Page 127 of Whispers in the Dark
“You shouldn’t—”
Vin places a hand on Alex’s chest, and they watch as I stumble my way toward them and drop by Mauro’s side. I stare down at Mauro as tears blur my vision. His breathing is shallow and slowing by the second.
“Please don’t leave me,” I whisper. I reach for his cold hand, clasping my fingers with his, and press the back of his hand against my cheek. “I love you.”
Chapter thirty-four
Mauro
“Please wake up, Mauro.”
The hushed plea floats over me, tugging me from my deep slumber, yanking me from the darkness that encompasses me.
“I need you.”
Those three soft-spoken words awaken my soul, clutching my heart in a tight grasp. My eyelids, though heavy and yearning to stay closed, flutter open. I squint as I come to, the blurry figure before me becoming clearer with each passing second.
Beauty invades my vision as Alina is the only thing my eyes focus on. The brightness from the overhead lights casts a glow around her dark strands, making her appear every part the angel that I don’t deserve.
Am I dreaming?
“Mauro,” she breathes with a heavy trace of relief as tears trail down her cheeks. Her trembling hands cover one of mine, her grasp tightening. “You’ve been asleep for so long. I wasn’t sure ifyou were ever going to wake up. I thought… I thought I lost you,” she confesses, rolling in her bottom lip.
I turn my hand over, intertwining our fingers and bringing our joined hands to my lips. Her familiar scent immediately brings me comfort.
She’s here.
And she’s alive.
My wifeis alive.
I place our joined hands on the center of my chest, and with the tip of my middle finger, I tap twice.
A soft sob escapes her, and I drop her hand, reaching for her face. My palm slides across her tear-soaked skin, cradling her cheek as my thumb wipes away every tear that escapes. She grips my wrist, melting into my hold.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” she whispers.
Leaning up, I groan as I’m met by a shooting pain spreading over the right side of my torso, but taking a deep breath, I fight through it.
Nothing will keep me away from her.
My hands frame her face, noting the bruise on her temple outlined by a few bandages. Anger simmers in the pit of my stomach as I think about someone laying a hand on her, but I won’t let that thought consume me. I won’t let it win.
Not when I’m forever grateful that she’s here by my side.
I capture her soft lips in a kiss, savoring every second. Her warmth, her taste, her pulse… It all confirms that this isn’t a dream and that she is, in fact, really here.
Her fingers wrap around my wrists as she lightly pulls back. “You shouldn’t be in this position. You’ll rip a stitch.”
I shake my head.
Every damn stitch in my body could rip, and it wouldn’t matter.
I’d still do everything I can to kiss her.
To feel the warmth of her body.
The beating of her heart.
