Page 67 of Love At the Gates of Hell (The Seven Sinners Trilogy #1)

He’d be lying if he said that thought hadn’t crossed his mind.

Had he managed to bring her back enough for her abilities to start working?

But Gideon was functioning purely off a combination of adrenaline and hope at this point.

A dangerous mixture. He sighed as he rested his head back against the window, his fingers tapping anxiously against his knee.

All he wanted to do was bust down his bedroom door and find out what the hell was taking Wilder so long.

“Her abilities far transcend anything I ever expected,” Harker said, the awe clear in his voice. He leaned back against the kitchen island, his elbows resting against the countertop. “It’s certainly possible.”

“Angelo, if you don’t sit your ass down,” Jimmy muttered from the living room. “You got tossed like a fucking bowling ball into those pews.”

“I wanna get in that goddamn room,” Torretta said, speaking Gideon’s thoughts aloud.

“I know,” Jimmy said. “We all wanna know how Benny’s doing. But you’re gonna be no fucking use to her if you don’t rest.”

“Neither will you,” Olivia said, her voice startling Gideon as he realized how close she was to him. She gestured to his face. “You look like shit. And you’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” he said with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, of course you are,” she said dryly, soaking a cotton ball in hydrogen peroxide. She perched herself against the edge of the window ledge as she leaned in to wipe at whatever scrapes bothered her. He sucked in a breath at the sting. “You did good, you know.”

“She knew,” Gideon said, exasperated. The thought had been lingering in his mind for the last hour.

He should have known. The way she kissed him, the look in her eyes when she told him she loved him.

She had known that night on the roof and he’d selfishly used himself to distract her, to stop the thoughts from being spoken aloud.

“She walked out there knowing what was going to happen.”

“Maybe she knew you’d have her back,” Luke said.

“And you did,” Olivia agreed as she placed tape across the cut over his eyebrow. “So, thank you, Gideon. You saved her life tonight.”

“She saved everyone.”

The door to his bedroom swung open.

Wilder, looking frazzled and frustrated, cleared his throat.

Gideon pushed himself up off the window ledge, his heart beginning to thump in his chest. His hand flexed at his side, the other clutched the necklace in his palm.

“She’s awake.”

The collective relief was palpable throughout the room. But as everyone seemed to turn toward him, Wilder held out his hands.

“She’s got a broken rib and some scratches on her abdomen, but they’re fairly surface.

I can’t do much. I can soothe the pain but her body won’t allow me to do much more than that.

She’s going to be in recovery for a couple of weeks at least, depending on how quickly she can heal.

She’s going to need a lot of rest,” he said, eyeing them all with a stern glance. “Maybe just a couple of you at a time.”

“Come on, Crawford,” Torretta grumbled as he pushed himself up from the sofa.

He hesitated, watching as the older man limped across the living room.

“You saved her life, kid,” he said. “Now tell you love her while she’s awake, alright?”

He rubbed his hand against his chest.

Yeah, he probably should.

All of the curtains were tossed open in his bedroom, the sunlight coursing through the windows.

Benny was propped up with every pillow on his bed, tucked underneath his covers, her hands no longer blackened with ash, her skin no longer so pale.

But she had a bruise on her cheek, and she looked exhausted and small.

Still, when she saw them both, her whole face lit up, her smile so wide and so bright it took the breath right out of him.

He couldn’t believe how close he had been to losing her.

But he hung back, resting his forearm against the door jamb as Torretta moved ahead.

“Hey, kiddo,” the older man greeted, perching against the edge of the bed, a soft smile on his weathered face. “You feeling okay?”

“Well, considering I apparently died”—she winced as she pushed herself up to a sitting position—“I feel pretty good, all things considered.”

Torretta choked out a laugh that sounded an awful lot like a sob.

“Jesus Christ, I thought I lost you, Ben,” he said, reaching for her hand with both of his. “You really scared the shit outta me.”

“I know,” she said, her throat working over itself. “I pushed it too far. I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. But I just didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

Gideon’s fist clenched, his chest feeling tight.

His brave, selfless girl.

“Wilder said you’ve got a quiet couple of weeks ahead of you,” Torretta said. “You wanna come home? We can bring some of your stuff to the house, if you want.”

“I appreciate that,” she said, before shaking her head. “But I need to go home. As much as I love this bed… I need to be back in my own space, I need to figure out what’s next. I need to be here, in Philly.”

Torretta nodded.

“Okay, kid,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Whatever you want. But I’m instituting a new rule, okay? Dinners. Every Sunday. I’ll come by, and we’ll squeeze into that tiny-ass kitchen of yours.”

“I would love that,” she said, tears shimmering in her eyes.

Torretta smiled as he pushed himself up off the bed.

“I’ll have some of the men go by your place, make sure you’re all set.”

“Thank you, babbo.”

Torretta’s jaw clenched as he turned away from Benny, the discomfort clear in his steps. The older man was definitely in more pain than he was letting on. When he reached Gideon, he held out his hand to shake, his smile grateful.

But as Gideon took his hand, Torretta was pulling him into a tight embrace.

“Thank you,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “For bringing her back.”

Torretta cupped his hand around the nape of Gideon’s neck, a knowing smile on his face before he left the two of them alone. It was a gesture Gideon hadn’t expected. It was… fatherly, almost. And that threw him. But he realized he liked it all the same.

“Gideon?”

Benny was staring up at him, apprehension settling into her features.

“Hey,” he said, moving closer into the room.

“Will you come sit with me?"

She shifted over slowly, and Gideon found there was nothing in the world he wanted more than to do just that.

He kicked off his shoes and slid into the bed beside her, relief sinking into his skin as she ducked under his arm and burrowed up against him.

Just the feel of her this close was a comfort.

But he was careful not to hold her too tightly, very aware that he was the reason her rib was cracked to begin with.

“I promise I’ll replace these sheets.” She picked at the edge of the top sheet, faint marks of blood and ash sticking to the otherwise crisp white. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care about the sheets, Benny,” he replied, exasperated. “You’re alive.”

“Thanks to you,” she said, peering up at him.

He pressed a rough kiss to her forehead.

“We’ve only just started, you and me,” he said. “We deserve more time.”

“I said something, earlier,” she began, apprehension creeping into her gaze. “And I just wanted to tell you that, you know, it doesn’t have to be a big deal if you don’t feel the same. Because I know it’s fast and it’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks and I just—”

“Benedetta Russo,” he cut in gently, his fingers brushing through her hair. “It’s a huge fucking deal. You telling me you love me is the best goddamn thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Do you wanna know why?”

“Why?” she asked, gazing up at him, her mouth twitching slightly.

“Because I love you, too.”

He kissed her then with a shameless desperation, his mouth pressing against hers as his fingers tangled in her hair. It was an easy thing to get lost in, to forget everything else going on around them. And he wanted to so badly. He had been so close to losing this. To losing her.

She smiled against his lips, her voice breathless when she asked, “So, what now?”

“Now?” he said. “Benny, I am taking you out on a date.”