Page 304 of Ricardo

I close my eyes for one second.

Then I open them and look back at Dante.

His eyes are open.

Everything inside me stops.

He is watching me. Watching Julia against my side.

His gaze is clearer than it has been since he came out of surgery. Heavy, yes. Tired. Clouded with medication still. But present in a way he has not been yet. His eyes move over Julia first, where she sleeps against me, then back to my face.

I do not move right away.

I am not sure what I expected to see there.

Anger, maybe.

The old hurt. The betrayal that was still between us before bullets and blood cut through everything else. The accusation he has every right to hold against me. Against us. Against the way his life had changed around him before he even knew.

But that is not what I see.

Dante looks at Julia with the same protectiveness as always.

In the hospital, nearly dead, and still his concern is for her first. Just like his first thought when he woke up was to ensure she was safe.

A breath I didn’t realize I was holding leaves me.

My arm around Julia tightens instinctively. She stirs, and I loosen my hold quickly.

He is awake. He is really awake.

Then he looks at me.

His voice, when it comes, is rough from disuse. “Tired.”

I understand he's talking about her and not himself.

“Yes,” I say. “It's been a long few days.”

Moving carefully, I ease away from Julia. She makes a small sound of protest in her sleep, then curls up against the back of the couch without waking.

I rise from the couch and move to the side of the bed.

He watches me approach.

His eyes follow me until I am standing over him.

There is no anger there.

There is something softer.

Something almost like relief.

“How do you feel?” I ask.

He considers this for a moment.

“Groggy,” he says. “Thirsty.”