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ALESSIO

The baby… Sophie… please don’t let me lose them.

The words loop through my head like a goddamn prayer I don’t remember how to finish.

I pace the corridor like a caged animal, fists clenching and unclenching at my sides.

Blood, her blood, is still on my shirt, dried in streaks across the cotton, and my hands won’t stop shaking.

I keep replaying the moment I held her in my arms.

The way her eyes locked with mine, full of pain, of fear.

The tremble in her lips when she tried to speak.

How I could have prevented this. How I stood there, useless, as I held her body in my arms. How it was almost too late to fix any of it, to hold onto the future that was slipping through my fingers.

I can’t sit. I tried, but my legs wouldn’t stop bouncing, and the second I closed my eyes, I saw her pale face and the red staining her thighs.

Fuck.

I scrub a hand down my jaw. There’s nothing I can do. No enemy to punch. No threat to hunt down. No deal I can make to trade my life for theirs. I’ve never felt this powerless.

A nurse walks past.

I freeze. "Is she—"

She offers a soft, sympathetic smile. "The doctor will be out shortly. They’re doing everything they can."

Everything they can. It’s not enough.

Nikolai’s down the hall, on the phone with someone, speaking Russian too fast for me to track. Probably locking down Natalia’s transport to wherever the Bratva plans to bury her in, metaphorically or otherwise.

But I can’t think about her right now. If I do, I’ll lose it.

I close my eyes and try to breathe. But every inhale feels like shards of glass scraping down my throat.

I wasn’t there when she needed me most. I walked away. I left her alone. And it nearly cost me everything.

Nikolai returns, his expression grim but resolute. "It’s done. The police have Natalia. She’s being detained, and the Orlovs will make sure she never gets near you or Sophie again."

I nod, swallowing the swell of rage that still simmers under my skin.

It’s not justice, but it’s something. One less threat. One more promise I can keep.

Denver arrives, breathless and pale.

He storms up to me, fury in his eyes. "What the hell happened, Alessio? You were supposed to protect her!"

“I know.” My voice is low, wrecked.

“No, you don’t know! You left her. You left her vulnerable! And now she’s in a fucking hospital bed because you thought walking away was noble?”

He throws his hands out, his voice rising. “Do you know what it was like getting that call? Knowing I couldn’t protect her, because you were supposed to?!”"

I flinch. Every word cuts deep, because I’ve said them to myself a hundred times already.

“I got there as fast as I coul—”

“Too late doesn’t count,” he snaps, stepping in close. “She trusted you. We all did.”

I don’t argue. I let the weight of his anger hit me full force, because he’s right. I thought I was doing the right thing. But it wasn’t strength that made me leave. It was fear. Fear of not being enough, of screwing everything up, of caring too damn much and losing her anyway.

Then something shifts in Denver’s face. The rage softens into something raw, grateful.

“But you saved her from only God knows what.” His voice breaks. “If you hadn't been there...maybe both of them....”

I nod, throat too tight to speak.

“She loves you,” he says, quieter now. “But if you want to be in this, you better fight for her every step of the way. Don’t just show up when things get bloody.”

I meet his eyes. “I know I fucked up. I know I don’t deserve a second chance. But I’m not walking away again.” I pause, breathing through the ache in my chest. “Not ever.”

I meet his stare. “I’ll fight for her. For our baby. For the life we almost lost today.” I press a hand to my heart. “Whatever it takes, Denver. I’m all in.”

Denver studies me for a long moment, then exhales hard through his nose. “Good,” he says finally, voice low. “Because if you ever put her through something like this again, you and I are going to have a different kind of conversation.”

Then, his tone softens. “Thank you… for saving her.”

I nod, emotion tightening my chest.

I turn fast when footsteps approach.

A doctor in pale blue scrubs. He’s older, steady, a clipboard in hand. No expression on his face. That blank kind of calm that only makes everything worse.

“Family of Sophie Henderson?”

“I’m her…yes. I’m with her. Alessio Marchetti.”

He nods, then glances down at his chart before meeting my gaze.

“She’s stable.”

The words hit me like air after drowning. My knees nearly buckle.

“Mom and baby will be fine. They’re being closely monitored. It’s still early, but so far, the baby’s heartbeat is strong.”

I close my eyes. A sob breaks loose before I can swallow it. Relief hits so hard it’s almost painful.

“You can see her soon. She’s asking for you.”

I nod, unable to speak.

The doctor walks away, and for a second, I just stand there, hands behind my head, with my eyes closed.

She’s okay. They’re okay.

I look to Denver, needing some sort of permission. He meets my gaze and gives me a small nod.

“Go. You heard the doctor. She wants to see you.”

I straighten, wipe my face, and head down the hall toward her room. I need to see her and tell her everything.

The door clicks softly as I push it open. The room is dim, the only light coming from the soft monitor glow and the early haze of morning bleeding through the blinds.

She’s pale, lying in bed with wires and monitors beeping steadily. But her chest rises and falls. She’s here.

And then, her eyes flutter open.

“Hey.” Her voice rasps like it hurts to speak.

My breath catches. I cross the room in two strides and sink to my knees beside her, reaching for her hand.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed. I shouldn’t have left you.”

“You’re here now. That’s what matters.”

I press a kiss to her knuckles, holding them against my lips.

“I want this. You. The baby. The whole messy, terrifying, beautiful life. I’m in, dolcezza . I’m all in.”

A tear slips down her cheek, but she doesn’t say anything right away. Her hand is limp in mine, her gaze flicking away, toward the ceiling.

“I was so scared,” she finally whispers. “Not just today. Before. When you left, I felt like I was drowning. And I hated you for it.”

“I know. You had every right to.”

Her throat bobs as she swallows. “I didn’t need a hero, Alessio. I needed you. And you ran.”

Her words hit me square in the chest.

Shame prickles down my spine, and my grip on her hand tightens without thought.

I want to explain, to defend myself, but there’s no excuse that could make it right. All I can do is take the weight of her truth and hold it.

I nod, my chest cracking open. “I was scared too, Soph. I told myself walking away would protect you, but the truth is…I was protecting myself. From failing you. From not being enough.”

Her eyes meet mine again, and for a second, there’s something unreadable there. Wounded. Guarded.

“I never stopped loving you.” My voice breaks.

Sophie looks at me, her eyes glassy and wet. “I want to believe you.”

“You can,” I say instantly, my heart thudding.

“But believing someone isn’t the same as trusting them. And I don’t know if I trust you not to run again.”

Her words hit harder than a gunshot. Clean, direct, lethal.

I nod slowly, swallowing against the tightness in my throat. “I won’t ask you to trust my words, but I will do my best to gain and earn your trust, one day at a time, by staying by your side. Never, ever, letting you go again.”

She doesn’t respond.

Just closes her eyes, her lashes fluttering like the weight of the moment is too much to bear.

Her jaw clenches, and for a second, a thousand unsaid things flicker behind her lids. Fear, exhaustion, and maybe even hope fighting to rise above it all.

And for the first time in my life, I’m terrified. Not of failing, not of losing everything I’ve built, but of losing her. Of losing the one thing that’s ever truly mattered.