Page 58 of Vicious Little Princess

“That I couldn’t… that when you grabbed my hand, I reacted… the way I did.”

“It’s all okay. I didn’t take it personally and I won’t. There’s no need to rush it, to rush yourself, and certainly don’t feel bad about it.”

“I love you, you know that?” he uttered, his eyes drooping.

“As I love you, brother. Fucking always.”

A smile graced his lips before he then closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

Good. He needed rest. And a lot of it.

But it would be a miracle if he actually managed to sleep through the night.

If last time was anything to go by, he’d be waking up screaming every couple of hours.

Pained and tormented.

Exhausted and wrecked.

I wished I could take it all away for him.

I wished there were words or a gesture I could make that would do that.

Hell, I wished I could undo it entirely.

But wishful thinking wouldn’t accomplish anything.

All we could do right now was to be here for him, listen to his needs, and keep a close eye on him in every way until we were certain that he was back on stable ground again.

He was surrounded by love, understanding, and safety in each of us.

He’d be okay.

He’d get through this.

We’dget him through this.

Angelo hadn’t broken him, he’d just shaken him.

That was all.

That was fucking all.

14

~Nico~

Rocco was right on time as usual.

As Caterina and I stepped out into the hospital parking lot on the southeast side of the building, there he was striding along with two more of my soldiers at his back, the two of them blending well into the night in their black leather jackets and jeans.

Rocco stood out a little more and not just because he was a decade older than Vin and Mike who were in their early twenties, but also with his light gray jeans, the flashy motocross jacket, and mostly, the numerous piercings in his face and ears that glinted in the dark from the hospital lights and those of the lot. Hell, his ears were more metal than flesh, really.

He shoved a hand through his overgrown dark crew cut as he caught sight of me and jogged the rest of the way to us.

“How’s he doing?” he asked me right away.

“Stabilized. He’ll make a full recovery.”

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