Page 277 of Legacy

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The whole room stills.

My eyes land on Silvio as I speak to the doctor.

“Full workup. Blood. Lungs. Tox screen. Everything.”

His mouth opens. Closes. Nods.

He knows what I’m really saying:I don’t trust you

I look at my brother.

We’ll have to bury a king.

But I’m the one they should fear now.

Chapter 46

Angelo

The elevator doors slide open.

And for the first time since the hospital, I can breathe.

She’s there.

Waiting in the foyer, arms wrapped around herself, eyes red rimmed, but steady.

My Tesoro.

The second she sees me, those arms drop, and she rushes forward, throwing herself into me like she’s the one who’s been trying to survive the fire.

I catch her.

Her body molds to mine, warm and real and I let the weight of everything I’ve been carrying crash into the space between us.

My father.

The silence.

The bloodlines.

Her arms lock around my neck. Her fingers clutch my shirt like it might vanish if she lets go.

“Oh, amor,” she breathes, voice cracking. “I’m so sorry.”

She buries her face in my neck, and for a moment, I just stand there.

Frozen.

Because I don’t know what the fuck to say.

I don’t know what to do with this kind of grief.

This kind of softness.

But I wrap my arms around her.

And I hold on.

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