Page 81 of His Obsession
Matteo steps closer, voice lower now.
“We need to move. Our guys are coming in to handle the body. She doesn’t need to see that.”
He’s right. I slide one arm under Val’s knees and lift her.
29
VALENTINA
Iwake up to Sebastian saying my name. He’s close enough that I hear him through whatever thick, dark place my brain keeps dragging me back to. My whole body jerks before I can stop it. One hand flies to my stomach and the other reaches for something to shove away. Sebastian’s hand covers mine, warm and firm without holding me down.
“Valentina,” he says again. “It’s me.”
I blink hard and force myself to look around. I’m back in his bedroom, in his bed. The curtains are drawn. Somewhere nearby, a woman’s voice says my name, softer this time, and I turn my head enough to see a doctor sitting beside the bed with a Doppler in her hand and a black medical bag open at her feet.
“The baby,” I rasp.
“It has a strong heartbeat,” Sebastian says immediately. “She checked twice.”
The doctor smiles at me gently.
“Your baby sounds good, Valentina. I’d like to check your blood pressure again in a few minutes, but everything I’m seeing is reassuring.”
“Gia?” I ask.
Sebastian’s hand tightens around mine. “She’s okay.”
“Don’t lie to me.” My voice comes out ragged.
“I’m not.” He smiles. “She’s got a concussion, a bruised cheek, and a split lip. She’s going to be okay. Nico’s with her.”
I close my eyes, which is a mistake. Gia is on the porch again. Adrian’s arm is around me. The cloth is over my mouth. Then the basement floods back and the gun too, with the split second when I was sure the shot went through me because my body was too terrified to understand anything else.
My eyes fly open. Sebastian is already moving closer.
“I’m here,” he says softly.
“I thought he shot me.”
“I know.”
“I thought the baby…” My hand presses harder against my stomach.
“He didn’t,” Sebastian says. “You’re both alive.”
Adrian isn’t. I remember that too.
The doctor checks my blood pressure again. She tells me I need rest, fluids, small meals when I can manage them, and no unnecessary stress, which almost makes me laugh. Sebastian listens to every word like there will be a test later.
After the doctor leaves, I try to sit up. The room tilts hard enough that I grab the sheet and shut my eyes.
Sebastian’s hand goes to my shoulder. “Don’t.”
I want to argue. Nothing comes out, which worries him more than anything I could have said. He helps me ease back against the pillows.
The next two days happen in pieces. I wake up to Sebastian on the phone near the window, speaking low enough that I can’t make out the words. I wake up to his hand around mine. I wake up with my face wet and no memory of crying. I wake up from a dream where Gia is still on the porch and I can’t get the door open no matter how hard I pull.
Sometimes I know where I am right away. Sometimes I don’t. Those times are the worst. My body comes up fighting, and Sebastian has to say my name until I can hear him over whatever nightmare still has its hands in my hair. He keeps his hands where I can see them until I reach for him first. He just sits close enough for me to find him and says, “You’re at my house. You’re in my room. Adrian is dead.”
