Page 142 of Sinner's Perdition

Without her, I’d rather be dead.

“I could have lost you . . . but if you gave up . . . my heart wouldn’t take it.”

“Shh,cara mia. I’m sorry. I’m here.”

I signal the guys to give us a moment. She sobs so much, her body trembles.

“I love you so much. You made me love you, you asshole, so don’t you dare leave me.”

I bury my face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, my arms around her while pain shoots from my shoulder to my side.

“I am yours,cara, only yours. I love you with every fiber of my sinful body, every beat of my wretched heart, every breath of my tortured lungs. Come here.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Chiara sniffles.

“You won’t. I need you.”

I suck in a hiss as I make room for her, and the moment her head finds my chest, she falls asleep.

When the guys return, I ask, “Who was it?”

“Luciana Rossi. She’s the assassin of the Council,” Hayden answers.

“So, they put a hit out on me? She should have aimed better.”

“Not only that. They were behind the car being hacked. I followed a money trail that didn’t add up. They helped Delaney and Silas.” Kieran plucks out a bullet from his jacket pocket. The bullet that almost cost him his wife, staring at it with a murderous glare. “I want the head of whoever was behind that. They’re going to know what it means to mess with us.”

“I will bring whoever helped them to you. The moment I am out, I will make them pay for every tear my wife cried.”

“She cried too much. There isn’t enough of them for how much Chiara cried.”

My chest fucking constricts at Cameron’s words.

Kieran squeezes my shoulder. “I was mistaken about her.”

Cameron leans in, grinning. “And now get the fuck better and out of this hospital bed. She hasn’t left this room in over two weeks.”

The doctor checks on me with Chiara in my arms.

“Your vitals look good.”

“I want to discharge myself.”

“I’d advise against that. We don’t want to risk your recovery.” Babbling about my surgery, how I flatlined twice, about being in a coma for two weeks.

Later, when Chiara wakes up, she smiles so brightly while her eyes fill with tears.

“I thought it was a dream.”

“No. I’m here. You won’t get rid of me, wife.”

“Swear it.”

“I swear.”

After another week in the hospital, I am finally free to leave on promises of bedrest. False promises. I have murder to plan.

Back home, Chiara hops in bed next to me. “I just got you back.”

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