He wasn’t supposed to be back for two more days.
Tears blurred my vision, but not one fell. I repeatedly swallowed, trying to consume my heartache before it made a sound.
He lied to me.
My stomach was in knots, and pain radiated through my chest. I scanned the hall for a trashcan. Pressing my hands against my stomach, I folded in on myself, dry heaving over the can.
He lied to me.
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I staggered down the hall. Before I was completely prepared, I was standing outside his room. Leaning against the wall, I took a deep breath. Fear of what was about to happen froze me in place.
He was the love of my life. Period. End of story.
And now, I was going to lose him.
A small voice in the back of my mind tried to soothe the pain in my chest, telling me it wasn’t what I thought, that Luca loved me.
A high-pitched voice coming from Luca’s room drowned that internal cheerleader out.“I couldn’t let them take you in the ambulance alone.” Nicki’s calm tone grated on my ears.
“I told you to go home. They’ve called Sasha. She’ll be here any minute, and I don’t want her to see you here.” Luca’s voice was raspy and low. There was steel there I’d never heard. A harshness that made me wince.
“So? You’re not going to tell her the truth?” For the first time, composed, emotionless, Nicki sounded out of sorts.
“No. If I do, I’ll lose her. I can’t lose her.” A tremor at the end was the only evidence of humanity in his voice. Who was this man?
“You’ll lose her anyway. Your lies, your, your—”
“Enough! You knew the deal from minute one. Don’t think I’ll allow you to dictate anything to me, Nicki. Now get the fuck out of this hospital before Sasha sees you.” A shiver ran up my spine. Luca was being savage. Cruel was never a word I would’ve used to describe him, but damn if he wasn’t living up to it.
When Nicki spoke again, her voice was thick with disgust. “What are you going to tell her, Luca? Huh? Sasha’s not stupid. How do you expect to get out of this one? Youwere shot outside one of your nightclubs on a Saturday night. A Saturday night that you were supposed to be in another city! It’s not like you got hurt making your way home to her.”
Silence.
“Face it. Honesty or not, you’ve already lost her. At least if you’re honest, she’ll be able to move on.”
I pressed a fist against my mouth. Sobs threatened to spill from my lips, but I wanted, needed, to hear more.
“Nicki.” Luca’s voice was low and lethal. “Your concern for my girlfriend is moving, but I will not tell you again. Get the fuck out of my room. I’ll handle Sasha.”
Rage and heartbreak fought in my chest for dominance.
He wouldhandleme? Fuck him!
As Nicki’s heels clicked toward the door, an officer approached me.
“Ms. Mitchell?”
With a shuddered breath, I took a step toward the officer and into the quarreling couple’s line of sight, wiping my eyes to clear the blurriness. Glancing into Luca’s room, I watched his face pale and Nicki’s mouth fall open. Standing still, perfect like a mannequin, Nicki stared at me.
When her eyes left mine and landed on the officer next to me, she came back to life. Without giving Luca another look, she shuffled from the room, keeping ample space between us, and hurried down the hall.
Nodding to the officer, I couldn’t make any words come out of my mouth as he shook my hand.
“Great. I spoke to you on the phone. I’m Officer Russo. As you can see,” His hand gestured toward Luca. “Mr. Moretti is doing fine. I was just heading in to take his statement, and then I’ll be out of your hair.Soif you’ll have a seat in the waiting room, I’ll—”
“Oh no, it’s okay. Luca would want me there with him when he gives you his statement.” I surprised myself with how composed I sounded.
“Well, okay. Let’s do it to it then.”Officer Russo smiled, but it fell as he looked at Luca.