Page 99 of Daddies of the Underworld

Nina met me at the doorway to the hospital wing. Sofia stood beside her, clean and safe but not happy.

Luca, on the other hand, looked like something from a fright night movie. His hair stood on end, and his clothes were rumpled and bloody, probably transfer from Sofia’s clothes, but I scanned him anyway for something I’d missed. One look at his face was enough to crush my heart in a closed fist.

A doctor stepped out before I reached them. He saw me coming and squared his shoulders. “He’s deteriorating. We’re doing everything we can, but the next hour will decide whether he survives.”

We had won the war, but Dante might pay the cost with his life.

36

NINA

Dante was alive. I forced myself to keep thinking it. Every second that passed and the doctor did not walk through those doors was one more second Dante lived.

I’d know by the look on his face when he did come back for another update whether it was good news or not. I dreaded it even as my heart leaped every time I thought I heard footsteps.

Matteo and Luca paced. I’d never seen so much motion from Matteo before. It was disconcerting and also a relief.

Sofia shook in my lap, her arms and legs wrapped around me like an octopus. I would pace too, but I’d walked until my legs shook as hour after hour passed.

“He promised.” Sofia sniffed and rubbed her purple fluffy blanket back and forth under her nose. Luca had gone up to get it for her as soon as Matteo arrived, and she hadn’t let it go since. It had been all I could do to unstick her from me long enough to give her a bath and into clean clothes.

I smoothed her hair. “What did he promise?”

She somehow managed to wiggle closer. “He promised.” Her eyes were open, but exhaustion had put purple shadows beneath them. Whatever Dante had promised her, it was enough to give her courage.

I held on to that and stroked Sofia’s hair. “Dante keeps his promises.” He’d better live. I didn’t know what I would do without him.

Sofia nodded against my chest and burrowed against me.

Matteo had filled me in on what we missed. Viktor was dead. Marco had been shot. He was in another operating room, and things were not as catastrophic for him. My heart hurt so fucking much. If it was just me, I’d be screaming obscenities at the ceiling just to get some of the pressure out. Since I couldn’t do that, I rocked Sofia and concentrated on Matteo’s and Luca’s steady strides. They passed each other in the hallway. No one spoke, but the hollow thuds of their footsteps created a metronome of time passing.

Luca had convinced Matteo to go wash up when the stench from the cistern became overwhelming. He’d agreed but only if Luca did the same. They’d traded out, unwilling to leave me down here alone while we waited.

I loved them for that.

Sofia whimpered. “He promised to protect me, then he got shot.” Another sniffle. “He got in front of the bullet.”

My eyes shuttered, but it was Luca who found the words to respond. He crouched in front of us. “Because he loves you. Dante would rather suffer in your place. We all would.”

She hiccupped. “I love him too.

I bent over her before the sob tore loose. My lips pressed against her head, and for one breath, I was back in that terrible room staring at an empty bed. My body still didn’t understand that she was safe.

Luca sat beside us and rested his shoulder against mine. Matteo came over to stand by my other side and put his hand on the back of the chair. We waited like that for hours. A nurse came out twice to tell us they were still working.

Sofia shifted her weight in my lap. “I’m hungry.”

Luca shot to his feet so fast his knee cracked. “I can make toast.”

“You burned toast last time.” Sofia’s head lifted, a tiny smile tugging at her lips. It was such a small thing, but it was enough. That tired, broken little twitch lifted all of our hearts and proved that we’d get through this.

“Then you’ll have to supervise.” He held out a hand. “What do you say, Princess?”

She eyed me, then Luca’s hand. I didn’t pressure her to choose one or the other. My girl knew what she was ready for. After another look at Matteo, she slid off my lap and took Luca’s hand. “I really am a princess. I got saved from a tower and everything.”

Luca, bless him, managed to smile and keep the moment pleasant. “You did. And you were super brave.”

Their voices trailed off as Luca took her into the kitchen two rooms down. The hospital wing had everything we needed to stay here indefinitely. Matteo really had thought of everything when he created this place. “What about Rosa?” I’d kept from asking with Sofia around, afraid to retraumatize her.