Page 173 of Sin & Sapphire

“Ana, baby, I swear to you, you’ll never have to do anything you don’t want to ever again.”

“I need them to promise me that too.”

I stood, groaning.

“Luca?”

I shook my head. “I’m fine, just a little sore.”

“From the blast?”

“Yeah, baby, that was incredible. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

When a tear streaked down Ana’s face, I held out my arms, and she leaned forward, her cheek awkwardly placed on my chest as I carefully held her upper arms.

She sniffled, and I reached to hold her around her shoulders.

“You’re incredible. You always have been. Brave. Clever. Smarter than the rest of us combined. And you’re so fucking generous. Baby, you gave up everything to save them. I love you.”

When she took a deep breath, I continued, unwilling to hear her deny me. “You don’t have to say it yet. Maybe you never will. But I need you to know, and I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you never doubt it.”

“Okay,” she whispered into my chest. “Okay.” I didn’t say a word, terrified that if I spoke now, asked for clarification, I’d ruin whatever the fuck she was agreeing to. “I’ll come home with you,” she whispered, and hope soared in my chest. “For now.”

Forever.

“Angel,”Angelo rasped when I pushed her out of the room in a wheelchair two hours later. He sprang up from the seat where he’d been restlessly waiting for the past few days.

Dante’s arm shot out, blocking him from reaching forward. “Sofia’s got a car outside,” he said softly. “I’ll walk you there, if you’d like.”

Ana’s eyes widened, and the smile that stretched over her face was so goddamned soft, jealousy curled in my gut.

No.

I’d fucked up.

And I’d spend the rest of my life figuring out how to make her smile like that again.

“No,” Ana said firmly, her chin lifted in what I had come to recognize as the poster she used when she was about to give commands. “I’m going home with my men.”

“Are you sure?” Dante asked her, his eyes roving over us with suspicion. “We can keep you as safe as them, without forcing you into sexual servitude.”

Ana’s sweet smile turned into a grin. “Dante,” she whispered loudly, “I liked the sexual servitude.”

Hope, pure and golden, lanced through my heart like a fucking sunbeam as Dante shook his head but allowed Angelo to pass.

“Valentin’s got a car out front,” Angelo said. His hands clenched into fists at his side, as if he were holding back.

Ana saw it, same as the rest of us, and she tilted her head thoughtfully. “Angelo—daddy—would you push me outside, please?”

His eyes widened, and he stopped breathing for a second, and I knew then, with absolute certainty, that his obsession was as much love as lust. This man would doanythingfor Ana. Now he had to convince her of that.

Angelo wheeled our girl through the sterile halls of the hospital. She leaned forward in her chair, making sure her back didn’t hit its hard, vinyl back, and he stopped, looking at her critically, then shrugged out of his suit jacket and held his hand out to me. “Give me your shirt.”

Mystified, I took mine off, ignoring the wince of pain as I unbuttoned it, leaving only the white T-shirt underneath.

Angelo took them and rolled them into a long pillow and set them behind Ana, so her lower back was a few inches away from the back of the chair.

She didn’t say anything, just reached up and stroked her fingers over Angelo’s.

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