The person is lying on their stomach, but thankfully, moving. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you,” I say, approaching cautiously as they scramble slowly to their feet. Their back is to me, and I can’t make out if it’s a man or a woman through the shapeless clothing. “How badly are you hurt?” I ask, stopping behind them. “I can take you to a hospital or call an ambulance.”
“That won’t be necessary,” the woman says, her voice barely a whisper. Tucking her chin into her chest, she starts walking forward as I fall into a daze.
“Dad! You need to go after her.” Elio lands at my side with John Angelo on his left.
They stare at me and my lack of action, unaware of the turmoil spiraling inside me.
Goose bumps sprout all over my arms, and prickles of awareness coast over my skin as I watch her walking off with an obvious limp. That innate pull I only ever felt in her presence springs to life, shooting imaginary strings toward her retreating form.
It can’t be, can it? Things like this don’t happen in real life.
“Dad.” Elio tugs on my arm. “She’s hurt. You need to go after her.” Elio’s words snap me out of my fugue state, and I start running, anxious to catch up to her before she disappears for another five years.
“Wait!” I call out as she reaches the end of the road. “Sloane! Stop!”
Her head whips around, and she stares at me in blatant terror for a few seconds before she takes off running.
But I saw enough.
She looks different, but it’s her.
It’s Sloane.
I’ve finally found her.
45
SLOANE
My body is wracked with aches and pains as I push my limbs harder, willing them not to give up on me now. But I’m so tired. Tired of constantly running, constantly being chased. I had no intention of stopping in New York, but my damn car broke down, and I literally had to flee for my life, abandoning all my belongings as two men came after me. Perhaps fate has brought me back here on purpose. Maybe this is where it all ends.
How fucking ironic that in a city of millions I almost get run over by the one person I need to avoid. Cristian warned me he’d kill me if I ever came back, and I think Lady Luck is about to run out.
“Sloane, stop.”
Panic crashes into me at how close he sounds, and I force my limbs to move faster, but my gimpy leg wobbles, the old injury throbbing from the inside, and I falter, stumbling on my feet, screaming as I fall. But I don’t faceplant the asphalt because familiar arms are there to catch me. Briefly, I close my eyes, letting Cristian’s warmth sink into my bones one final time.
If this is the way I go out, it’s not the worst way to go.
“Sloane,” he whispers, slowly turning me around in his arms.
Swallowing over the sudden lump in my throat, I lift my head as my heart flips somersaults and butterflies swoop into my chest. Our eyes connect for the first time in years, and we stare at one another, drinking each other in as the five-year drought ends.
Cristian looks the same. Like he hasn’t aged at all. He’s still drop-dead gorgeous with this intense charisma I can’t help being drawn to. I struggle to believe any part of this man was ever mine. His piercing green eyes still hold enormous power over me as his gaze roams my face. Dormant longing stirs inside me as I get lost in him. Guess some things will never change. Don DiPietro always captivated me in a way no other man ever has. The stubble on his chin and cheeks is thicker than he used to wear it, and his face is more tan, but otherwise, it’s as if time stood still.
“My god. It is you.” Keeping one arm around my waist, Cristian pushes the hood down off my head with the other before releasing my hair from its ponytail. Dark, messy waves cascade over my shoulders as I steel myself for what comes next.
“Make it quick.” I’m pleased my voice doesn’t tremble and my stupid leg doesn’t give out when I awkwardly kneel before him. “Do it now before I have time to be afraid.” Committing his face to my eternal memory, I close my eyes and relax. There’s a sense of peace in knowing I don’t have to run anymore. I’ll finally be reunited with my mom in a place where there’s no suffering, no pain, only joy, love, and light. I’m ready for that.
“Sloane, no.”
My eyes open, and I frown as he helps me to my feet.
“Fuck.” Tears fill his eyes. “I didn’t mean those horrid words I said that last day.” His fingers dive into my hair, clasping the back of my head. “I’m not going to kill you, Sloane. God, even saying that destroys me.” He winces as if in pain. “I could never hurt you. I’ve spent five years looking for you, just wanting to bring you home and protect you, but I couldn’t find you.” His voice breaks, and I barely resist the urge to tug at my ears, sure they must be deceiving me.
“You were looking for me?”
He nods. “I hadn’t stopped, but I thought…I thought you might be dead,” he whispers before pulling me into a hug.
