Page 140 of Unforgiving Queen

I reached for the hem of my dress and ripped it, then pressed it against his wound.

I looked around frantically, hoping that Hiroshi or any of Amon’s men were on their way.

“Help!”

The taste of copper and salt filled my mouth and I realized I’d broken the skin on my lip.

“Why are you shouting, cinnamon girl?” A choked laugh escaped me despite my heart squeezing painfully in my chest. When I met his eyes, my heart shattered into pieces. They were dull, his face paling with each second he lay here.

I brought my forehead to his.

“So you can’t ignore me,” I murmured, pressing my lips to his cold ones. The thought of him dying squeezed my throat. I couldn’t lose him like I lost my mamma. He slowly raised his hand, the effort costing him energy I knew he didn’t have. “Don’t move. We’ll get you to the hospital.”

He let out a heavy exhale.

“There’s no time.” I shifted, ignoring him. “I have to tell you this, in case I don’t—”

I pressed my finger to his lips. “Don’t you say it. Don’t you fucking dare say it.”

“I spent a lifetime living for you,” he said, ignoring my demand. “Every breath has been for you.” I swallowed. Why did his words sound like goodbye? “It’s always been you, cinnamon girl. I love you.”

A choked sob suffocated me.

“No. Don’t you dare die on me,” I croaked, my voice barely audible from how badly my throat squeezed. My mind screamed as my heart twisted with panic. He panted, struggling to breathe.

“As long as I die in your arms, I’ll die a happy man.”

I shook my head, my cheeks wet with tears.

“You still owe me a honeymoon.” He blinked, almost as if confused, and I smiled weakly. “I added it to my bucket list right after we got married in Venice.”

He winced at the pressure I was applying to his wound. “Honeymoon it is, then.”

His labored breathing cracked my own chest in half, but before I could dwell on it, a blast sounded through the air.

Someone shouting “bomb” registered through all the commotion. I froze, my mind flashing with memories at lightning speed. The day I first saw the boy who would rule my world. The people I loved—my sister, Grandma, Papà, my friends, even that crazy Dante.

Amon’s eyes searched mine and I saw a million different versions of our future in them. I laced my fingers through his and gave him a reassuring squeeze.This can’t be the end.

In the distance, a voice shouted, “Heads down, fuckers! I’m resorting to drastic measures.”

Was that—

“Dante!” we both whispered. Didheattack us?

There wasn’t any time to contemplate the answer before Amon’s bloodied body covered mine. And then…

Boom!