Sempre (Forever Series #1)(162)

“Shit, you’re awake!” he said. A smile spread across her face at the sound of his voice. She fought back her emotion, but it was too much to handle. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and he wiped them away. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Wait, of course you’re hurt!”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” he said. “You’re hurt, tesoro. Do you know how much you scared me? I thought I was gonna lose you! When I woke up in that car and you were gone, I thought my life was over. But I swore I’d never give up, and I didn’t. I couldn’t think about going on if you were dead.”

“I’m not dead,” she said through her tears.

“Yes, but—”

“No buts,” she interrupted. “I thought I was going to lose you, too. I begged them to leave you alone in the car.”

“You begged them?”

“They were going to kill you.” Her voice cracked as the memory resurfaced. “I told them I’d go with them, that I wouldn’t fight as long as they let you live. I would’ve given up anything.”

“You would’ve sacrificed yourself for me?” he asked, his expression serious. “You’d throw your life away if it meant I’d keep mine?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t you do the same?”

“You know I would.”

He tried to pull her into a hug, but it wasn’t easy maneuvering around their injuries. They both groaned and cringed from pain, his bandaged arm making the embrace awkward. “Your arm,” she said, nuzzling into his chest.

“The bone fractured when I was shot, so they had to splint it.”

She tensed. “You were shot?”

“Yeah. It’s not that serious, though.”

“Not serious? Someone shot you!”

“Yeah, Nunzio did.”

She gasped. “Oh God, where is he?”

“He’s dead,” Carmine said. “Him and the rest of them.”

“They’re dead?” He nodded. “All of them?” Another nod. “And you aren’t?”

He cracked a smile at her question. “Last time I checked,” he said, reaching for her hand and pressing it against his chest, over his heart. “I think it’s still beating.”

“It is.” She stared into his eyes—eyes she worried she would never see again. “I missed you.”

“Mi sei mancata,” he said. “I’m glad you’re awake now.”

“Where were you earlier?”

He didn’t respond right away. “I had an appointment.”

“What kind of appointment?”

“That doesn’t matter right now.”

“That’s the same thing your father said.”

“Yeah, well, there you go. We should probably listen to him.”

“You’re a rebel,” she said. “Since when do you listen?”

“I never did before and look where that got us. I figure it’s time to start, since he seems to know what the hell he’s talking about.” He paused. “Sometimes, anyway. Other times I still think he’s full of shit.”

She laughed at his response. They both lay quietly, holding on to each other as she tried to clear the fog that settled in her brain. Her memory was sketchy, an odd tension mounting in the room as a result. “Is everything okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I was worried . . .”

“Well, stop worrying.” His voice was firm. “You need to focus on getting better.”

“You sound like your father again,” she said, his evasive answer doing nothing to calm her fears.

“Apparently I’m more like him than we thought.”

“You’re nothing like him,” she said. “You’ll never be like him.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

She wondered what he meant when there was a knock on the door. Dr. DeMarco walked in, and Carmine groaned at his father’s arrival. “We talked him up.”

Dr. DeMarco raised his eyebrows. “It’s not nice to talk about people.”

“It’s nothing I wouldn’t say to your face.”

“True, son. You’ve never been one to hold your tongue.”

“Isn’t that part of my charm?”

“I wouldn’t call it charm,” Dr. DeMarco said. “Your mouth gets you into trouble as often as it gets you out of it.”

“Haven’s never had any complaints about my mouth,” Carmine said playfully. She blushed and jabbed him in the ribs. Even though her touch was light, Carmine clenched his teeth to muffle a cry.

“He has a fractured rib,” Dr. DeMarco explained when she eyed Carmine peculiarly. “It would be fine by now if he’d learn to take it easy.”

She felt guilty for hurting him. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Carmine turned his attention to his father. “Is there something you needed?”

“I got back from the hospital and wanted to check on her.” He grabbed Haven’s wrist to check her pulse before feeling her forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Still mixed up, but I feel better than I did.”