I laughed weakly around a groan.
“You will help him!” Eva’s frantic voice filled the car’s cabin. “I don’t give a damn how you feel. I love him, Daddy. Please, I’m fucking begging you!”
Franco was on the line. I wouldn’t blame him for refusing to help. Hell, I wouldn’t blame him if he finished the job himself. I’d broken her heart and shattered her trust. The fact that she was even here, worried about my well-being, served as a shred of solace that I hadn’t damaged her beyond repair.
Or maybe I had.
I must have lost consciousness because I didn’t remember being transported from the car to a cot in one of Franco’s patient rooms. It was dark, with just the low light from a nearby lamp. Running a hand down my torso, I realized I was no longer dressed in my own clothes. I’d been outfitted in a pale blue gown. My left hand was also bandaged around my palm and two fingers.
“You’re awake.”
Her voice had this way of moving through me and curling itself around my heart. My tensed muscles instantly relaxed when I looked into her eyes. She forced a smile, and my stomach dropped as I waited for my world to fall apart again. For her to tell me that it would be the last time I’d see her because she was only here out of pity.
Eva uncurled herself from the leather-bound loveseat and took tentative steps in my direction, misty eyes never wavering from mine. She sat at the foot of the small cot, the lamp’s glow highlighting her features. I swallowed the pain radiating through my body as I attempted to shift into a sitting position. Anger coiled inside me upon seeing the bruises, the blown blood vessels in her eyes, and the purpling around a busted lip.
“What did they do to you?”
She shook her head, her mouth pulled into another fake smile. “I’m fine. And there’s no use being upset. They’re all dead.”
She didn’t have to say it. The accusation written between the lines was clear as day. They’re dead because I’d been at the helm. I’d orchestrated the massacre of an entire clan without a single fuck given or an ounce of remorse. But couldn’t she see I’d done it for her?
Always for her.
Despite it all, she still hated the man in front of her. Yet I’d do it again without a second thought. Every drop of blood spilled was worth her life. And they all needed to pay.
Even if she wouldn’t have me.
“You don’t have to stay.”
Her head snapped up.
“You want me to leave?”
“Isn’t that what you want? Look, I know I’m not exactly your favorite person right now. And a part of me feels responsible for what happened to you. I’m so sorry, Eva.”
She looked away and scoffed.
“You’re so stupid, Derek Cain.” I narrowed my eyes, confused by her words. “So fucking stupid.”
“Care to elaborate?” I said with a painful chuckle.
She stood up and sat beside me. “To say I’ve been through hell and back would be the understatement of the century. Derek, I was beaten” —she gripped the sheets— “violated and kidnapped, all after having my heart broken and learning the world as I knew it was all just a lie. Like I’ve been asleep this whole time while everyone around me was in on the secret.” Her hand slowly settled over mine, fingers feathering over the ink of my index finger. “Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t want to be?”
My heart thundered in my chest. Shewantedto be here. I sat up and held her face with my bandaged hand, hope soaring in my chest.
“Angel, what I said back there is true. I love you, woman. And I’m sorry for everything I put you through.”
Tears rolled down her face as she rested her forehead on mine. “I love you too, Derek. But—”
No, no, no.
“Eva, please.”
“I can’t, Derek. I just can’t,” she whispered, shaking her head.
“But you just said…”
Eva tugged my hand from her face.
