Page 69 of Luciano

“Endearing, even,” I added.

He looked at me like he didn’t understand the words I was speaking and was about to ask me why—or the logic or science behind it.

I sighed.

God help me.

I was starting to actually like my emotionally stunted husband.

Chapter 30

Ava

I woke up drowning in sweat.

Not the kind that came after a nightmare. My stomach clenched so hard it felt like my insides were being gripped by invisible hands. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t scream. Could barely move.

I knew this pain. I’d felt it before.

I had dealt with fibroids since I was a teen. My yearly check-up had come and gone because I was in Florida, being forced to be married.

But this time, it wasn’t dull or manageable. It wasn’t the usual discomfort I’d learned to live with. The pain wasblinding.Like something had snapped or burst open inside of me.

My hand went to my stomach.

“Luciano—” I whispered.

He was awake and hovering before I could say it again.

He flicked on the bedside lamp, his face a mask of sharp lines and concern. “What is it?”

“My stomach,” I gritted out. “I think something’s wrong. Something’sreallywrong.”

I felt the bed shift, the thud of his boots. A second later, his arms were under me, lifting me like I weighed nothing. There was no way he wasn’t in pain—his arm that I shot couldn’t have healedyet—but he was carrying me.

“I’ve got you.” His voice was low. No questions. No panic. Just action.

He didn’t put me down until we reached the car. He was so in control. I tried not to let the pain make me seem weak.

Even though every bump in the road felt like glass tearing through my gut. I blacked out.

I woke up to the sound of a heart monitor and the sterile beep of something tracking my life.

The room smelled like alcohol wipes and hand soap. My mouth was dry. My body ached.

“I heard you wake,” a nurse said.

She was a pretty Black girl my age with long braids. She stepped into the room with a tablet and a smile that was entirely too cheerful for me.

“Your husband stepped out to get some coffee. Said he’d be right back.”

I blinked. “Luciano?”

She laughed. It was loud and warm and made me feel guilty for being annoyed with her. I shifted in the bed.

“Girl, yes. Tall, broody, scary as hell. He was almost kicked out twice. He scared one of the residents half to death when he tried to move your IV.”

I tried to sit up. Regretted it instantly.

---