I stagger forward, my knees giving out as I sink to the floor. My hands shake as I pick up a scrap of paper, a corner of a photograph I recognize by the edge of her smile.
“No,” I breathe. “No, no, no?—”
Then I see it.
Spray-painted above the door, red and dripping like it was done in a hurry.
STOP LOOKING.
The letters are uneven, angry. A warning.
My chest caves in.
I scream.
The sound tears out of me, raw and ugly, and then I’m folding in on myself, arms over my head, rocking like that might make it all disappear.
I can’t breathe. I can’t think. The room spins, and then I’m falling, falling?—
Someone catches me.
I flinch violently, a sob snagging in my throat, but strong arms wrap around me, pulling me close before I can bolt.
“Amber,” a voice says. Low. Familiar. “It’s okay.”
I know that voice.
Giovanni.
He cradles me against his chest, one hand firm at the back of my head, the other wrapped around my shoulders like he’s anchoring me to something solid.
“It’s okay,gemma mia,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you.”
The words undo me completely.
I clutch at his coat, fingers digging in like he might disappear if I don’t hold on hard enough. My body shakes with sobs I can’t control, my face pressed against him, breathing in leather and something dark and clean.
He doesn’t tell me to calm down, doesn’t tell me to breathe. He just holds me.
I don’t know how long it lasts. Minutes. Seconds. Forever. I can’t tell.
Eventually, the world starts to creep back into focus. The wreckage. The red letters. The echo of my scream ringing in my ears.
“They were here,” I choke. “They were here because of me.”
Giovanni’s jaw tightens. I feel it under my cheek.
“This isn’t your fault,” he says.
“They’re watching me,” I whisper. “I ruined everything.”
“No,” he says again, more forceful this time. “They made a mistake.”
I pull back just enough to look at him. His expression is carved from stone, eyes dark and burning with something dangerous.
“What mistake?” I ask.
“Touching you.”
