My lip trembled. I bent down to his face, his beautiful face so pale, so still. My hair made a curtain between us and the room, and I listened for his breath, tried to feel it on my skin, feel its soft warmth. I wanted him to call me pigheaded again.

I wanted to hear him telling me he would keep everyone safe.

He had. He’d kept that promise.

Why hadn’t I made him promise to keep himself safe?

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Lucia.”

My sister said my name, but I ignored her.

“I should have made you promise,” I said, tears rolling from my face onto his. I smeared the blood with them, trying to clean him, remembering then that he had made one promise to me he hadn’t yet kept. “You have to wake up, Salvatore,” I stated, gaining some strength. He kept his promises. He wouldn’t not. “You promised me you’d give me what I wanted. The life I wanted. You promised. You have to wake up now.”

“Lucia,” Isabella said again.

“Go away,” I told her, still cleaning his face with my tears.

“Ma’am.”

Other hands were on me, another voice was talking to me.

“Lucia, they’re here. They’re going to take him to the hospital. You have to let them see Salvatore.”

I kept one hand on Salvatore’s chest, trying not to think about the fact it was still. I looked up at the men, at the room around me, and I leaned away, letting them look at Salvatore. Letting them start their work.

Two other men lifted Franco Benedetti onto a stretcher. Roman looked at all of us, his face one of shock, blood splatters marring it and ruining his perfect suit.

“Ma’am, we need to take them now.”

“Which hospital?” Isabella asked.

“Bellevue.”

“Come on,” Isabella said, dragging me to my feet.

“He’s not dead?” I asked, confused.

The paramedic gave me a cautious look. “We’ll do what we can for him.”

“Let’s go,” Isabella said again. “We need to get to the hospital. They’ll be much faster with the chopper.”

“What’s happened?” Natalie asked from the doorway, her face crumpling when she saw Salvatore unconscious on the stretcher.

I looked around the room, searching for him, for Dominic. “Where is he?” I asked my sister. “Where is he?” Anger gave me strength, but my sister held fast to me.

“Salvatore got in the way between Dominic and his father,” Isabella said to Natalie.

“Where the hell is Dominic?” I screamed to anyone who would answer.

“Let’s go,” Isabella said. “Salvatore needs you now.”

That got my attention. I turned to her and nodded. I followed her to the front door, cursing the crutches and my damn ankle.

“He’s so fucking stupid,” I said to her as she drove too fast off the grounds.

“He wanted to save everyone,” she modified.