Perfect Match (Vice Club Nights #2)

26. Tori

Chapter twenty-six

Tori

“ G io?”

Did I dream he was here? Or is my mind playing nasty tricks on me? My brain feels like a wet sponge held underwater for too long. Heavy and leaking everywhere.

“I’m here, bella.” A large, warm hand encases mine. I’d know his touch anywhere. With pure strength of will, I peel my tight lids open. They feel unnaturally puffy, and even though I try my hardest, they only open a little. But it’s enough to see Gio’s handsome face leaning over me.

“How do you feel? Does anything hurt?” His words sound jumbled through the fog shrouding my brain.

Maybe I reply, “Everything,” or maybe I just think it.

“I can call the nurse,” he suggests, but all I need is his deep voice, a soothing balm to my sore head.

“Not yet.” I force my eyes wider and try to sit up. “Arghh!”

“Careful.” He leans over me to reach the control and lifts the bed up automatically. “Is that better?”

“A little.” My head spins like I’ve been on a three-day drinking binge, but I like that I can see him better now that I’m propped up.

“You make a good nurse,” I say before taking a sip of the water he offers me. I go to smile, but it feels weird too, like only half of my mouth is working. “I’m a mess, aren’t I?”

“You’ll always be beautiful to me,” he replies, and his smile is gentle. The squeeze of my hand is reassuring—it’s probably the only part of me that doesn’t hurt.

My eyes squeeze shut for a moment as I struggle to remember what happened. “I tried to escape, but my hands were tied,” I mutter, more to myself than to Gio as I try to arrange the thoughts in sequence. “He hit me.”

“Oh, bella, you were so brave and strong.”

“I need you to kiss me.”

“All day. Every day, if you want me to.”

I aim a crooked smile up at him as he leans over. His lips are light against mine, and he’s careful not to touch my bruised body. Finally, I feel safe.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he murmurs, dotting more light kisses across my face.

“They’re just scratches and bruises that drugs will heal. I need your kisses to silence the fear and make me feel safe again.”

He lifts his head, and our gazes lock. Emotion washes through the blue depths of his. “I love you, Victoria Jones.”

A gasp escapes, and my mouth widens in another attempt at a smile, but I wince a little.

Tears pool but are caught in my lashes. “And I love you, Giovanni Barbieri.” His dimpled smile beams down at me, warming my heart. “But please don’t leave me again.”

“Never. I promise.” He showers me with more tiny kisses.

My chest fills with love, but strangely, I still feel off-kilter, but then I realize why. “Where’s Charli?” I ask.

“She was …” he begins.

But from too far away, I hear her voice, thin and thready. “I’m here.”

Gio spins, seemingly surprised, but I’m not. She came as soon as she knew I was awake.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, sensing the tension in her.

She steps closer on the other side of Gio. Tears stream down her cheeks before she crumbles over my hand. “I’m sorry … It’s my fault … this happened,” she sobs. “I never … should have dated Brad.”

My squishy brain struggles to make sense of her words.

Brad, the asshole she briefly dated, then later attacked her.

“Brad was behind all this , ” Gio clarifies, noticing my confusion. That makes more sense, and now I remember the guy saying something about a photo.

Releasing Gio’s hand, I reach over to cup her head, which is buried in the sheet. “This isn’t on you. This is on that stupid fucking arsehole Brad and his dumb-fuck sidekick.”

Beside me, Gio chuckles. “That’s my girl. And Charli, Tori’s right. You aren’t responsible for their actions.”

Ryan appears behind Charli, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetheart, we made him pay for those actions. Neither of them will be coming back.”

She tilts her head up to him. “I know, but still.” She brushes the tears from her cheeks, visibly trying to pull herself together.

What did Ryan mean … “We made him pay”?

My brows rise, then drop. Even that small movement hurts, pulling on the cuts and bruises on my face and head. But the story behind the look that just passed between Ryan and Gio seems too juicy to skip on by.

“Hang on. Let’s roll back a bit here. What did I miss?”

Ryan glances at Gio again as if seeking permission.

“You know Tori’s not going to let it drop until she’s got the full story,” Gio tells him, with a smile ticking up the corners of his mouth. I love that there’s no question behind his words. He knows me well enough to understand that I need to hear exactly what happened and is confident that I can handle the truth.

Ryan grabs one of the visitor’s chairs pushed up against the wall and pulls it up to one side of the bed, then sits. Charli curls onto his waiting lap. I wish I could do that with Gio. And as if he’s a mind reader, he stands on the other side and carefully eases his big body onto the bed beside me. Curling an arm beneath my pillow so my head remains on its feathery softness, but I’m still in his arms.

Then they begin to tell me how they found me. And I don’t let them skip one detail.

***

“Alone again,” I murmur into Gio’s solid chest. Ryan has finally convinced Charli to go home with him, and Tony and Sadie, who stopped by to see me earlier, have gone too. “I wish I could go home.”

“I’ll feel much better with you being in the hospital tonight, and then tomorrow, I’ll take you home. And when I say home, I mean my home.”

My smile is hidden against his shirt. “Will you stay with me tonight?” I ask in a wobbly voice, not feeling brave enough to be alone.

“I’ve no intention of letting you out of my sight, bella.” His soft lips brush across my forehead, infusing my skin with warmth.

“Thank you.” And with that, I let my eyes drop closed, my racing heart returning to a steadier pace. We talk for a little longer, although it’s more Gio talking and me listening. Barely able to keep awake, I only pick up snippets as he’s telling me about his brother’s wedding in Vegas.

“ Ahhh ,” I scream myself awake, beads of sweat dripping down my face.

“Tori? It’s okay, I’m here. You’re safe with me.” Gio’s voice pierces through the panic gripping my body, and the fist hold I have on his shirt eases as he continues to whisper near my ear.

“Sorry,” I mumble on a loud exhale. And I look down, convinced I’ll see my chest wall rise and fall with the erratic thumping of my heart.

“You don’t need to be sorry.” He tips my chin up, the light from the nearby machine casting us in a green glow. His smile is gentle and reassuring. “I love you, Tori, and I promise I’m going to be right here all night, keeping you safe.” A single tear slips down my cheek, and he brushes it away with the pad of his thumb. “And tomorrow night. Then every night after.”

“You promise?”

“Tori, I’m never letting you go again. I can’t breathe without knowing you’re safe. I can’t live without you by my side.”

My fingers flatten against his chest, and the steady beat of his heart under my palm sets the rhythm of my own as I curl tighter into his arms. I don’t even care that holding him this way pushes against the tender bruising on my chest, because I need to feel his body surrounding me.

Gio is my safe haven.

My protector who’ll chase away the residual effects of a nightmare.

And my love, to fill my heart with warmth not fear.

Already, my lids are closing again. And I mutter, “I love you too,” into the fabric of his shirt before slipping into a peaceful sleep.