Then he guided me to bed. Pulled back the covers. Helped me lie down.
"I need to shower too. Two minutes. Will you be okay?"
"Don't leave."
"I'm not leaving. I'm going to be right in that bathroom. Door open. You can see me the whole time. Two minutes. I promise."
He was true to his word. Fastest shower I'd ever seen. Then he was back. Climbing into bed beside me. Pulling me carefully into his arms.
I broke.
The control I'd maintained through everything—the kidnapping, Dante's threats, the beatings, the rescue—all of it shattered at once.
I shook. Cried. Clutched at Elio like he was the only solid thing in a collapsing world.
He held me. Let me fall apart. Didn't try to stop it or fix it. Just held me while I processed trauma I'd been suppressing for hours.
"You're safe," he murmured into my hair. "You're safe now. He's dead. He's gone. He'll never touch you again. You're safe. I've got you. I'm not letting go."
"I was so scared. I tried to be brave. Tried to stay strong. But I was so scared—"
"I know. God, I know. I'm so sorry. I should've protected you better. Should've seen this coming—"
"You couldn't have known. No one could. This isn't your fault."
"I should've had more security. Should've made sure you were never alone. Should've—"
"Elio." I pulled back to look at him. "You found me. In eight hours. In a city of millions. Through shell companies and hidden properties. You found me and you saved me. You did exactly what you promised. You protected me."
His eyes were bright. Emotional. "When Stefan called. When he said you were taken. I've never been that terrified in my life. Every minute you were gone felt like dying. Every hour I couldn't find you was torture. I thought—" His voice broke. "I thought I might lose you. Might not get to you in time. Might find you—"
"But you did. You got to me in time. Before—before he could—" I couldn't finish. Couldn't say it.
"I know. Thank God. Thank God we got there when we did." He pulled me close again. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again. Never letting anyone get that close. Never giving anyone the chance to take you from me."
"I don't want to be afraid. Don't want to live looking over my shoulder. Don't want this to break me."
"It won't. You're too strong. Too resilient. You survived tonight. You fought. You stayed alive until I could get to you. That's not breaking. That's surviving. That's being exactly as strong as I always knew you were."
We lay together in the darkness. Both processing. Both grateful. Both traumatized in different ways.
"I love you," I said quietly. "I held onto that. Held onto knowing you loved me. Knowing you were coming. That got me through."
"I love you too. So much. More than anything. You're everything to me." He kissed my forehead. "Sleep. You need rest. Your body's been through trauma. You need to heal."
"Will you stay with me?"
"Always. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be right here holding you all night. Keeping you safe. Making sure nothing ever hurts you again."
"Promise?"
"I promise. On my life. On everything I am. I promise."
I closed my eyes. Let exhaustion pull me under. Let myself finally feel safe.
Dante was dead. The threat was over. I'd survived.
And Elio had come for me. Exactly like I knew he would.
