Hunter - Blaire Drake Page 0,105

took it and pressed it to Hunter's side. He winced, his whole body jolting, and gritted his teeth as sweat dripped down his white face. “It's okay. We can call an ambulance and take you to hospital, and then—”

“Addy,” he rasped, taking a deep breath. “Go. You need to go, before it happen—” He paused to cough. “Again. Before more.”

“Stop it.” I pressed his side a little harder and ran my thumb across his jaw. Blood smeared through the stubble that dotted his face. “It's okay. It's over. I did it. You're gonna be okay. You promised me, remember?”

“Adriana.” His tone went gruff, and I guessed this was his attempt at yelling. He sucked in a sharp breath as pain distorted his handsome face. “Damn it, Adriana. You're not safe.”

“She is.” Gaige stroked my hair. “She just killed Enzio. This is all hers, as it should be. No one will attempt to oust her right now. Not today.”

I glanced up at him to say thank you and then turned back to Hunter. He was still wincing, and his breathing was shallow.

Tears pooled in my eyes as the realization of what was likely to happen hit me. My lungs burned as I breathed in sharply and shook my head again.

No. No. No.

“You promised me you'd be okay,” I whispered to him, my lower lip trembling. “You promised me you'd always be okay.”

“I am. Will be.” He turned his face into my hand. “Got you.”

“Carlo, don't you dare fall asleep.” I tapped his cheek lightly. “Listen to me, Rosso, damn it!”

He opened his eyes, weakness swirling in them.

“Good. Keep looking at me, okay? Just don't stop. It's okay. The ambulance is coming. You'll be okay. You have to be. You promised, remember? When I was nine and you stopped me from being kidnapped but got punched in the face. I cleaned you up and you promised. Don't break it. You can't. I'll kill you if you break your promise.”

His lips twitched in a lazy smile, but he didn't say anything.

I readjusted the sweater on his wound. It was soaked through with his blood, and the bright red liquid trickled down my arm as I moved. I didn't think it was doing anything anymore. He was bleeding too profusely.

“Hunter don't you dare!”

Chapter Twenty-Eight – Hunter

It took everything I had to keep my eyes open.

I felt the strength draining out of me quicker than I could grasp hold of it, but the heat from her palm, pressed against my cheek, kept me going for a moment. The pain from the gunshot screamed through my body, but the ache in my soul that was caused by the tears running out of Adriana's gorgeous blue eyes eclipsed it unimaginably.

Fuck, she was beautiful.

I loved the hell out of her. Loved her to hell. To death. Just loved her more than I ever thought I'd be able to love everyone.

I dragged my eyes to Gaige's as I took in a deep, slicing breath. He held my gaze for a moment as I begged him, and he nodded with a tiny jerk of his head.

She'd be okay.

She always would be.

I twitched my head to feel the softness of her skin against the roughness of mine for one last moment. I was tired.

I was so, so tired.

I just wanted to sleep.

“Love, Principe—” I managed before coughing.

“Sssh,” she whispered, her tears sliding down her cheeks. “I know. I love you, too, Cacciatore.”

Like a welcome poison, the warmth of her lips against mine drifted me off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Adriana

“Hunter?” I touched my thumb to his mouth, but he didn't move. The air that he exhaled against me was short and strained, and pain unlike anything I'd ever felt locked onto me. “Hunter. Carlo. Hunter!”

Gaige's arms wrapped around me from behind, pulling me back from him.

I screamed, lashing out as he fought to keep his hold of me. Garbled, nonsensical words and sounds escaped my lips as my throat burned in desperation. I clawed at Gaige's hands, needing him away from me before he washed away the last memory of Hunter's touches.

Bodies were everywhere, but all I saw was his. Even through the thick blur of my tears, I watched his chest resolutely as it jerked up and down with his labored attempts at breathing.

If I could touch him, be there, speak to him, he'd fight more. Wouldn't he? That was how it worked.

“Addy, Angelo needs to get him outside for the paramedics. You need to calm down, babe,” Gaige said