Page 52 of Ruthless God

I didn’t know what I wanted.

It wasn’t like Massimo and I had that close of a relationship, married or not.

But he had been kind to me.

Kinder than how most people had tried to convince me he would be, especially my family.

I didn’t want to leave him alone in case he needed me.

Perhaps that was too arrogant of me to think.

I kept my gaze on Massimo’s back. He was barely able to walk up the stairs. Had Elio let him go, he would no doubt fall down.

I didn’t think I had ever seen Massimo look so weak.

I didn’t like it one bit.

Massimo De Luca wasn’t a weak man.

We got to the bedroom Massimo and I shared. I quickly removed the e-reader and laptop I had placed on the bed earlier this morning, and pulled out the blanket so Elio could lay Massimo down.

Elio met my eyes as he passed me with Massimo. Something strange moved in them. I didn’t have the energy to try to figure out what that look in his eyes meant, so I ignored him and moved to the closet, pulling out some of Massimo’s clean clothes. The suit he wore couldn’t possibly be comfortable.

“Help me change him,” I said to his brothers. They stood frozen around his bed, looking at me as if they thought I was crazy or I had asked them to do something much more ridiculous than to help me change their brother’s clothes.

I gritted my teeth and tried to swallow down the annoyance.

Pushing past Elio, I moved to the bed and removed Massimo’s shoes and socks. The jacket proved to be a lot more challenging, considering how heavy Massimo was. I nearly fell off the bed had a set of arms not been there and blocked the fall. I turned around, surprised to find Romeo there.

He was the brother I hadn’t had any interaction with. I couldn’t even think of a single word we might have exchanged with each other.

Perhaps that was why I was so wary of him, freezing up as soon as I felt his touch. He ignored my response and helped me move out of the way just as Matteo grabbed the clean shirt I had laid out on the bed. Elio moved then and helped lift Massimo up.

They removed his shirt, showing me the full view of his wound for the first time. A small sound escaped my lips before I could help it, and three sets of eyes moved over to me.

“You really shouldn’t be here, girl,” Elio said, his voice gruff.

I felt annoyance over his dismissive tone.

I was not “girl.”

I squared my shoulders. “I’m staying.”

If they wanted me to leave, they could drag me out of here kicking and screaming.

After a slight pause, Elio turned away from me and went back to Massimo. His eyes were closed now, and I wasn’t sure if he had fainted from the pain or not.

“What do you need?” I asked, wanting to do something. Anything. Romeo looked over at me.

“Go grab the first aid kit underneath the bathroom sink.”

I nodded and rushed off. I didn’t need to think about why they seemed to know where the first aid kit was kept. This obviously wasn’t the first time Massimo had gotten hurt. Would this really be what my marriage to him would be like for the next… however many years Massimo would be with me? For some inane reason, I didn’t like the thought of anything happening to Massimo.

I moved back to the room with the kit. By then, they had already gotten Massimo’s shirt off him, leaving him in only a pair of black trousers. I set the kit on the bed, and Elio grabbed it without looking at me. I watched as he prepared the needle. I gasped when I realized what he was planning on doing.

“Will that hurt him?” I asked.

I knew it was a stupid question when all the brothers turned to me.

---