Page 16 of Savage Hearts

She seemed to contemplate his words. “Me, too. But that’s the thing about virginity. Once you give it away, you can never get it back. I wished like hell it was Alex I’d given that gift to, not a self-centered prick.”

I watched as her words washed over him and actually felt bad for the man. He had no idea what he’d done.

“I took your virginity. Fuck, Carmela, why would you let me do that? I thought… Fuck.” He bellowed.

“I was in love with you, Carlisle, but now I realize it was just a teenage crush that went on too long. Now that I have love… you mean nothing to me.”

He held her gaze in the mirror, pain radiating through his eyes as he nodded.

“I’m sorry… for everything.”

Just as we turned off the desolate road, the hairs on my neck tingled. I scanned the street, my gut telling me something was off. Just as I opened my mouth to tell Carmela to turn around, the world around me imploded. The car lurched, rolling repeatedly until it was pressed against the guardrail. My head thundered, but the gut-wrenching pain that tore through my stomach had me screaming out in agony.

“Carlisle? Carmela?” I wiped the blood streaming down my face and turned toward my sister. Her body, which was held by the seatbelt, hung limply beside me. Craning my neck, I turned to peer over my seat, looking for Carlisle. He wasn’t in the car anymore, making me panic even more. As I reached out to grab Carmela, her door was wretched open, the belt snapping as she was jerked out.

My own door was pulled free, and two arms reached in and sliced the fabric holding me in place. I slipped forward into a pair of arms that yanked me out of the truck. My arms went around my belly just as I was thrown onto the concrete. I gasped at the sight of my twin unconscious on the ground. Crawling toward her, my leg was grabbed, and my body pulled back. Pain ricocheted through my abdomen as I hit the ground on my belly.

“Please.” I whimpered. “Don’t hurt me. I’m pregnant.”

The masked man spat something I didn’t understand to the goon standing beside Carmela.

“Which one are we supposed to take?”

Just as he bent to push Carmela’s hair from her face, Carlisle leaped up from the embankment and tackled him. They rolled around, grappling and making the one near me rush toward them. I crawled to my sister and pressed my hand against her neck.

“Carm, please wake up.” My body shook with sobs. As I was attempting to roll her over, a gunshot rang out. My eyes darted up in time to see Carlisle crumple to the grass. The man he’d been wrestling stood to his full height and stared down at his lifeless body. The sound of sirens filled the night air, making both of them glance in the direction they were coming from.

“Fuck grab her.”

The one who’d pulled me out of the car bent down and kicked me, making me recoil to protect my baby. I watched as he hoisted Carmela up. “What about that one?”

Sounds of help grew closer, making him glance down at me.

“Leave her for now. We’ll get her, eventually.”

I screamed out, half crawling, half dragging my body toward him. “Don’t take her… please.”

The unmistakable pain of him hitting me with the butt of his gun sliced through my skull, and I crumpled to the ground. My belly tightened with the most painful cramp, making me cry out in utter pain.

Lying on my side, I watched as they shuffled toward a blue… no, maybe black… Fuck, my vision was fading to blackness, but I forced my eyes to stay open. Through hazed eyes, I watched as my sister was driven away.

I laid on my side, pain threatening to end my existence. Carlisle’s unmoving body laid a few feet away from me. I had no idea if he was dead, though deep down, I knew he was. Stretching my arm, I reached out. My fingertips grazed his shirt, but the fight inside me was waning. The muscles in my belly tightened, and I felt a gush of liquid between my thighs. Not only had my need for freedom cost Carlisle his life and my sister her safety, my daughter was dying. I knew it with every fiber of my being. Giving over to the darkness that danced around me, I let my eyelids drift closed.

I’d killed them.

I prayed for death to take me, too.

six

BECKETT

Life was filledwith decisions that haunt you, and the one that haunted me was still in danger. After leaving her with Tino nearly ten months ago, I’d fought with myself for staying away. Celestina’s look of fear when I shoved her into the panic room was something that would be burned into my soul until the moment I died. Hell, it was what kept me up at night. I’d prayed time and distance would help rid her from my thoughts, but that woman had burned herself into my soul. I spoke to her brother once I’d healed from my gunshot wound—thanks to Tino and his sister.

“Why are you calling me, Mr. Hart?” Massimo Anastasi growled into the phone.

I took a deep breath. “I need to know she’s safe.”

The silence was deafening as I waited for him to respond. I didn’t deserve an answer. Hell, I was the reason she was taken and placed in danger.

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