No blood.
No bruises yet.
Then my gaze drops to her abdomen.
Her hands go there too, instinctive, protective.
A fresh wave of fury threatens to rip through me.
“The babies?” I ask, voice rough.
“I think we’re okay,” she whispers, and her voice cracks on the lastword.
I kiss her forehead.
“Okay,” I murmur. “Okay.”
Behind us, one of the guards emerges from the exam room.
“The doctor’s waking up.”
Elsa stiffens.
I feel it instantly.
Then her fingers tighten in my shirt.
“Antonio…”
I look down at her.
She swallows. “Don’t do it. Don’t kill her.”
I go still.
“Elsa, she let a murderer into the room with you. With our children.”
“They threatened her family,” she says quickly, eyes pleading now.
“She was terrified. She was wrong, and she has to live with that, but… please.”
I hold her gaze.
She’s asking for mercy.
And she knows exactly what I am.
What I wouldnormally do.
“All right,” I say finally, the words dragged out of me. “Only because you asked.”
Her eyes close briefly in relief.
I kiss her temple once and then look up.
“Bring her out.”
A guard nods and returns to the exam room.
