Page 121 of Thorns of Blood

A sharp inhale filled the space, and I realized it was mine.God, why would you be so cruel?

“To whom?” I whispered in a low tone.

“She didn’t know. She didn’t keep tabs, scared that Santiago might get a whiff of the fact that she snatched his flesh and blood right under his nose.”

My chest deflated and tears filled my eyes as I placed a palm on my stomach.

“I can’t have any more children.” Trembling began in my fingers and spread outward through every inch of my body. “Giovanni, this baby… He’s my last chance for a family. To have someone who won’t leave me.”

Giovanni exhaled deeply before cradling my jaw.

“I’m here, Lia. I’m not going anywhere.” His voice was harsh and authoritarian. “I love you, through sickness and in health, hard times and good times. We’ll find your son.” Tears lingeredon my eyelashes, but I couldn’t find the words. I didn’t know what to say. “We’ll raise him together. But you can’t lose hope. You’re not allowed to. Got it?”

My chest expanded with relief at hearing his words. Everything this man did and said was exactly what I needed.

“I…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

The dark tattoos peeked at me from his hand as I stared at it, trying to find a way to utter the words I had never spoken before while emotions clogged my throat. I hated the feeling of being so vulnerable, yet my heart, my soul, and my body knew I could trust him.

“If you want a divorce, I’ll give it to you,” he said. “And I’ll still help you.”

“Why?” I reeled, all my trust wavering. Maybe I made a mistake. But he said… he said he loved me.

“Because I don’t want you to stay with me just for me to help you.”

“Oh.”

“I want you to stay if you love me.” He took my hand into his again. “But don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t fight for you. I’ll let you go, but I won’t go far. I’ll find a way to charm you into dating me. I’ll find a way for you to fall in love with me and love me as much as I love you. I’ll make it right.”

“I love you.” My throat closed and I blinked furiously. “I love you so much that losing you seemed like a better option than hurting you once I realized who your mother was.” A full-body shudder took hold of me. “I’ll never let you go again, husband.”These emotions would be the death of me, but I pushed through. I couldn’t stop now when the dam had been opened. “You’ve crashed into my life, thrusting light and hope into my heart, and now I don’t know how to live without it.”

He groaned in satisfaction and kissed me so deeply, he stole my breath away. His love ignited me, breathed life into me.

“You’re everything to me,” he murmured against my lips. “I’ve been gone for you for eight years. I would destroy the world, alliances,everythingfor you. There’s nobody else for me but you, Lia. You areitfor me. My one and only, greatest love.”

We belonged together. For better or for worse, just like he’d said.

FORTY-SIX

GIOVANNI

A WEEK LATER

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Our journey began with these sounds, but they certainly wouldn’t end like that. The heart monitor told me my wife was on the road to a speedy recovery, her inner strength and determination shining through.

She’d live. For me. For her child.

I looked down at the woman sleeping in the hospital bed, tracing her mouth with my thumb gently, and her lips parted in sleep.

Even under meds and with a bullet wound, she responds to me, I thought with satisfaction.

There’d never be an end to this obsession, the need for this woman that breathed inside me. For the eight years since I crossed paths with her at her wedding to Santiago, it had consumed me. Even when I and the world thought she was dead and gone, it was impossible to forget this woman.

That eighteen-year-old crashed into my life eight years ago, but it was the twenty-six-year old woman who utterly captivated me.

You’ve crashed into my life, thrusting light and hope into my heart.