Page 35 of Savage Hearts

“Then help me bring this monster to his knees.”

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll kill him. I might not be La Lama, but I have demons of my own—demons I’ve used to become the monster in the dark. And while I never wanted that part of me to touch her again, I realize it’s exactly what she needs. Manuel Costa might think he’s winning, but he’s not. He wants a war… well, he’s got one now.”

I gripped Celestina’s hand in mine and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

“Come back to me, baby. I need you… Emilia needs you, sweetheart.”

“Dr. Luchasi, will my daughter be okay?” The oldest Anastasi stepped beside the bed and pressed his palm to her bare leg. “I can’t tell her mother another daughter has been taken from us.”

“She’s breathing… that’s the first step. I need to get her hooked up and checked over. I won’t know the extent of the damage until she wakes up. Do we know how long she was down?”

“No. She was in the bathroom for maybe thirty minutes. I don’t know when she stopped breathing.”

“She’s strong, Cat.” Donny held his wife against his chest. “Have faith she’ll wake up fine.”

“The baby will need to go on a bottle.” Dr. Luchasi pressed his stethoscope to her chest. “We can’t risk transmission of the drug through her breast milk.”

“Fine.” I nodded. “Whatever we need to do to get her better. Emilia will be fine on formula. What she won’t be fine with is being without her mother.”

“Take care of my daughter, Beckett. I had my doubts about you, but seeing you nearly gutted tells me she has your heart.”

“She has everything, sir.”

Nodding his head, Giacomo Anastasi stepped away. “Massimo, come. We have much to plan.”

“Kevin.” The doctor turned toward Massimo. “Bring me back, my sister.”

“I’ll do everything I can.”

The room emptied, leaving me alone with the doctor. With Celestina’s hand enveloped in my own, I pressed my head to the edge of the bed and, for the first time in my life… I prayed.

fourteen

CELESTINA

A fog filled the cavern,leaving very little light to peer into the distance. I could hear people murmuring, but the octave was too low to make out.

Flexing my fingers, I reached out to grasp hold of something—anything—but my attempt was futile. Why was I stuck in this place? I racked my brain, trying to sift through my muddled thoughts for any reminder of why I was there.

Exhaustion gripped me, and the fight within me dissipated I slipped back into oblivion.

fifteen

BECKETT

There weremany moments in my life where I’d felt fear, but nothing compared to that instant when I found Celestina on the floor unconscious. More daunting than that sight was having to press my lips to hers and breathe life into her.

Had I pushed her to this?

I tugged her hand to my lips and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. Several times over the last few days, she’d come out of the unconscious state she’d been under, but there’d been no words or even recognition in her eyes when they briefly fluttered open … which sparked the fear inside me. Nestled in the crook of my arm, Emilia stirred. Two months ago, who would have thought this would be my life—not me. I’d convinced myself that being away from her was the best thing for everyone’s safety.

HowwrongI was.

“Beckett.” Madison’s voice cut through the space, and I glanced over my shoulder at her. “Take a break. I’ll stay with her.”

“I can’t.” Shaking my head, I turned back toward Celestina. “I’m the reason she’s here like this. It’s been a week, Madison… aweek,and she hasn’t woken up.”

“You’re not to blame for this.” She slid a chair across the floor and saddled it beside me. “This is Manuel Costa’s fault. He’s a monster, and when my husband and his brothers find him, he’ll wish he’d never poked them.”

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