Page 219 of Salvatore

I blink the grit from my eyes, clearing my vision in time to see Gabriel stalk from the cloudy room.

My brother is gone. The guards, too.

“Ivy, you need to hide.” Salvatore’s voice cuts through the static ringing in my ears. “Find someplace safe until my brothers can get to you.”

I crawl across the debris-littered floor, battling vertigo as I inch toward him.

“Can you hear me?” He wheezes, insistent but weak.

I climb to my knees, my feet, the gunfire closing in.

“Leave,” he orders. “Hide.”

I stumble toward him, resolve solidifying my steps.

“Goddamnit,mi reina,” he snarls through gritted teeth. “Get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving.” I press myself against him, mindful of the knife buried between his ribs as I shield him with my body. “It’s my turn to protect you.”

“Ivy—”

Another blast shakes the ground, bringing a secondary shockwave of debris.

I cling to him, wrapping my arms around his head. “And if I can’t protect you, then let us die together.” I cup the back of his head, nuzzling my face into his neck as the gunfire grows deafening. “All three of us—you, me, and our child.”

“Don’t do this.” His voice is so thin. So frail. “You can save?—”

“I love you,” I cut him off, pulling back to meet his gaze while grit peppers my vision. “I fell for you the moment our lips brushed.”

“Because I was made for you.”

I nod, pressing my lips shut to fight a sob.

“Don’t worry,mi reina.” He brushes his mouth over mine, his breaths rattling in his lungs. “I’m happy to endure an afterlife missing you for the privilege of having been able to love you.”

“No.” I sniff back emotion. “You’re not going anywhere,niñito.”

His lips curve, the tired smirk breaking my heart until the sound of approaching footfalls steals it away.

I twist toward the door as it flies open.

My brother stands there, gun in hand, eyes filled with rage. “They killed our father.” He storms toward us, hellbent. “And now I’ll kill you.”

I whip back to Salvatore, ready to die, but so fucking scared at the same time.

“Take the knife,” he orders under his breath.

I recoil, my pulse faltering. “No. It’s stemming the bleeding?—”

“Take it.” His jaw clenches. “Do it for me. Don’t make me watch him hurt you.”

“I can’t,” I whisper.

Alonso closes in, the thunderous footsteps right behind me.

“Ivy,please,” Salvatore begs. “Let me save you one last time.”

Adrenaline pounds in my temples, my desire to please him warring with the devastation his request will bring.

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