(VALENTINO'S POV)
I don't even get a full breath in before the pain rips out of me.
It shoots through my side and I swear the sound that comes out of my mouth isn't human. Raffaele grabs me under the arms, dragging me upright, and I damn near black out right there. His arms are tight around me while glass crunches under our boots.
He shoves both of us behind a pillar.
I slump against it, clutching my side with both hands because it feels like my insides are about to spill out. My eyes are watering, my vision shaking, and my heart's beating so hard it's almost all I can hear.
Raffaele snaps at me immediately.
"What the hell were you thinking, Val? Why the fuck did you do that?!"
His voice cuts through the ringing in my ears. I open my mouth to say something, but the pain spikes so hard I can only grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I scream. "Just… give me a minute."
"How bad is it?" he demands.
"Bad," I breathe. "Really bad."
"Let me see."
