Page 86 of Stolen Seconds

“Sweetheart.”

That voice. . .

Not so pretty anymore, Irina.

My heart thrashed against my ribcage as the voice registered with a sickening realization.

With energy I didn’t have to spare, I peeled my eyes open—my eye, adjusting to the bright lights overhead.

As the blur in my vision diminished, the face of someone who brought me devastation and joy appeared.

Fear sliced through me, screams spilling from my mouth at the haunting voice of his last words to me.

He’d been there. He did this to me. He hurt me and Nicolai.

Luca’s voice was muffled by my cries as I thrashed against his hold, my limbs burning from the effort to get away from him.

“Don’t hurt me, please!”

The beeping sound of a machine quickened as my nerves slithered over me like a sick and twisted caress.

Other voices reached me before multiple sets of hands pinned me in place, a sharp sensation pricking my arm.

The last image I saw before I was pulled under theharsh waves of my subconscious were caramel eyes, distraught and distressed.

“I should’ve never let you go.”

“You havenoidea what you mean to me, Irina.”

“If only you knew the unexplainable hold you have over me.”

“Don’t hate me. I can’t bear it.”

I’d woken up to Luca’s broken voice as he whispered to me, his hands clutching mine.

I hadn’t let it be known to him that I was awake, savoring his gentle touches and words.

What kind of person was I to crave the touch of the same man who put me in the hospital?

Yet it didn’t make sense. How could Luca possess this kind of tenderness for me when I was ‘asleep’?

Confusion warred in me, and I wanted to cry. I wanted to let the tears fall freely, draining myself of this unbearable ache that would be the cause of my death.

My heart couldn’t handle anymore suffering. It was torn and withered, reaching its limit.

It was hard to accept that he was the one behind what happened when my gut told me differently.

My fingers twitched as I opened my eye, finding his gaze easily.

“Why did you do it?” I murmured, exhaustion lining my tone.

My gaze soaked in his beauty. I couldn’t deny myself of that when he was this close to me. It took everything inme to not reach out and trace the angular planes of his face. But I refrained.

His eyes were glossy and red, as if he’d been crying, which further proved my gut to be right. But I needed him to say that he would never hurt me in such a vile way.

“Do what?”

“I heard you. You. . . you.” I choked on my words, suddenly aware of how I must look right now.

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