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I take her beautiful angel face in my hands and kiss her, long and slow. She's warming up now but still clearly miserable. I pull back and brush her wet hair out of her face as I unbutton her blouse, teeth clenching at the dark marks on her neck.
"Tell me everything that happened," I whisper.
Sybil has finally stopped shaking. She's silent for a long moment as I help her out of her sopping-wet clothes, and I grow worried. Did she hit her head? Did they hurt her in a way I can't see? If they fucking touched her—
"I'm sorry," she blurts, finally meeting my gaze.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Ever. She's broken and feisty and a fucking handful. I never want her to apologize for being that perfect.
"I started a fight with you before you left. And—I meant what I said about your world being fucking stupid sometimes and not right for our baby. But you were right."
Our baby.My heart squeezes almost unbearably in my chest, and I pull her even closer so I can rest my hand on her stomach. I kiss her face, not caring at all about the wet, stained clothes still clinging to my skin.
One of her fingers trails through my hair, and I watch her eyes trace the movement. She offers me a small, sweet smile that takes my heart from me all over again. "You were right that I was saying all that because I was scared. Of us. Like there was some better kind of safety out there that I was responsible to create for our baby all by myself. But God, Nico… you're my safety. So, I'm sorry—"
I reach out to brush against the obvious choking marks on her neck, barely manage the words. "No apologizing. You're safe. It's all I care about. After they took you…damn it, Sybil, tell me what happened."
She quirks a small smile. "It doesn't matter. I'm back."
"Like hell, it doesn't. Tell me."
Stubborn and enchanting as ever, Sybil ignores my command and turns her attention to peeling my wet clothes off me. She touches my skin wherever she can as she does, and when I'm finally naked, holding her under the warm steam of the shower, she sighs and rests back against me.
"I told them you were executing the shooter. In the woods. And I sent them over into the ravine and took their car."
"What did they threaten you with?"
"It's over with. I'm safe with you, so who cares?"
I fucking care. I'm going to find out exactly how they threatened mycrudele tesorina. ThenI'm going to watch as Attolinis and Gattos dissenters alike torture Mad Blood until he's begging for death. Whoever helped him take Sybil is a walking dead man.
"Nico," Sybil says softly, kissing the initials behind my ear. "You look bloodthirsty again. Just let it go."
I take a deep breath and fix her with a look. "The Attolinis are absorbing most of the Gatto family. One of my men messaged me earlier and said Lorenze is dead. It's over. Percy was right. I am going to make changes if I can. I'll show mercy to everyone—except Mad Blood or Al Bones. They'll get carnage and slow deaths for daring to touch what's mine."
Sybil studies my face, and I watch hers. The mud has been rinsed from her body, and besides the scrapes and bruises and the ankle brace I left on, she's unharmed. Still, my hands brush over her skin, checking for damage I might have missed. She's too precious to risk anything.
"A girl like me shouldn't like how savage you sound right now," she whispers.
I press my lips to her temple. "I'll always be savage for you."
"I like having The Undertaker to protect me. But you're not really like that, Nico. You're my Boy Scout. You're mine, too."
Fuck, yes, I am. I've been completely ignoring the hard-on that holding her like this has given me, but Sybil adjusts in my lap and bites her lip when she feels it, meeting my gaze again. There's humor and heat in her pretty eyes, but she still seems unsteady.
"Later." I kiss her slowly, sensually, showing that I expect nothing more.
"I want you, though. And the water will get cold."
Her voice is sinfully decadent. I lift her in my arms as I stand, turning off the water and carrying her back out. I lay down without letting her go, hand resting on her lower stomach as I tuck her against me before pulling the blanket over us. "There. You need to warm up."
"I can think of a better way of warming up."
"Peccaminosa tentatrice,"I chuckle breathlessly, closing my eyes to bask in the feeling of holding her safe in my arms like this.
"Oh, you thinkI'ma sinful temptress. I've got nothing on you."
I blink at that and turn her to face me in the bed, narrowing my eyes at her. "You're learning Italian."
