He winces. “I need her conscious to determine if she’s suffering from head trauma.”
Releasing my fingers one by one, I let him go.
He slaps her cheek lightly again. “Mrs. Morici.”
Tatiana stirs and then whimpers.
“Open your eyes, Mrs. Morici.”
Her golden eyelashes flutter. Her eyelids lift, revealing those magnificent green pools.
Blinking, she looks around the room before focusing on my face. “Dante?”
I take her hand, my pulse thumping in my temples. “I’m here, darling.”
She frowns at the doctor. “Where am I?”
“At home.” I wipe a stray curl from her face and caress her cheek with my knuckles. “You’re safe now. The doctor is here to examine you.”
“Home?” She tightens her fingers around my hand. “Why am I not in the condo? Where’s my mom?”
The doctor and I exchange a look. He knows her family history.
He smiles at her. “Can you tell me your name?”
“Tatiana. Tatiana Teszner.”
I stiffen at the use of her maiden name.
“Do you know what day it is?” he asks.
She thinks for a moment before an anxious look comes over her features.
“Mrs. Morici, do you remember what happened to you?”
She touches her head with her free hand and sucks air through her teeth when she finds the cut.
“Easy, darling.” I pull her hand away. “You’re injured.”
“Can you tell us what happened?” the doctor asks again.
Panic flashes through her eyes as she fixes them on me. “I–I don’t know.”
“That’s all right.” The doctor’s tone is soothing. “You don’t have to remember right away. Let’s have a look at you first.”
When I try to free my hand, she clings to me. “Dante?”
“I’m here.” I sit down on the edge of the bed and rub her arm. “You’re going to be fine.”
The touch seems to soothe her. She remains still, letting me caress her, but her chest rises and falls rapidly with her breaths when I make to get up again.
Grabbing my wrist in both her hands, she digs her nails into my skin. “Don’t leave me.”
“No one is going to hurt you.” I kiss her forehead and gently extract myself from her grip to give the doctor space to work.
“No.” She starts struggling when I let her go, jackknifing into a sitting position and crawling into my lap. “Don’t leave me.”
Seeing her like this… it’s fucking killing me.
