(KRYSTAL'S POV)
I blink once… then twice.
My brain refuses to process what I'm seeing, because Valentino Vipera is standing there in the doorway like he didn't vanish off the face of the damn earth for almost two days.
My mouth goes dry. My heart stops, stutters, then slams into a sprint.
"Val?" my voice cracks on his name.
"Kay," she says softly. Too soft for the bruises sitting on his skin.
I don't think, I just move. I'm across the room in seconds, wrapping my arms around him.
He flinches at my touch. "Ow, ouch—easy."
I pull back instantly. "Sorry, I'm so sorry."
I gently cup his cheeks with my hands. His skin is warm under my palms, warm but beaten and bruised. This close, I can see everything. The split on his lip, the swelling around his eye, the angry red scrape cutting across his cheekbone. And he's holding his side like he's trying to keep himself from collapsing.
