Page 18 of Luciano (Belles & Mobsters 1)

My chest tightened, but I willed it to harden.Hercould be only one woman.Grace, my wife.

“Are you sure?” None of my men have been able to find her for the past three and a half years. I didn’t want another false alarm.

“No, I’m not, but she sure reminds me of her.”

“Where in Sicily?”

Of all the places in the world, I never expected her to hide in Sicily. It was where my parents were from.

“She lives in Favignana, but I spotted her in Cefalù.” Cefalù was the hometown where both of my parents were born. Maybe hiding in plain sight worked too well for her.

“What made you look there?”

“Actually, I wasn’t looking. Your father asked me to check on your aunt,” he explained. “I was here already anyhow. So before I went to Germany, I made a stop. She told me there were two American girls living here. For the past nine months. I didn’t think anything of it, but then when I was meeting an old friend, he pointed the woman out. It fucking looked like her. So I followed her. I have been following her for the past two weeks, wanting to make sure. I went to Germany for two days but nobody from that festival knew anything about any American girls. Then I came back again. And fuck, I think it is them. I’m pretty sure Grace is here with her friend, Ella.”

I stared out the window, silence stretching over the phone. I could still see her violet-blue eyes staring at me in fear, the tears streaming down her face. It couldn’t be helped. It had to be done.

“Bring her back,” I told him in a hard tone.

A heartbeat of silence.

“There is something else too, Luciano.”

“What?”

“There is a kid. I think it is hers. Locals wouldn’t divulge too much, but I’m told the baby is hers.”

Bitterness slithered through my veins like poison. Grace had a baby, while still married to me. Anger and jealousy tasted like acid.

Fuck, what did I expect? I knew she’d move on. She was a beautiful girl, and I was sure she’d turn into a beautiful woman. Men’s gazes always lingered after her. Her ginger hair, her eyes like the deepest sapphires, and her body that brought men to their knees.

Maybe it is not her,my reason whispered. Once we started sleeping together, she told me she didn’t want kids, not for a while. I wanted them right away, but considering she was barely twenty-one, and I uprooted her whole life, I agreed to wait. It was the least I could do.

“Change of plans. Don’t approach them.” It was foolish to have Massimo cause trouble for no reason if the woman wasn’t even Grace. This was how much that fucking woman messed with my brain. Even just the thought of her made me make irrational moves. “I’ll be there tomorrow morning to confirm if it’s her,” I told him.

I left, shooting a quick message to Roberto to handle the rest of the meeting.

* * *

I stoodat the corner of the street. I had been on the island for the past twenty-four hours and my patience was running thin. I hadn’t seen the woman nor the child. For whatever reason, the routine that the woman had for the days that Massimo watched her went out the window. As if she knew I was here.

It was a charming little home. Nothing extravagant, little stone villa with a yard and an open view to the sea. Grace grew up surrounded by luxury, waited on hand and foot. This place was opposite of everything she was used to. I was starting to doubt Massimo had mistaken someone else for Grace.

The garden gate opened and a woman came out. She had a baseball hat on, black shorts and white, racer tank top. A ponytail looped through her baseball hat, and I silently cursed. What the fuck was Massimo thinking? This woman’s hair was nothing like Grace’s.

Grace had a thick mane of ginger wavy hair and this woman had smooth brown hair. I ground my teeth at disappointment. I was getting tired chasing after my wife all over the globe. I was just tired. Period.

My eyes traveled over the woman’s body, and I couldn’t help but admire her curves. Her skin was the color of light golden tan, like she spent a lot of time in the sun. But underneath that barely there tan, you could tell she had a fair complexion. She was a beautiful young woman, similar build as my wife.

She stuffed her headphones into her ear, then stretched her legs. They were long and toned. The hat was pulled down far on her forehead, and I wished I could see her face that was hidden by the hat.

A minute of stretching and she took off into a light jog. I watched her till she disappeared from the view, a sinking feeling heavy in my stomach.

Where are you, Grace?The silent question lingered on my lips.

I would find her eventually. She couldn’t hide from me forever. Before my life was over on this Earth, I’d find her. Fuck, I’d bury myself into her and inhale her scent, drown in her stunning eyes. Her betrayal didn’t diminish my need for her.

Not. One. Fucking. Bit.

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