Chapter 20 Lorenzo
LORENZO
Iwoke when Niko stirred. He muttered in his sleep. I caught my name, but the rest of his words were incomprehensible.
“No!” he cried and tried to pull away. I held him tight, afraid he would hurt his arm.
“Niko? Nikolai?”
He didn’t respond; he just struggled harder.
“Baby, wake up. I’m right here.” His hair was damp with sweat as he tossed in my arms.
“Lorenzo. No!”
“Nikolai! Wake up. I’m right here.” He stopped struggling. His skin was hot, but I didn’t think he was feverish. “Wake up. It’s me. Lorenzo.”
His eyes flew open, and he stiffened, a look of horror on his face. I let him go then. He stared at me, chest rising and falling rapidly. He still didn’t seem completely awake.
I held my arms up in a surrender posture. “It’s okay. It’s me.”
“Lorenzo? You’re here?”
“Yes. You’re safe.”
He blinked as if still trying to focus. “It’s really you?”
“Yes, baby, it’s me.”
“They didn’t shoot you?”
I took his hand and brought it to my lips so I could kiss the back of his fingers. “There’s nobody here, and I’m perfectly fine.”
He looked down at the bed, then back at me. “It was a dream?”
“That’s right. Whatever horrible thing you saw didn’t happen. It was only a dream.” He reached for me, and I pulled him into my arms.
His tears wet my shoulder, and then his body began to shake as he sobbed. I held him tightly against me and whispered, “I won’t let you go.”
When the sobs stopped, he pulled away, but he was still shaking.
“Are you cold?”
“Yes. It was so hot, but now…”
“Come on. Let’s lay back down.” Instead of relaxing into me, he held himself stiff, muscles tense. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I was so scared. I was running, and they had you, my father and Ivanov.”
He was shaking harder now, and I pulled another blanket over us. “It’s okay. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
“Okay, just don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere for now. In a few hours, I will need to check on the guards outside, but I’ll have Dante come and stay with you, and I’ll be back as fast as I can. You’ll be safe. Dante will do anything to protect you, just like I would.”
“Really? Just because you asked him to?”
“Yes.” I would do anything to protect my brothers or someone in their care, and they would do the same for me. “I can’t imagine having family like that.”
I kissed his forehead. “I’m sorry. You deserve so much better.”
I pulled the blanket tighter around him. This time, he relaxed more, but I could tell he was still thinking about the dream.