“This came into my personal email ten days ago. I rarely check that account anymore. It landed in my junk folder, and I almost deleted it because I didn’t recognize the email address, but something made me open it. It’s from Sloane.”
Putting my coffee down, I take the tablet and read the email.
This is Sloane. I know you probably hate me, Gia, with due cause, but please don’t delete this message without reading it. It’s important. You need to tell Cristian he has a mole. I don’t know who it is, only that this person is working with the cartel.
The other thing you should know is it’s my fault those women and children were taken. I’m sure the cartel has them. I hate that I’ve placed them in danger, and I hope you can find them. I didn’t understand what I was sending when I sent those files. It’s not an acceptable excuse, so I don’t even know why I’m saying it, only that I didn’t do it deliberately.
I gave them nothing else, so put Cristian’s mind at ease. They don’t have the location to your house or Cristian’s parents’ house, and I never sent them any schedules. I didn’t know they were planning to kidnap Elio, but I was nervous going out that afternoon, and I should’ve listened to my instincts. I’ll never forgive myself for putting him in so much danger. I love that little boy like he’s my own, and I would gladly have given my life for his. I hope you believe it because it’s the truth.
There is lots more I could say, but you probably don’t want to hear it. Like Cristian doesn’t want to either. Please warn him. Contrary to what he thinks, I have never wanted to hurt anyone, especially him or Elio. I love them both so much, and I hate that I caused them pain. I’m sorry for deceiving everyone, and I truly wish things could be different.
Keep them safe, Gia. Thank you.
I didn’t think I could hurt any more, but a fresh wave of pain pokes new holes in my heart. Sloane didn’t even attempt to defend herself, offering no explanation for why she did the things she did. “She’s running from the cartel, and yet she’s trying to protect us. I really fucked up this time.”
“I feel bad for being so judgmental, so I can only imagine how you must feel.”
“I jumped to all the wrong conclusions.” I drink a mouthful of hot coffee. “I love her, and I’ve let her down in the worst way. My love was supposed to be unconditional, and I forgot that when it mattered most.”
Shards of pain scrape my throat raw. Why was my first instinct to presume she was guilty instead of asking my love to tell me the full truth and listening without interruption? Instead, I cut her off before she could fully explain, deciding I couldn’t trust anything out of her mouth.
“Elio would be so ashamed if he was old enough to comprehend things,” I admit. “Sloane needed me to see what I should’ve seen all along. Everything was a cry for help, and I should’ve pushed her to tell me what was wrong instead of backing off and letting her tell me in her own time. But there’s no point looking at all the what-ifs and should-haves. This is the reality, and I’m going to find her, bring her home, and pray we can forgive one another and start over. The cartel is not getting their fucking hands on her again. I’ll blow their entire operation sky-high if they touch her, so please, Gia, tell me you got some lead from this email.”
She bobs her head. “The email account is deactivated, but I was able to trace the IP address to a small café in Alton, Illinois. I hacked into the traffic cam across the street.” Her fingers fly over the keyboard. “Watch.”
My heart is in my throat as I watch a woman exit the café, tipping her head forward and pulling a ball cap down firmly to cover her face. She’s wearing nondescript jeans and an oversized gray hoodie, and she’s walking with a noticeable limp. A muscle pops in my jaw as I watch her dragging her injured leg and trying to disguise the obvious pain.
“Wait for it,” Gia says, and I hold my breath.
At the crosswalk, Sloane stops on the sidewalk and purposely lifts her chin. Strands of short dark hair peek out from under her cap as she tips her face directly in front of the camera. Blue eyes shine with regret as she stares into the camera for a few seconds. Gia pauses it there, and I drink in every beautiful feature.
A pang of longing rushes through me, and I wish I could project into the screen, scoop her up, and run away with her. But this was days ago, and I’m doubting she’s still there. John Angelo told her to keep running, and I know she’ll have listened to him.
Still, this was a bold, reckless move. One she risked to warn me. If I have any lingering doubts, they’re fully eviscerated now. Sloane loves me and Elio. She sacrificed her mother to protect us, and I’m the prick who repaid her with cruelty instead of kindness and love. As long as I live, I will never forgive myself for the mistakes I’ve made, and I won’t stop looking for her. Rubbing a hand across the pain spreading in my chest, I silently offer up my soul to whoever is listening, begging them to keep her safe until I can find her.
44
CRISTIAN
Five Years Later
“Please tell me you’re not seriously considering it.” Caleb drills me with a pointed look as he lifts a beer bottle to his lips.
Giggles and high-pitched screams pierce the air as the kids run around the garden, playing and chasing one another. It’s the weekend, and Elisa decided to throw an impromptu alfresco lunch when the early June day dawned bright and sunny. Us five adults are congregated around the patio area, enjoying a cold beer and a chilled glass of wine under the shade while we keep an eye on our rambunctious offspring.
Gia and Elisa cradle their sleeping babies in their arms as we chat, gently rocking them or dotting kisses on their cute faces. I’m happy my friends have expanded their families over the years, but it only serves to remind me of everything I’ve lost through my own stupidity and weakness.
“I’m thirty-seven, and Elio will be ten in December. He needs a mother, and I promised Pops on his deathbed I would give up chasing a ghost and take a wife.”
“We hate seeing you like this, and we want you to move on. It’s what Sloane would want too,” Joshua says. “But a marriage contract isn’t your only option.”
“Itisthe only option.” I knock back a mouthful of beer. “You, of all people, should understand.”
Elisa clutches my hand. “It’s so hard to see you hurting. Has it gotten any easier?”
I shake my head, letting the pain loose to run free inside me. “Every month that passes without any sighting or news of her kills me a little more inside.” I scrub my hands down my face. “Sometimes, I wonder if I’m legit insane because I only knew her for three weeks, but I still miss her every second of every day, and there is no one else for me. Sloane is the love of my life. There won’t be another.”
“Time is irrelevant when you find the other half of your soul,” Gia says, smiling lovingly at her husband from across the table. “My parents were engaged less than a month after meeting, married a few months later, and they are still blissfully happy all these years later. You’re not crazy, Cristian.”
