Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
My fingers tightened around Nora’s as impotent rage pulsed through my self-loathing, a toxic mix of emotions.
“Luca…” Her lashes fluttered, but her eyes didn’t quite open.
“I’m here.” I choked out the promise. “I’m right here.”
“You’re safe, Nora,” Dante murmured, his full attention fixed on her again.
“Dante?” she whispered, and jealousy punched me. “You came…”
“I will always come for you,” he swore. “I will always protect you. The Russians will die for what they did. They will never touch you again.”
She jolted at the mention of the Russians, then went limp on a groan as the movement jostled her head injury.
Dante cursed and motioned to the doctor. “Give her something for the pain.”
“No!” I barked, fresh fear gripping my heart.
They couldn’t give her opioids. For a moment, memories of my mother’s broken form lying in her hospital bed assailed me. They’d given her plenty of painkillers after my father had beaten her in retaliation for her affair with Giuseppe. She’d become addicted, and a few years later, she’d died of an overdose.
“My wife won’t suffer for one more second,” Dante seethed. “And you are the last person who will cause her pain ever again.” He nodded to the doctor. “Go ahead.”
I gritted my teeth as I watched the needle ease into her arm.
I didn’t want Nora to suffer. She must be in agony after what the Russians had done to her. I couldn’t let her succumb to their torment for another moment.
I took a breath and forced my own dark memories and fears away. I wouldn’t allow my wife to become addicted. She could get the medical treatment she needed, and I would protect her from the potential consequences.
When the tension eased from her pinched features, Dante barked at the doctor again. “Check his head.”
“But your shoulder—”
“I’m fine.” Dante cut him off and glowered at me. “You don’t get to die, you selfish son of a bitch. I won’t do that to her.”
“I’m not hurt,” I ground out, ignoring the throb in my head. I’d suffered far worse, and I didn’t want them to drug me too. I wanted to stay with Nora, not be unconscious. I wouldn’t leave her vulnerable to Dante.
“Shut up, or I’ll cut out Lorenzo’s tongue,” he threatened coldly. “I won’t do anything that might hurt her, and that includes making sure you survive. She loves you.” He spat the words.
The reminder of her desperate declaration knifed through my heart.
My fault. What’d happened to her was my fault. Her father might’ve sent Giana to free her, but I’d urged her to go. I’d commanded her to run straight into the Russians’ waiting hands.
So, I let the doctor check my head injury. It was nothing compared the agony of my failure, and I easily ignored the small flare of pain as he prodded me. I was so focused on her that I didn’t even notice when the needle pricked my arm. Warm darkness crept in at the edges of my mind, and I growled a slurred curse at Dante. I didn’t want to pass out. I wanted to stay with her.
He ignored me, his intense green gaze fixed on her face as he tenderly stroked her hair back from her cheek. The nauseating image was the last thing I saw before the drugs dragged me under.
Chapter 4
Nora
“Don’t give her any more of that shit.” I recognized Luca’s low growl through the haze that fogged my mind. “She’ll get addicted.”
“I’m not going to let her suffer,” Dante snapped back. “You’re even more of a bastard than I thought if you leave her in pain.”
“Try it, and I’ll find a way to drive a knife into your heart this time.” The threat was cold enough to draw a shiver to the surface of my skin.
“You seem to have forgotten what will happen to your friends if you challenge me.” Dante’s tone was impossibly icier.
“I don’t fucking care. I will do anything for her. I will sacrifice anything. I’m not going to let you give her any more opioids. I’m not going to watch her wither and waste away like my mother.”
A moment of heavy silence passed, weighing on my chest. My entire body ached as though I’d been hit by a truck. But my mind was fuzzy, and I couldn’t manage to open my eyes.
“And you think I’ll allow that?” Dante finally bit out. “I’m not going to let anything or anyone harm my wife. Never again.”
“You don’t know what can happen.” Luca’s voice was haunted, old nightmares tormenting him. “You can’t watch her every minute of the day. She’ll overdose and die. That shit is poison.”
Another beat of silence.
“Your mother died of an overdose.” Dante didn’t phrase it as a question. “You’re right. I can’t be with her every moment. Fine. You’ll help make sure that she doesn’t become addicted. You’ll devote yourself to her entirely, won’t you?”