Page 85 of The Empress

Just as I’m about to react, a bullet slams into my back, the pain more intense than anything I’ve ever felt.

“Leo!” Carina screams, her hand grabbing my shirt as I fall over her.

My eyes lock with her frightened ones. “Shh.”

I’m grabbed by the arm and hauled off of her. As I stagger backward, I watch in horror as a man grabs Carina.

“No!” I shout, then another bullet hits me in the chest. As I fall onto my back, I can’t do anything but watch as the man carries her out of the room.

The pain and guilt of seventeen fucking long years tears through me, the force so destructive, I let out a hoarse cry.

The last time I shed a tear was when I was standing in front of the Messinas' graves. It was right after I cleared out their house and put everything in storage.

The house was a rental, and I didn’t want a single thing thrown away.

After that, I searched for Carina every chance I got, but she just vanished.

Until now.

I lift my eyes to her as a tear rolls down my cheek. “I couldn’t find you.” I shake my head. “I couldn’t find you because they changed your fucking name.” I keep gasping, unable to get air into my lungs.

Haven kneels in front of me. She lifts her hand to my jaw, and with tears streaming down her face, she says, “You need to breathe.”

It feels as if my chest is being torn open. My vision darkens around the edges, but then Haven moves closer, and she gives me a panicked look. “God, Leo. Breathe!”

When I inhale, it sounds desperate, as if I’ve been stuck in perpetual darkness for seventeen years, and I’m finally able to take a deep breath.

“Carina,” I whimper, before my arms shoot out and I grab hold of her. I squash her against me, my body convulsing as if I’m being electrocuted. Unable to control my chaotic emotions, a sob escapes from me while I press kisses to her hair. Sorrow is raw in my voice as I say, “I thought I’d never see you again.” Another painful groan is torn from me. “I thought I lost you.”

I have no idea how long I cling to her before I’m able to regain some control. Pushing her back, I lift my hands to her face. I take in every inch of her as if I’m seeing her for the first time.

Then the questions come hard and fast. “Were you adopted?”

She nods.

Remembering what she told me on our first date, I say, “That’s why you had to learn English and were homeschooled. The Romanos fucking hid you from me.”

I’m bombarded with memories and thoughts.

“I can’t remember much of my early childhood.” Haven leans back and picks up the photo from where she dropped it before she unbuttoned my shirt. She looks at it again, then asks, “Is the other boy my brother?”

“Diego.”

I watch as she tries to remember, but then she shakes her head. “Everything is black before that night.”

“You were only six,” I say, overcome with sorrow that she’s forgotten her biological family.

Her eyes flit back to me. “What happened?”

Needing to hold her, I pull her back to my chest. “I was spending the night, and my father’s enemies came to kill me.” The words make bile burn up my throat. “During the attack, your parents and Diego were killed. I took two bullets and couldn’t do shit when they grabbed you.” The unbearable guilt I’ve had to live with becomes too much, and I cry, “I’m so fucking sorry.”

Haven brushes her hand up and down my back, trying to comfort me.

Carina’s bottom lip juts out again. “I don’t like when he hurts you.” Once again, she climbs out from under the covers. Her arms circle my neck, and she squeezes me tightly. “You can live here with us because I love you and I’ll never hurt you.”

I wrap my arms around her tiny body and soak in the comfort she’s giving me.

“I love you too,stellina mia.”