Page 98 of Ruthless God

I wanted to tell him it was okay, but the words would not come. Why couldn’t they come? Why was it so hard to speak?

Matteo spoke again, but I couldn’t make out what was said or if he was even talking to me. The edges of my vision darkened, and there seemed to be a loud roaring in my ears, and I…

What was happening?

Arms banded around me then.

Darkness slowly receded, and my vision became clearer as the roaring turned almost silent. I looked up to see Massimo beside me.

He tightened his arms around me when our eyes met.

My lips trembled. “Massimo?”

“I’m here, Luna.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “You’re here?”

“I’m here,” he repeated.

“Welcome back,” I said hoarsely.

He smiled a little at me, even if there was nothing happy about it. “Thank you,principessa.”

The nickname was what threw me over the edge. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest, letting out a pained cry. I couldn’t seem to stop. I didn’t know how to stop.

Marco could have…

I didn’t want to think about it.

But Massimo was here now, and everything was going to be better. It had to be.

Because Massimo was here.

Massimo was here.

I tightened my arms around him from the thought, afraid he might be nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Afraid he might not be real. But no, he was solid in my arms. A strong wall to stand between me and anything and everything bad in the world.

He was here.

And that was all that mattered.

Massimo.

My husband.

My monster.

My protector.

24

MASSIMO

Holdingher and listening to her cry was like being fucking skinned alive.

I didn’t fucking know what to do but hold her close to me.

It didn’t look like we had gotten here too late, but fuck, anything could have happened from the moment the fucker showed up to when we got here.

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