“As of right now, I have no pressing concerns that would require me to keep her overnight for observation. I find that most patients are able to rest more comfortably at home, anyway, after a traumatic event. But if you experience any cramping or bleeding, you need to come back in right away. Understood?”
“Yes, of course.” I stood to shake his hand. “Thank you.”
“I’ll get to work on that paperwork now. Take care, Rory.” He strode from the room, leaving us alone.
Running a hand through my hair, I released a heavy sigh.
Dario hadn’t just come for my son this time; he’d come for my wife.
If it took burning this entire city to the ground to end him, the collateral damage would be worth it.
I couldn’t wait to piss on his ashes.
Chapter 20
Rory
“Easy,”GiocoaxedasI hobbled into our bedroom suite, his arm around my back providing support.
Everything hurt, from my head to my toes, a combination of sensations ranging from a dull throbbing to a sharp sting.
When we bypassed the bed, I whined, “I want to lie down. Please.”
“Let me draw you a bath. You told the doctor you were sore.”
Ooh, that sounded nice enough that any further protests died on my tongue.
Turning the faucet on the massive soaker tub and adding lavender bubble bath, he gently peeled away my clothing. There was nothing sexual when it came to him getting me naked; his motions were purely functional.
Gio tested the temperature of the water, making sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold, before offering me a hand to step inside. A moan slipped past my lips when I sank beneath the bubbles, my eyes falling shut as my head dropped back against the edge.
When I felt fingers comb through my hair, tugging gently, my heavy lids lifted to find my husband affixing my long red tresses atop my head with a claw clip from where he was kneeling beside the tub.
I must’ve hit my head really hard, because I was convinced this was a hallucination. The all-powerful Gio Bellini didn’t deign to take care of others. That was something more suited to his alter-ego, John, whom I still missed desperately every single day.
He rolled up a hand towel and tucked it behind my neck to act as a cushion. “How’s that feel?”
Avoiding eye contact, I dragged a path through the multiplying bubbles. “Good.”
The awkward silence was deafening once the running water was turned off. And when I couldn’t take it a single second longer, I turned my head to the side, asking the question that had been plaguing my mind since I woke up in that hospital bed.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
His forehead wrinkled, and he cocked his head to the side. “What are you talking about?”
Frustrated, I huffed, “Don’t play dumb. Earlier today, you could barely stand the sight of me. And now—” I released a heavy exhale. “Now, you’re going out of your way to make me comfortable. I’m not complaining. I just want to know why.”
Gio’s eyes dropped to where his fingertips skimmed the water’s surface. Voice thick, he rasped, “Enzo got that call, and for a minute I thought that bomb thrown through the store window had blown up my entire world.” His swallow was audible. “I thought I lost you.”
Nowit made sense. “You thought you lost your heir.”
“No.” He gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his tortured brown gaze. “The first person I thought about was you, Rory. Don’t ask me to explain it because I can’t. All I know is thatyouwere my primary concern, and when I thought for even a split second that you were gone, I didn’t want to live anymore.”
My mouth dropped open, the shock of his statement rendering me speechless.
Gio Bellini, valuing someone else’s life more than his own? Had Hell frozen over?
Almost like he needed to drive the point home, my husband said, “We can make another baby, butyouare irreplaceable.”
