Page 225 of Salvatore

I close my eyes at the feel of her, breathing her in, clinging boneless arms around her.

“I was scared you weren’t going to wake up,” she whispers. “I was so damn scared, Salvatore.”

“I’d fight my way back from death a thousand times over for you,mi reina.”

She sniffs as the door clicks shut, the noise from the hall fading.

“Tell me you’re okay.” I glide my touch over her—her head, her shoulders, her back.

“I am.” She nuzzles into me. “Your family are crazy, though. They won’t let me out of their sight. Your sisterliterallyguards the door if I need to use the bathroom.”

“I’ll have to thank her for that.”

She pulls back, those commanding eyes fathomless. “You willnotbe thanking her. I haven’t had a chance to be alone with my thoughts, and it’s killed me.”

“You’ve had a lot to think about,mi reina?” I want to ask about the baby. Aboutourchild. But I can’t stand the thought of seeing her glassy-eyed again.

She winces. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I remember Lorenzo’s penthouse.”

She lowers her gaze to the bed, her brows pulled tight.

“I think I remember most of it.” I don’t want to put her through a recap.

She swallows, her throat working overtime as those sad eyes return to mine. “You were beaten. Stabbed. You had a punctured lung, a dislocated shoulder, and will be recovering from multiple broken ribs and a bullet wound on your thigh for quite some time.” She blinks faster, tears starting to gloss over her gorgeous eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey.” I palm her chin, dragging my thumb across her bottom lip. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”

She scoffs. “You sound like your siblings.”

“Well, in that case, this will probably be the first and only time I admit that maybe they’re not as dumb as I’d thought.”

She smiles—small, forced, a fragile light against the darkness of her heartache. But all too soon it fades into sadness. “You stopped breathing.” She scrunches her nose, the threat of those tears almost spilling over. “Your brothers shoved you in a car and took off… There was no room for me… I thought I’d never see you?—”

“My brothers left you at the bunker?” I snap my gaze to the glass doors, glaring my fury at Matthew and Remy.

“No.” Ivy grabs my hand. “I left with Cole and his men. Sarah, too. They took good care of me while your brothers focused on you. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

I cling to her, my bruised and battered fingers entangled with her perfectly beautiful ones. “They should never have left you.”

“They were distraught.”

“I highly doubt it.”

She straightens. “Salvatore, I’ve never seen grown men more in fear of losing someone than your brothers have been over you. They’ve demanded the best care. Have flown in the most experienced doctors. And then there’s the revenge…”

I quirk a brow. “I’m listening.”

She rolls her eyes, batting away a stray tear. “While you’ve been napping, they’ve had their men out on the streets dealing with all loose ends associated with Gabriel. Anyone who survived has fled the state.”

“Have the cops been a problem?”

“Not that I know of. But your family are pretty tight-lipped when it comes to sharing news with me.”

I nod, appreciating that they’ve sheltered her. “Okay.” I raise our entwined hands and kiss her knuckles. “So if the cops are contained and I’m finally awake, why do you still look devastated?”

“Because I am.” She forces a smile that only makes more tears well in her eyes. “I’ve been the contributing factor for too many horrible situations. Gabriel and Alonso are dead, and although I’m relieved, I know my mom must be devastated. Then there’s Lorenzo—which I’m truly sorry for—and…”

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