Page 127 of Raphael (Belles & Mobsters 5)

“Do you think she’ll come back to us?” he asked. “To the island?”

Fuck!I hoped so. Otherwise, it’d be a sad life for me.

“I don’t know, buddy,” I told him honestly. “But I want you to know, this thing with your mom and me, it’s my fault.”

“That’s funny,” he muttered. “Because Mom says it’s her fault.”

I straightened up. “It’s not her fault,” I protested. “She’s been through a lot.”

Gabriel’s expression turned serious. “I know. But it’s not your fault either.”

Damn, the kid was too sharp and had a good heart. Like Sailor.

A long pause followed.

“Was your dad a good man?” The fact he called himmyfather, notourfather didn’t escape me. His question surprised me a bit. It came out of nowhere. But then, it was to be anticipated considering my father was well known in Miami. The moment Gabriel started attending school here, it was to be anticipated he’d hear the rumors about our father.

“No, he wasn’t a good man.” There was no sense in sugar coating it. “But you are. We are not our father.”

I wouldn’t have blamed anyone for keeping a kid away from my father. Isabella’s mother kept her hidden and my half-sister was tons better for it. Although she found her way back into the underworld despite all odds.

The same was true with Gabriel.

He nodded. “I think Mom’s dad wasn’t a good man either.” I held my brother’s gaze, the questions in them clear. He wanted an explanation, but I couldn’t tell him everything. It was something Sailor and I would have to do together. When he was much older. I agreed with her, we’d want to preserve his innocence for as long as possible. “I think it’s the reason she doesn’t like to sleep in the dark.”

I wished I could have spared Sailor all her pain, but then the two of us would have never crossed paths. We were so different but it was our past experiences that connected us and fuck, I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

* * *

Two hours later, I was parked across the street from my old apartment.

My men gave me an update on her activities. This was the time she took walks down the beach. Gabriel let it slip that she’d planned to still walk today. So here I was, like a stalker watching for any sign of my wife.

I stared down at the building, my eyes locked on the only door that led from the building directly to the beach.

Yes, I knew I had agreed to give her time. I just needed a glimpse of her to keep me going. The obsession with my wife made it hard to think clearly. To sleep. To live.

How in the fuck would I survive without her if she decided not to come back?

I couldn’t even think about it.

Catching blonde hair, the color of fresh snow, from the corner of my eyes, I stilled.

It’s her.

Wearing white, cropped leggings and a black t-shirt that barely covered that gorgeous ass, I couldn’t tear my gaze from the beautiful sight. It was another thing I noticed. She wore plain colors lately. White, black, gray. I was certain it had something to do with her moods.

A few passersby greeted her and she acknowledged them with a nod, but her gaze never lingered on them as she rushed past them.

She made her way through the gate, slipping her shoes off, and I had mere seconds before she’d disappear from my sight. And just like a dog, I was out of the car and following behind her.

I was halfway across the street, passing the men I assigned to watch her. The breeze swept across the beach, carrying her scent with it.

Just another glimpse.

ChapterFifty-Four

SAILOR

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