Ruthless Spring

His hand is gentle as it wraps around my neck and he looks me in the eyes. My gaze is slightly blurry and dots appear, but it does nothing to diminish the magnitude of the worry in his gaze. His fingers softly trail up my neck and into my hair, touching the spot I now know is bleeding. When he looks at the blood on his fingers, it's with a frown on his face.

“They did this to you?” he asks, tuning to look back at the bodies and from his tone, I know he would kill them again if he could.

I give a shaky nod when he looks back at me, but it only makes me feel more nauseated.

Vito’s hands move to my face now, a soft brush. “Don’t move, Winter, just remain still. You’ve probably got a concussion and the blood loss can’t be helping.

“Doc says that she can meet us at the compound,” Enzo says. His gaze isn't on us though as he looks over the dead bodies and shakes his head.

"Call Giovanni, get him to send over some guys to help you clean this mess up,” Vito tells him. His hands moves from my face and I miss the sensation. He slides one hand under my legs and places the other behind my back, lifting me into the air.

I close my eyes, the movement overwhelming.

“You’re okay,” he tells me gently. I can feel him moving with me.

“Vito,” Enzo says, and I can hear the hesitation in his voice.

“Yes?” Vito sounds on edge.

“Keep me updated.” Again, he sounds uncertain, and I can’t figure out why.

Vito doesn’t say anything for a moment, but I feel his body tensing up underneath me before he lets out a low, “Okay.”

I relax into his body as he carries me, and as the adrenaline high leaves my body, I feel sicker. I take it as a reprieve since it means I won’t have to tell the lie yet.

Which brings my thoughts back to Amarie.

I thought she was an enigma, but now… now I think she may be the maddest woman I’ve ever met.