Page 76 of The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession)

She was dead. Sophia was dead.

Chapter 30

Gio sat on the rocky shore. Numbly, he stared down at Sophia’s hand in his. He tried to squeeze it, but he could barely feel it. Distantly he could make out the sounds of sirens and shouting, but it was a world away, one where there was still warmth and sunshine.

This place was cold and empty. Nothing mattered, not even when the paramedics ran up and took over chest compressions from Enzo.

It was too late.

“Gio!”

It was Enzo, waving in his face. He was saying something about not watching, but Gio ignored him. All that mattered was holding her hand and not letting go.

They had thrown a blanket over Sophia and another over him, but one of the EMTs was still pushing on her chest. Another had one of those plastic things they fit over her mouth with a bulb attached. The EMT kept squeezing it, forcing air in and out of Sophia’s lungs like a bellows.

He should tell them it was too late. He had pushed her into the water-filled trunk and she had drowned.

In the end, it hadn’t been Richard.Hehad killed her.

But Gio didn’t say anything, and he didn’t move. He was made of stone, up until the moment Sophia turned and coughed, spitting out water. Then he was shouting—or it should have been. His voice came out thin and half-strangled.

“Sophia!”

She was alive. The relief would have knocked him to his knees if he hadn’t already been sitting.

“Baby, look at me,” he said, his grip tightening on her hand as he brought it to his lips.

“What happened?” she whispered. Her voice was raspy, damaged from nearly drowning.

“You’re fine now,” Gio said, his head swimming. “Don’t try to talk.”

She grimaced and tried to sit up, but stopped short and put a hand on her chest as if it hurt.

“Stay down, miss,” one of the EMTs ordered. “We’re bringing a stretcher.”

Sophia gave him a tiny nod, but her attention was diverted to something behind them. Gio turned around to see Richard being walked to a police cruiser. The Englishman was on his feet with his hands cuffed behind his back, weeping openly.

“I’m sorry!” he kept crying. “I’m sorry!”

You haven’t begun to be sorry, Gio vowed to himself.

He turned back to Sophia and tried to stand as the EMTs transferred her to a stretcher, but he must have moved too quickly because he staggered. Despite being fitted with an oxygen tank, Sophia reached out to him, touching his left arm.

“Gio, you’re bleeding!”

Glancing down at his arm, he was surprised to see a stream of bright red blood flowing down to his elbow.

Everything grew very bright for an instant. The glare of the headlights from so many emergency vehicles temporarily blinded him.

Wait. The popping sound. Richard had pointed something at him. There had been a noise and then his arm had stung.

“Oh,” he said slowly. His voice sounded as if it was coming from a million miles away.

“I’ve been shot.”

Then everything went dark.

Chapter 31

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