“I’m so sorry for what you both endured. Losing your mother like that is horrendous. We were all so worried about you. Especially Cristian. He’s been a shell of himself since you left.”
“It hasn’t been a picnic for me either.”
Her expression turns grave. “No, I don’t expect it was.” She kisses my cheek. “Do you remember what I told you the last time I saw you?”
Wracking my brain, I draw a blank and shake my head. “Some of my memory is patchy from that time.”
Compassion splays across her face. “Trauma does that. I gave you the name of a therapist, and Marjorie still takes on new clients. If you want to talk to her, call me, and I’ll pass on her details. The other things I said that day were you’re family, we take care of our family, and Cristian would treat you like a queen if you let him.” She squeezes my hand. “That is all still true. I know he messed up, but he hasn’t stopped looking for you. It’s always been you for him. There has been no one else. I thought you should know that when deciding where you go next.”
47
CRISTIAN
“Before you explain, can you tell me anything about the men following you?” I ask when we are settled on the couch after I said goodbye to Natalia at the door. If Sloane is still being hunted, I want to get a handle on it ASAP. I swear if Rodrigo Fuentes is double-crossing us, I’ll personally see his blood spilled. “Think carefully. Even small details could help to identify them. What do they look like? What vehicle were they driving? How long have they been chasing you? I have a team looking at the traffic cams in the area where your car was abandoned, and if we can pinpoint them from camera footage, we can use facial recognition software to track them down.”
“I didn’t see their faces, and I can’t even be sure it’s the same men who have almost found me a few times.” She says it so calmly with no trace of fear, almost like she’s resigned herself to a life of always looking over her shoulder. Sloane pours the chilled Sauvignon into two wineglasses and hands one to me. “But it was two men. One was about six feet tall, the other shorter and stockier. They were in a dark-green SUV with tinted windows. Texas plates. Most likely fake. They’ve been following me for a month, all the way here from Kentucky. It didn’t matter how often I ditched them, rotated my plates, or switched cars, they always found me. It hasn’t been this intense since the early days. I’m wondering if they messed with my car. If maybe it was intentional that I broke down here of all places?” She shrugs casually as she sips her wine. “Maybe I’m reading more into it, but I’ve learned the hard way not to ignore my instincts.”
“You’ve changed.”
“I had no choice.” She looks straight at me, not shying away from anything. “It was either fall to pieces and the cartel would find me, or pick myself up and fight for my life. I chose the latter, and I haven’t stopped fighting ever since. But it was touch and go at the start. The first few months after I fled, I was a mess. Especially after I saw the news reports about my mother.” Pain glints in her eye for a few beats before she shakes it away. “I went off the grid. Found an abandoned cabin in Montana and hid there for months, only venturing out to get food. I wanted to die. I was all alone, and I knew they were hunting me, and it was probably only a matter of time before they found me.”
“I will never forgive myself for leaving you to fend for yourself.” Placing my glass down on the coffee table, I turn to face her. “I am so sorry, Sloane. My biggest regret is not trusting you.” I fist a hand over my chest. “Deep down, I knew you wouldn’t betray me or Elio. I should’ve helped you, but instead, I tried to kill you before pushing you away. I have hated myself every day since.”
She sits forward and cups my face. “Forgive yourself, Cristian. I have never blamed you. You were protecting the person you loved most in the world.”
“Elio was only one-half of that equation.” Keeping her hand flush against my face, I nestle into her touch, marveling at the tingles ripping across my skin as if no time has passed at all. Every part of me still craves every part of her. “You were the other half. I never even told you I loved you, but I did. I still do.”
“How can you say that after everything I did?”
“Forgiveness works both ways, Sloane. You were a young woman trapped in a nightmare, and you tried to do your best. I know that now. Like I know you tried to protect me and Elio the best way you could while trying to save your mother’s life. I’m so sorry you lost her, Sloane. She didn’t deserve to suffer and die like that.”
“It was you, wasn’t it?” she asks, moving closer. “You arranged the funeral and the gravestone.”
“It was the least I could do.”
Her eyes turn glassy for a few beats. “Thank you for doing that, and for the deposit you put in my bank account.”
“When I realized you had no money, I knew I had to act, but it wasn’t entirely altruistic,” I truthfully reply. “I thought it’d be how I’d find you, but you outsmarted us by withdrawing it in cash immediately, closing the account, and disappearing.”
“That money was the difference between life and death. I bought a car and met a couple of guys who helped me buy different fake IDs, set up multiple bank accounts in different countries, and taught me how to live off the grid. At the beginning, I tried to find work in some towns where I stayed for more than a few weeks at a time. But it was too visible, too risky, so I studied foreign currency trading, did an online course, and found I had an affinity for it. I’ve traded wisely and never gone hungry, always had a roof over my head. It enabled me to travel around easily and often to avoid being found. None of that would’ve been possible without that money, so you did protect me, Cristian. You did help. And you took care of my mother when I couldn’t. I didn’t find out you’d done that for months after, but it gives me peace to know she’s at rest now.”
“I pay a man to keep her grave neat and tidy and to place flowers on it weekly. I wasn’t sure if you’d ever visited.”
“I wanted to, but it was too dangerous.”
“I’ll take you there,” I promise. “As soon as I find these pricks and kill them, I’ll take you to Ithaca. You can visit the grave and the house.”
Her brow puckers as I lower our hands to my lap and link our fingers. “The house?”
“I bought your mother’s house off the bank, and I’ve ensured its upkeep has been maintained. I didn’t know if you’d want to move back there or sell it or whatever. But it’s yours to do with as you please.”
“Cristian.” Her face floods with warmth. “I can’t believe you did all that for me.” She doesn’t even know the rest yet.
“It’s quite simple.” I stare deep into her eyes, holding her hands more tightly. “I love you. I would do anything for you, Sloane.”
“I was so sure you still hated me.”
“Never.” Tugging her into my chest, I hold her close to me. “It was anger speaking that day. I have never hated you, Sloane. Far from it. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me someday.”
