Page 140 of With this Ring

“And?”

He lifted his hand as much as he could before the pain made him drop it again. “Family. My job.”

“And?”Damien persisted.

“Are you fucking listening to me?”

“Have you asked Sasha what she wants? She chose you. She came to you when she was in danger. She saved your damn life, according to Hawkeye. No one knows how she had the physical strength to do what she did.”

Each word was like a knife between his ribs.

“She’s strong as hell.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

“So tell me again how pushing her away is protecting her.”

Gregorio clenched his jaw against the wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm him. “I can’t be what she needs.”

“No?” Damien asked. “Because it seems to me she needs exactly what you are—someone who’ll fight for her, protect her, love her enough to let her make her own choices.”

The impact of Damien’s words hit him like a physical blow.

“Stop being a damn idiot and think about it,” Damien said, moving toward the door. “Before you lose the best thing that’s ever happened to you.” He looked over his shoulder. “Stop sacrificing yourself before there’s nothing left to give.”

The door closed behind him with a soft click, leaving Gregorio alone with the beeping monitors and the crushing weight of his choices.

What the hell have I done?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nadia knocked once before entering Sasha’s office, a stack of mail balanced in her hands. Unlike Ashley, who would have breezed in humming under her breath, Nadia moved with quiet efficiency—competent but reserved.

“Just these for you today,” she said, dropping a small stack in front of Sasha.

The envelope on top was from Hawkeye Security.

Sasha tightened her grip on her coffee mug—the one that had started this whole mess. The ceramic was cool against her palm now, the coffee long since forgotten as she’d lost herself in memories of Gregorio.

Three weeks of silence stretched between them. No calls. No texts. Not even a message passed through Hawkeye or Damien. Just emptiness in her life where his commanding presence should have been.

She wasn’t even sure what she’d expected from him anymore. A goodbye, maybe. Some acknowledgment of what they’d been to each other in those intense days—the way he’d claimed her body and soul, the way she’d surrendered everything to him, the way he’d sworn she belonged to him. And the way he might have taken a bullet meant for her without hesitation.

And more…the way she’d fallen hopelessly, irretrievably in love with him.

“Do you need anything else?” Nadia asked, hovering by the desk. There was genuine concern in her eyes, even if she wasn’tsure how to express it. She’d started right after Ashley’s death, walking into an office heavy with grief and unspoken tension.

Sasha shook her head, forcing a small smile. “No, thanks.”

“I’ll be cleaning off my desk, then heading out for the night.”

“Enjoy your evening.” Since she’d arrived an hour before dawn, she should consider leaving, as well.

Nadia closed the door behind her with a soft click.

The Pathways office felt different now, more subdued. Ashley had filled the rooms with life—humming while she worked, trading playful barbs, knowing exactly when Sasha needed coffee or a sympathetic ear. Now there was just…space. Empty space where Ashley should have been, would never be again.

After Sasha had left the hospital, Hawkeye had updated her about the woman’s betrayal and death.

---