Velvet of Desire

It was the early morning when Henrich walked outside to get some fresh air. The sun had begun to come up over the horizon which made the sky a pinkish color. He smiled at the beauty. He brought his coffee mug up to his mouth and sipped. He closed his eyes and thought about his adventure here. He had never felt this way before. He was usually depressed and anxious, but here in Ireland, things had changed. There was a big change.

He fell in love with a beautiful man and a beautiful home. His best friend found her true love and now they were getting married in only three weeks time. He was going to be the maid of honor. It was indeed, the best time of his life. He let out a sigh of contentment and started to turn away.

A loud ring let out. The horses in the barn panicked and started kicking at their stalls. The once beautiful morning turned cold as Henrich collapsed to the ground. He had felt the pain. He had felt the warm blood seep through to the earth. He felt cold now. He wasn't sure what had happened or why it was happening to him, but he knew that he was in danger and couldn't go to sleep now.

He felt like he was drugged. He felt like the darkness would overtake him at any moment but he struggled to stay awake. The sudden panic that he was going to die set in, and it increased his heart rate. Blood only started to flow more.

The door opened and Lucien rushed out. He went down in the dirt next to Henrich and rolled him over. Henrich blinked his eyes.

"Lucien. Is she okay?" He whispered and choked. Lucien looked down at Henrich and nodded.

Lucien found the opening to the wound and pressed down firmly with his hand to stop the bleeding. It didn't seem to be a fatal shot, but Henrich was losing a lot of blood. Connor called the police. It wouldn't take them long to get here.

Connor came outside, tears were in her eyes. "Henri, please hold on."

Henrich smiled and looked over at Connor. "I wouldn't leave you darling. I have to be your maid of honor," he said and coughed. Lucien pressed harder and Henrich winced.

Flashing lights pulled up in the driveway, and paramedics were running over. Everything happened so fast. Henrich was laying on the ground and then he was up in the ambulance. Two officers stayed behind and questioned Connor and Lucien.

"Did you see what happened?" One officer asked Lucien.

Lucien shook his head. "No. I was laying in bed with my fiance and then I heard a gun shot. She went in to check on the girls while I came outside to see what happened. I seen Henrich on the ground before I even opened the door. I came to him and rolled him over. He was shot in the chest, but it wasn't through the center, so I knew that the bullet had missed his heart. I know it hit a major artery because the blood was too much. I began to apply pressure. Henrich was conscious. He spoke to me."

The officer was writing everything down as Lucien was saying it. "And what did he say?"

"He asked if Connor was okay. I assured him that she was, and then she came outside. I'm assuming she called the police because you guys got here fast. She told him to hold on and he told her that he wouldn't leave her," Lucien concluded.

The officer nodded. "Alright. Thank you Mr. Romano. You and Miss O'Callaghan can follow us to the hospital."

Lucien nodded and went in the house to help Connor with the twins. She was crying still.

"Honey. He's going to be alright. The doctors are good here. He'll be okay. Please stop crying," he said softly and brought her into his arms.

Connor lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "I don't know who would do this to him. He's harmless..." she gasped and reached for her phone. "I have to call Aedan," she dialed quickly and Aedan answered.

Aedan had a panicked tone. "Connor? Are you okay? I'm on my way to the hospital. The hospital called and said that Henri was shot."

Connor sobbed into the receiver. "Yes he was. We're heading there now. Please don't drive like a maniac," she said and they said their goodbyes.

They hurried into the nursery and grabbed the twins and fastened them into the car seats. They then drove to the hospital to await the results.