“I can help you get your son back, Maddie.”
My eyes snapped to his. He’d never, in all the years I’d known him, called me Maddie. Tears swam in my eyes, tipping over as I shook my head.
“I can’t uproot his life. It isn’t fair to him.”
“Life isn’t fair, Mrs. Valentinetti. If it were, you wouldn’t need that information. In fact, it wouldn’t exist at all.”
I studied the man whom I’d admired my whole life. The man whom everyone saw as the Devil. But he’d been my savior. And I would always love him for that.
“He’s happy. He doesn’t know who I am. It would be selfish of me to take him away from his family.”
“You are his family.”
I nodded and stood. “And one day, when he’s older, maybe he’ll let me be a small part of it.” Maybe he’d want to know who his mom and dad really were and how much they loved him. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and Salvatore. And Henry.”
I hugged him and kissed his cheek before I walked out of his office. I moved faster than I needed to, but I had to get away from him before I took him up on his offer.
I wanted my son more than I wanted anything in my life, and I knew Sinclair could make that happen. But the price was too steep. And Henry would be the one to pay the highest price.
I stuffed the envelope into my purse and made my way to Central Park. If I hurried, I could still catch a glimpse of him before they went home.
I found my bench; the one I’d always sat on. I didn’t care if they saw me. I was only in the city for a few hours, and I wanted to see my son. My eyes searched the playground for my son. Desperate to see his dark hair, so much like his father’s.
“They’ve already left.”
I jumped at the deep voice, the accent unmistakable. I swallowed hard, afraid to turn around. It wasn’t Maxim Fedorov’s voice, but one of his men.
“Miss Kelley?”
I closed my eyes and said, “I’ll go. I was here for an appointment and I... I just wanted to see him. I’m not here to cause trouble. I won’t upset his life.”
“Maddie,” he said, his voice softer, less gruff, less threatening.
I couldn’t move, afraid that if I did, hands would reach out and snatch me away. I shouldn’t have come here. When I left Sinclair’s office, I should have gone straight to the train station.
“I-I’ll leave,” I stuttered. “Please, just give me a few moments. If he’s not here, then I...” My words trailed off when the man sat on the bench beside me.
“I’m not here to hurt you,moya dusha.”
I turned to look at him, and my heart stuttered. He lifted his hand to wipe away the tears that fell, and my body froze in fear. Not the kind of fear you felt when your life was in danger. It was the fear you felt the moment you knew your heart was.
His deep blue eyes stared into mine, and I felt things I hadn’t felt in years. Emotions I never thought I’d feel again welled up inside me. I felt my cold, dead heart crack. Felt it opening up to make room.
I shook my head. No, the only room in my heart was for Henry. The rest of it died when Salvatore did. I stood up quickly, the man following me.
“I-I need to go.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand, and a spark sent a ripple through my body. He felt familiar, as if I knew him. His dark hair and beard, his chiseled jaw, his face—it all swam in my head, looking for any memory to explain my reaction. I chalked it up to seeing him here when I came to watch Henry.
That had to be it. I pulled my hand back, but he held it in his grip. My body began to shake, and when he noticed, he pulled me against his chest. The smell of his cologne assaulted my senses, causing my body to relax of its own accord.
“Ya tebya ne otpushchu, moya dusha,” he whispered.
Who was he?
Why was he here?
I pulled away, staring at him. Trying to figure out the puzzle he had become in my head. My reaction to him, the way my body sank against him, didn’t make sense. Only one person had ever made my body react the way it was right now.
