Page 26 of Stay Little Fighter

“Just promise me you won’t waste any more of your life,” I murmur. “Promise me you’ll live for more than the Lombardi throne and keeping everyone else safe.”

He nods. “I promise.”

My eyes fall closed, and for a moment, I let my mind wander to what could have been but never was. To the life with four men that love me and a houseful of pets for us to corral. And to a lifetime of possibilities I’ll never get to see.

But maybe that’s okay. Because at least I’ve known how it feels to love and be loved.

Maybe that’s enough for this lifetime.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

DAMON

NOW

Chloe’s body slumps against the wall, and I carefully lay her down on her side, covering her with my clothes as I change into the suit from the bag the guard threw at me.

A war rages inside me, and for the first time in my life, I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know whether to hope Mikayla was telling the truth when she said she would get Chloe medical attention as soon as we were married, or if every word out of her mouth has been a lie.

I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s been manipulating everyone around her since she was old enough to walk, but I refuse to risk Chloe.

Glancing over my shoulder, my chest tightens at the sight of her. She’s so pale I’ve checked her pulse three times since I laid her down and her breathing is labored.

I’ve seen enough people die to know what it looks like, but I refuse to accept that as Chloe’s fate.

Not when Ronan just got her back after years of searching. Not when Kingston and Ryker will almost certainly kill me if I survive and she dies. And not when I’ve finally stopped fighting this thing between us.

I haven’t even had a chance to treat her right yet. I can’t lose her.

Once my tie is secured around my neck, I crouch beside her, brushing damp hair from her cheek.

The boy that’s been protecting her since he was old enough to understand what that meant is desperate to save her, but for the first time in his life, he doesn’t know how to do it.

When she saw me kill our gardener and my father threatened her life for the first time, I knew what I had to do. I had to distance myself from her. I had to make her hate me.

When he was about to kill her, I knew I had to get her out of the compound by any means necessary, and when Ralph almost raped her, I did the same thing again.

I’ve always known what to do to keep her safe.

But not this time.

This time I feel more helpless than I have in all my life.

I don’t know how to get her out of here alive, especially seeing as I don’t know where we are, and I have no way to call for backup.

The sound of the door opening at the top of the stairs makes my chest tighten, but I don’t look up, don’t look away from the woman I spent too long pushing away.

“Time to go, Lombardi,” the guard from before announces.

“Is the doctor here?”

“Boss gave you her conditions.”

“And I gave her mine,” I snap. “I want a doctor here before I’m going anywhere near an altar.”

“What makes you think you get to call the shots?”

“The fact that this whole plan goes to shit if she doesn’t get my signature.” I finally stand, putting my larger frame between him and my girl. “If Chloe dies before we can say ‘I do,’ Mikayla has no leverage. What’s she going to do? Threaten to kill me? Threaten to torture me?” I huff out a laugh. “None of it is going to matter because if Chloe dies, I’ll be more than willing to follow her into the next life.”