Page 113 of Stolen Seconds

I fell to my knees, panting as tears clung to my lids. “I’m not okay,” I whispered, my throat tightening. “Because the woman I love took a bullet meant for me.”

My body shook as the agony took over, robbing me of the wall I’d built up to avoid the unbearable truth.

Irina was dead.

A guttural scream tore from me as I punched the floor over and over again until my knuckles split open, blood coating them.

Roman wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back. “That’s enough.”

“It hurts, Roman.” Lifeless blue eyes pulsed at the forefront of my mind. The image of Irina dying burnedinto my soul. “I can’t go on without her,” I choked. “I can’t.”

“What happened. . . ”

I looked up through hooded lids to see my little sister run into the room, her face turning pale as she took in the scene.

Humiliation whirled inside me, and I couldn’t stop myself as I said, “Get out.” She didn’t need to see me this way, let alone be surrounded by the chaos I came with. Hurt rimmed her round green eyes, but she didn’t move. “Get out, Evangeline!”

My sister had always been a fragile soul since she was a child, more so after our mother passed away. She didn’t have anyone to rely on except for me and while I was far from perfect, I tried my damn hardest to raise her.

It didn’t matter that we had maids for every minuscule thing. She never looked to them once, but as we grew older, that changed.

I knew what it took to be a Mafia princess, and I hoped I hadn’t been too late to save her from that burden.

Eva faltered in her step at the harshness of my tone before she ran out of the room.

I let my head hang between my shoulders, trying to even out my breathing, but it was no use. The raw ache had intensified, and I felt completely lost, suspended in the space where Irina once was.

She’d left and taken my heart with her.

Chapter 32

Luca

Itossed and turned in bed, praying for sleep to take me under.

It was the only time I could be with Irina and pretend that she hadn’t left me in agony.

Facing the empty space next to me, I gripped the bedsheet, my fingers trembling from the loss of her presence.

I didn’t know how long I stayed like that when my mind conjured up an image of her.

My heart shattered all over again because I knew it wasn’t real. She was a figment of my imagination.

“Is this how it’ll always be?” I asked, gazing at her. “I don’t know how to go on without you, Irina.”

She smiled sadly, her blue eyes sparking with a warmth that I couldn’t feel.

The moment I reached out to touch her, the image scattered away, leaving my hand suspended in the air where she had been.

I cursed myself as I ran a hand down my face and got up from the bed.

I walked downstairs and into the living room to find my best friend sitting on the couch, his eyes glued to the baby monitor in his hands.

He carried it with him everywhere.

“I told you to go home, Roman.” He looked up at me as I sat across from him. “I’m sure Aurora needs you more than I do right now.”

“She was the one who told me to stay.” His obsidian eyes darkened as if he had more to say.

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