Time loses its meaning as my ears ring, my entire focus on bringing her back.
"Again!"
I ignore the fact that it's been over three minutes.
"Again!"
"Quin..."
"No!" I bark. "Again, goddamn it!”
Damon swallows, leaning over Emery. He gives her his breath, and then the most beautiful sound I've ever heard echoes around us—a cough. A string of coughs. How glorious. How magnificent.
She is alive.
My eyes well up as Damon and I place a hand on her back, propping her up. Water sputters out of Emery’s mouth as she continues to cough and all we can do is stare at her. Stare as color returns to her cheeks, her lips. Stare as she opens those bright green eyes of hers. Stare as she opens her mouth, and her angelic voice fills our ears.
“Hi,” she whispers, her exhausted gaze flitting between Damon and me. “You’re both…”
Without hesitation, Damon and I envelop her in a strong, unwavering embrace, refusing to let go. I will never let go. Ever. My heart hammers, and I fight back tears, thanking every single God in existence that we made it in time, that we fought for her, that she fought for herself.
"I’m so sorry, darling," I whisper into her sopping wet hair. "I’m so sorry for putting you in danger.”
Emery pulls away from us and manages a weak smile, her hand reaching up to touch my face then Damon's. "Don’t be sorry," she rasps. "You found me. You…” She swallows. “I didn’t know if…”
“Here.” Damon shrugs off his coat, draping it over Emery’s shoulders. “We need to warm you up.” He snaps his finger, waving over our driver. “Blankets. Bring us two blankets.”
Emery shivers from a gust of chilly wind. “Can we leave? I…” She winces, closing her eyes. “I want to leave.”
Our driver brings over two foil blankets. I sling one over myself, and Damon and I unwrap the second together, wrapping it snuggly around Emery. She narrows her eyes but doesn’t comment.
“Before we leave,” Damon says, flicking his gaze up to me. I nod in agreement. He looks back at Emery, who frowns. “You need to tell us where you were being held.” He places a hand on her back, rubbing up and down in slow, tender motions. I reach for Emery’s shaking hands, cocooning them in my own. Despite us both being cold, heat somehow manifests between our skin. Emery looks away, lip quivering. “Emery…” Damon whispers. “Please. You need to tell us.”
“Darling,” I say, and she glances up at me, expression pained and wary. “We need you to think really hard and remember where you ran from.” I reach out, cupping her cheek, my thumb caressing her wet hairline. “Think, darling. What do you remember?”
“I…” Emery winces, her eyes squeezed shut. “Via Di Vicci.” She swallows. “Twenty-two or twenty-three or thirty-two. Something like that. It’s… It’s a house. There’s a basement. I-It has a basement.”
“I’ll go inform the captain,” Damon says, rising to his feet.
Emery’s eyes suddenly spring open and she reaches for his hand. “I…” Her panicked gaze shifts between me and Damon. “I think I…” Her bottom lip trembles. “I think I killed her.”
Damon and I exchange a dark look. “Killed who?” I ask.
“Simone,” Emery whispers, shaking her head. “I-I didn’t mean to but…” With heavy regret in her gaze, she implores us. “Please, don’t go. I don’t want you to see…” Emery buries her face into her knees. “I just want us to leave. Can we leave?Please. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“The jet’s waiting for us in Palermo,” I say, stroking her back. “We can leave, but we need to get you straight to a hospital.”
She shakes her head. “No. No hospital. I’m fine. Let’s go back to the resort. Or let’s go home. Back to New York. I… No hospitals.”
“We’re going to a hospital,” Damon states sternly. “That is not up for negotiation.”
“Can you make arrangements at St. Thompson’s in London?” I ask Damon. “Unless you prefer to take her to New York.”
“I don’t think we should go home yet,” Damon says, sending a message on his phone. “Not until we know the full extent of what happened here.” With a sigh, he glances at the entrance to the marina. “I need to relay what you said to my men.” He glances at me, slightly annoyed. “You got her?”
I nod, and he retreats. When Damon is out of earshot, Emery lifts a brow, and she doesn’t need to utter a word for me to understand exactly what she’s asking.
“I’ll explain everything later,” I say, pulling her closer to me, my arms tight around her body. My lips feather against her forehead. “You have no idea how scared we were, Emery.” My voice wavers, laced with lingering fear. “We thought we were going to lose you. We thought…”
