Valerio studies me, eyes narrowing. “She needs to go to a hospital, then.”
“No,” I snarl, surprising myself. “No one else touches her.”
That shuts him up.
I lay her flat again and place a hand on her abdomen, watching for the rise and fall of her breathing. It’s shallow, uneven. Her lashes tremble like she’s trying to fight her way back up, but she doesn’t make it.
I stand and pull my phone from my pocket.
“Call Dr. Bianchi,” I tell Valerio. “Tell him I want him here first thing in the morning.”
He nods once but doesn’t move. “Riccardo… you don’t bring people here. You don’t do this. Ever.” His voice is firm.
“I know.”
“You beat a man half to death tonight for her.”
“I know.”
“And now you’re putting her in your bed?”
My jaw tightens. “Valerio.”
He shuts his mouth, but I can feel the grin he’s swallowing.
I get close enough that he loses the grin entirely. “I want everything on her,” I say quietly. “Everything.”
His eyes widen slightly. He wasn’t expecting that. “Everything?”
“If she has a cat at home, I want pictures. If she’s got rent due, I want the amount. If she has debt, I want the total. If she has someone hurting her, I want their name. I don’t care how small it is. I want to know.”
Valerio nods slowly. “You got it.”
“Tonight,” I add. “Start tonight.”
“It feels like you’re planning for her to stay a while.”
When I don’t deny it, he sighs.
“Man, are you sure you want to cross this line?”
I look at Savannah. Her fingers curl weakly against the sheet. Her chest rises once, sharply, like it hurts.
“I crossed it a long time ago,” I say with lifted brows. “Go.”
Valerio leaves without another word.
Soon, I am sitting on the edge of the mattress, with her hand in mine. Her skin is soft, warm, and trembling faintly. I thread my fingers through hers carefully, trying not to shake.
“Breathe for me,” I whisper. “That’s all you have to do.”
Her breathing evens—not much, but enough that some of the tension eases out of my shoulders.
I stay exactly like that.
The whole night, I never let go of her hand.
5
