Page 176 of Legacy

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All that wildness clears in an instant.

Concern etches into his brow like it hurts to look at me.

The knife clatters to the floor. He crosses the room in seconds, cupping my face in his blood-warm hands, grounding me.

“Tesoro,” he breathes, like a prayer. Like a plea.

“What happened to you?”

Chapter 31

Angelo

There’s blood.

On my wife’s shirt.

Sprinkled across her cheek.

Streaked on her hands like war paint.

My hands move over her, scanning. Inspecting for damage.

Her head tilts slightly, eyes on me but not really seeing me.

Wide, glassy, lips parted.

She looks content.

Confused.

Beautiful.

“What the hell happened?” I ask Nico, my eyes still on her.

“I think she’s in shock. She was beating the shit out of Rachel. I don’t know why.”

I cup her face again, firmer this time. Trying to draw her out.

Her eyes lock onto mine, but they’re swimming in something else.

Not fear.

Not guilt.

Adrenaline.

She’s not in shock.

She’s not even here—she’sflying. High on it. The violence. The blood. The power. Riding that same wave I’ve known since I was a boy who liked the sound of bones breaking.

She’s like me.

A smirk pulls at my mouth.

I brush her hair back, soft, reverent. My forehead finds hers, and I breathe her in.

God, her scent. The heat of her skin.

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