Luca's POV

I strolled into her hospital ward, with Rico’s breath heavy on my back. I could feel the questions, doubts, and complaints in his breaths, even though he hadn't uttered them. He was just a couple of minutes from making an outburst behind me, but right now, that was the last thing I wanted to think about.

The guards knelt by the empty bed, their heads bowed low, eyes trapped to the floor, and hands folded behind their backs, to atone for their sins of letting her escape.

My ...