“Matty, you heard Catarina. She will not wake up any time soon. Don’t you want to find him?”
“I trust you to do that for me. She needed me before and I wasn’t there. Now look at her. This is all my fault, Bastian. I don’t plan to leave this room right now.”
“Leave him,” Antonio stood in the doorway as he spoke. “He’ll be no good to anyone with her here like this. We’ll find him and then Matias can kill him.”
“Fine. I’ll let you know what we find.” Bastian nodded toward Matias and followed Antonio out the door.
Matias released her hand so he could pull a chair to the edge of the bed and sit down. He laced his fingers with hers again and rested his head against the back of their joined hands.
“I promise never to fail you again, Katya. We’ll get through this, together. You just need to wake up and come back to me. I never thought I would fall in love, and then you showed up on my doorstep and all rational thought went out the door. You're the last person my heart should want. I can’t lose you when we’ve not even had the chance to make a future together. Come back to me, Princesa. I need you.”
Matias closed his eyes and prayed that she would return to him. She might feel broken, but he would do everything in his power to show her this changed nothing for them. He would do everything to help her heal.
Whitehotpainrippedthrough her body. A tingling of nerves that were awaking after a long sleep as Katya tried to move her limbs.
“Katya?”
The deep Spanish accent sent tingles down her spine. Was she dreaming or was that really Matias?
“Matias?” Her voice sounded like nails against a chalkboard.
“Shh. Don’t talk. I’m here, Katya. You’re safe.”
Katya tried to sit up, wincing as her body protested. “Help me,” she whispered to Matias. He slipped his hand behind her back and eased her up to lean against the headboard.
“Where am I?”
“Antonio Anastasi’s house. One of Miguel Angel’s men found you and brought you here.”
“How long?”
“How long what?”
“Have I been here?”
“You’ve been unconscious for three days. Catarina Anastasi has been tending to you.”
“I think I remember her. She helped me in the shower.” Katya pulled the sheet closer to her body. “And another woman was there, I think.”
“Yes, Madison. She is Massimo Anastasi’s fiancée. She held you in the shower as they washed you off. How do you feel? Should I call her?”
“No.” Katya closed her eyes. Memories of Jorge assaulted her mind. “Jorge. Where is he?”
“We don’t know, but we won't stop looking for him. I’ll kill him myself for what he’s done. Katya, what happened to you?”
“I...” She swallowed. “Please don’t ask. I can’t talk about it yet. Can I have something to drink?”
Matias stood and pulled out his phone. Katya listened as he called someone requesting Catarina and some food. She knew he had a million questions, but she wasn’t ready to show him how broken she truly was. For now, he wanted to be here, but once he learned how damaged she was—he would walk away.
“Catarina will be here in ten minutes to check on you, and Antonio is going to bring you something to eat.”
“Thank you.”
“Katya.” Matias pulled her hand into his as he stepped up to the bed. “I will do everything to make sure you are happy. When we return to Chile, your place will be by my side.”
“I’m not going back with you. You deserve better than me, Matias. I’ve done nothing but bring your family trouble. You're better off leaving me here. My father will keep coming for me. I can’t risk putting you or your brothers in danger again.”
“My brothers agree with me, Katya. You’re part of our family now. There is nothing that will stop me from making you mine, forever. Say you want that. Say you still believe we have a chance.”
