Page 94 of Salvatore

She leans over him, grabbing his face as he continues to fight the arms trying to pin him down. “Lucca, it’s Autumn,” she says, her voice soft, yet firm. “You’re safe. Do you hear me? You’re safe . . . I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

She turns to the men. “Let him go,” she tells them.

They exchange glances. Like me, they think Autumn has lost her mind. She levels her gaze at them. “I said, let him go,” she repeats.

Lucca’s body is so rigid, he appears more statue than man. His glare travels to each of the men holding him as he eases his frantic flailing. One by one, their hands drop away.

“Thank you for your help,” Autumn tells the men. “You can leave him to my care.”

Her palm is pressed against his shoulder, holding him in a way those strong men failed to do.

Lucca fixes his livid stare on the men, watching them pile out. It’s not until their voices echo away from the plane that his attention returns to Autumn.

“Did I hurt you?” he asks her, speaking through his teeth. His eyes widen as they fix on her swelling cheek. “Shit,” he says. “I’m sorry.”

Autumn shifts her position from where she’s kneeling on the floor. “I’m all right,” she assures him.

Lucca’s timbre is so edged with anger, it’s all I can do not to haul Autumn away from him. Unlike me, she’s not afraid. She smiles softly, appearing relieved that the immediate threat is over. “The morphine I gave you made you relive the attack,” she explains, her gentle voice growing sad. “I’m so sorry. I only meant to soothe your pain.”

Her voice trails as Lucca lifts a strand of her wild hair and tucks it behind her ear, his fingertip dragging along her jawline to hook beneath her chin. “I would never hurt you,” he rasps.

The gesture is innocent enough, but there’s so much sex behind his tone and touch, he appears seconds from peeling off her clothes. Autumn’s face flushes, her full pink lips parting as their gazes lock.

I back away, realizing I’m intruding on their moment only to ram into Salvatore. He catches me. I didn’t even know he was behind me. Apollo and Gianno must have alerted him there was trouble. As it is, he’s looking past at me to Lucca, his frown revealing his concern and his surprise.

Autumn reaches for her discarded glasses and quickly covers Lucca with a blanket. By the time she tucks it around him, he’s already sound asleep.

“We’re taking off soon,” Sal says. “Are you okay if I leave you?”

I think he’s talking to Autumn until he leaves when I nod. Apollo and Gianno slip into their seats, tossing me worried glances. Autumn continues to skitter around the plane until she finds another blanket to place over Lucca, who’s begun to tremble. I’m hesitant to interrupt her care, waiting until she heads to the rear of the plane to speak with her.

There’s a small eating area in the back. I find her at the sink washing her face. I touch her back gently, gasping when she turns and I see how swollen her cheekbone is. “Oh, my God, Autumn.”

“I’m all right,” she says, when I continue to gape at the swelling. “He isn’t the first patient to lash out at me and he won’t be the last.”

“He seemed so out of control,” I say for lack of anything better.

Her demeanor dwindles, growing sad. “I gave him morphine for the pain and so he’d sleep, but what he really needs is blood. He lost so much, the small dose was enough to trigger hallucinations.” She shakes her head. “Whatever happened . . . Jesus, Aedry, he was fighting for his life. If Salvatore hadn’t found him, he wouldn’t have made it.”

“Do you think he’ll make it now?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I gave him the antibiotics Devan brought, but the surgical procedures I performed weren’t sterile or under the best conditions. We’ll need him transported to the nearest hospital when we land. Can you look after my bags? I won’t be able to take them with me in the ambulance?”

“You’re going with him to the hospital?”

Her eyebrows knit as if she’s confused by my question. “I have to. He’s my patient.”

“Is that all?” I find myself asking.

Her blush tells me more than she actually says. “What else would he be?” she asks. The sadness returns to her voice, despite her small smile. “Did you see what he looks like, Aedry? No way would someone like him fall for me.”

Which is the same thing I said when I met Salvatore.

Autumn didn’t see the way he caressed her when she slept beside him. The way he looked at her was as if she reminded him of someone he’s been searching for, or lost, long ago. Not that it’s necessarily a good thing.

Lucca doesn’t come across as the warm friendly type. Like Sal, he strikes me as someone unaccustomed to kindness and familiar with how cruel life can be. Despite his critical condition and agitated state, he recognized how tirelessly Autumn cared for him and her efforts to help him.

I take in my friend, her beautiful flawless face, that long mane of red hair, and her heart. Someone like Lucca could very much fall for someone like her.

I don’t tell her. While Lucca didn’t intentionally hurt her, this is a man capable of harm. A hard body, quick hands, and a tough life are not qualities Autumn needs in a man, and neither are the lies he helped spread last night.

I try not to think about how smoothly Salvatore spoke and how easily each excuse came, not when I’m feeling so fragile, and not with Apollo and Gianno so close.

Without another word, I return to my seat, ignoring that nagging feeling which warns me those lies are just a few of many since I first met Salvatore. I wanted to trust him and believe he’s a good man. But after all this . . .

I click my seatbelt in place and look out to the tarmac, my breath catching when Sal passes Devan a thick roll of bills. I close the shade, blinding myself to what’s in front of me.

The last thing I ever wanted to say to Salvatore was goodbye.

But now, I no longer have a choice.

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