Chapter 190: Chapter 190

ANGELO

I contemplated my options carefully, I needed to buy more time and the only way to do that was to pretend to follow Bryant orders.

I put the gun down slowly, setting it gently on the dirty floor in front of me before straightening up.

I stared at Bryant, feeling the room go deathly quiet as my heart froze into stone. Bryant felt the shift too, his eyes narrowing as his grip on Adore grew tighter, watching me like he could not quite figure out what I was going to do.

"Smart," he sneered.

I said nothing, keeping my mouth shut as I shifted my eyes to Adore.

She was looking right at me with those wide, clear eyes that always saw right through me but the look of betrayal was still shining bright in her eyes.

I looked at her pale face, feeling a wave of deep love and violent terror smash into my chest at the exact same time. Four long years of our crazy life now down to this single second, so I tried my best to pour every unspoken word into a single look, showing her how sorry I was for lying to her and praying she could read my heart the way she always had.

Her lips moved, mouthing a quiet word. Go.

I shook my head once.

Bryant saw us looking at each other, and a flash of pure disgust crossed his face. He looked at Adore, then at me, and made a horrible choice. He slammed his arm out and shoved her hard so that he could come at me.

Adore stumbled sideways, her head slamming right into the solid concrete wall with a terrible crack that echoed through the room. She crumpled like a ragdoll, hitting the cold floor without a fight, and blood started spreading fast from her hair.

A sound tore out of my throat, not a word, but a raw, animal noise from a dark place inside me that had not known pain like this.

I charged across the room.

Bryant swung his fist at my head, but I barely felt the hit as I smashed my knuckles straight into his face.

The whole room erupted into madness, Shane and my guys rushing in to tackle Bryant’s men, filling the air with screaming and chaos. I dropped to my knees beside Adore before Bryant even finished hitting the floor, pressing my hand against her head to feel the hot blood soaking into my skin.

She was completely still, her skin turning as cold as ice, and a sickening terror squeezed my chest until I could not breathe.

"Adore," I begged, taking her pale face in both of my hands. "Adore, open your eyes." I choked out but she did not move.

"ADORE!" I screamed in agony.

From somewhere behind me, Bryant let out a wicked laugh.

That sound traveled straight down my spine, turning the cold dread in my blood into a blinding, raging fire. I stood up and turned around to look at him. Bryant took one look at my face and the laugh died right in his throat, because he knew in that exact second that he had made a fatal mistake.

He reached for his belt, but I was already on him.

I did not think, I did not plan, and I did not care about being clean or smart like I had for the last four years. I was just a man with his wife's blood on his hands, thinking about the pregnancy test sitting in my pocket, thinking about every horrible thing this monster had taken from us. I tore into him with brutal, unforgiving rage, hit after hit, until Bryant lay completely motionless on the concrete floor. I stood over him, staring down at his broken body, feeling nothing but a strange, heavy silence.

"Go meet your father in hell," I whispered.

I turned right around and ran back across the room, falling to my knees beside Adore. I pressed my hand back over the wound on her head, watching her pale face as the anger drained out of me, leaving behind a terror twice as bad as before. I cupped her freezing cheek with my shaky palm, my voice breaking into pieces.

"Adore," I sobbed, unable to stop the tears from filling my eyes. "Adore, please. Open your eyes. Please."

She lay completely still.

I bent down and pressed my lips against her bloody forehead, holding them there while my heart shattered. I had spent four years trying to keep her safe, only to fail her when she needed me most. The tears spilled over my cheeks and dripped onto her skin, and I did not care who saw me break because there was no point in being tough anymore.

"Please," I choked out, squeezing my eyes shut. "Please, Adore."

I lifted her up as gently as I could, pulling her against my chest and holding her close. She felt so heavy, the life slipping away from her, so I buried my face in her soft hair and began whispering all the truths I had been too scared to say out loud.

"I love you," I sobbed, my voice cracking wide open. "I love you so much. I know you heard about the deal, I know how bad it looked, and I know I do not deserve your forgiveness. But I love you, I have always loved you, and I need you to stay alive so I can say it to your face when your eyes are open."

I pressed my lips harder against her hair, holding her tight.

"You are not allowed to leave me," I whispered. "Do you hear me, Adore? You are not allowed."

She did not move an inch.

"I was such a fool," I cried, holding her closer against my pounding heart. "I spent four years keeping secrets, calling it protection when it was really just me being scared. I am so sorry, baby. I am so sorry. Just open your eyes and be mad at me. Scream at me, hit me, say whatever you want, just please open your eyes."

She still did not move.

Shane crouched down beside us, his hand landing gently on my shoulder. "Ambulance is outside, boss," he said softly.

I looked down at her quiet face, feeling her soft weight in my arms, the blood on my hands.

The love, the guilt, and the horrible fear all crushed me at once, but I leaned down and kissed her forehead one last time.

"I am going to fix this," I promised into her skin. "Every broken thing, I promise I will fix it all. Just stay with me. Please just stay."

I scooped her up into my arms and carried her down the dark stairs, stepping out into the cool night air where the red lights of an ambulance were flashing.

The paramedics rushed forward, and I stared down at her face one last time before letting them lift her into the back.

I had never been so terrified in my entire life. I was not scared of the mafia, or losing my money, or dying in the streets. I was only scared of losing her.

I climbed into the back of the ambulance right beside her, taking her small, cold hand

in mine, and I did not let go for a single second all the way to the hospital.