Page 104 of Ruined in Vows

“Fuck. What am I going to do, Nic? This is killing me. I want to steal her away, and hide her, so that no one can touch her. I know what her fate is, and what is expected of her, and I can’t handle it. I won’t be able to handle it.”

“Dante?” Valentina calls softly, breaking me from my memory.

Emotion hits me and the only person I want to share what I recalled with is currently asleep and will not fucking wake up.

Before I can answer Valentina, the door is pushed open, Nico’s big body entering the room. His jaw is clenched, and he looks tense as his eyes focus on his sister.

“Still not awake then?” he observes.

“Ten points for observation,” I drawl sarcastically.

He turns his icy glare on me. “Fuck you, asshole.”

“Boys,” Valentina sighs in exasperation.

“Any news on Romano?” I ask.

Nico grins, the look cruel, cold and damn right calculating. “You will be pleased to know, some of my men managed to grab him before he could get away. He is currently in one of my warehouses awaiting a visit from us. The commission will join us there when I give them the go ahead.”

The need for vengeance pulses in my veins, heating my blood.

That motherfucker will wish he were dead long before I grant it to him.

My mouth opens, ready to respond, when the voice I love most in this world, the one I have been waiting to hear for what feels like a lifetime, but in reality is only hours – the longest hours of my life – speaks, slowly bringing my heart back to life.

“Dante?”

Chapter 60

Allegra

“Dante?” I mumble through my dry mouth, cracking my heavy eyes open.

“I am here,Principessa.” I hear the relief and desperation in his voice as he crowds me.

“Mia figlia,” Mamma gasps before she appears in my line of sight.

My chest tightens at the clear worry on her face.

“Leg,” my brother sounds relieved, though I see tension in his eyes.

“What happened?” I ask, planting my hands on the bed and trying to shift myself up into a sitting position.

Of course, Dante doesn’t allow it.

He glares at me, gently gripping me under my arms and shuffling me up the bed. Pain radiates through me, and I grit my teeth when I remember the reason that I am here.

I was shot.

Grabbing the blanket, I pull it back, revealing the hideous oversized hospital gown covering my body. I should have expected it really. It’s not like I would be left naked with my wound on display

A big hand takes mine, pulling the blanket back in place. I glance up at Dante. The guilt on his face almost cripples me and I frown. Tilting my head, I repeat my question. “What happened?”

Dante blows out a breath, scrubbing a palm across his jaw, pain clear in his dark gaze. “Angel…” he starts, then trails off. My heart pumps hard in my chest, panic rising as I pin him with a no nonsense look. “You were shot.”

“Okay,” I respond slowly, my gaze flickering between the three of them. I get the feeling they are hiding something. “What is going on?” I demand.

“Baby,” Dante whispers, shame in that one word. Fixing my gaze on my husband, I prepare myself for the bomb that he is clearly about to drop. “It was me. I was the one that shot you.”

---