“Fuck no, I’m not hiding like a scared little mouse in my own fucking home. I’ve got the knife and I’m looking forward to introducing them to it.” I whispered, mentally planning on what areas I was going to aim for first. One thing was for sure, I was definitely going to make them regret setting foot in my home.
“Listen to me piccolo. I’m 20 minutes away from you, could you just hide until I get there? For me?” He begged and a part of me desperately wanted to give him whatever he wanted but no, he was no doubt the reason I was even in this situation in the first place so I would handle it how I saw fit.
“If you wanted a shrinking violet you should have found yourself another nurse.” I snapped back. More cursing could be heard from the other end of the line.
“Still so fucking stubborn. I swear to the devil himself that if they touch a single hair on your body I’m going to strap you to my bed and never let you leave my sight again.” He threatened, his growl sending goosebumps over my skin.
“Fuck you.” I spat before hanging up on him. But yet I couldn’t contain the thrill rising inside of me at the thought of seeing him again for the first time in months. It was good to feel again after all these months, even if it was terror that I tried to desperately bury under sheer force of will. God knows I’d seen a lot worse than what was awaiting me on the other side of the door.
I took a deep breath and whilst I waited for my door to fall I squeezed my eyes shut and remembered back to how this all began, to when I saved the Italian Devil three years ago on one snowy winter morning in South East London.
