Page 98 of Raphael (Belles & Mobsters 5)

A wave washed against the shoreline. A normally soothing sound felt more like a dissonant crescendo, setting my teeth on edge. I held my breath, waiting.

“W-What?” Gabriel’s voice was barely a whisper. I hated seeing my son upset. Fucking hated it.

“My sister was everything to me,” I started softly, pulling him into my arms. “I was so lucky to have her. Whenever I was scared, she was always there for me.” My nose tingled and my eyes burned. The pain of losing her never quite healed. “I loved her very much. Then she got pregnant by Raphael’s dad with you. That’s why you look like him.”

“My dad didn’t want me either?” Gabriel’s voice was small.

Raphael’s hand came to rest on Gabriel’s shoulder. “He did but he wasn’t a nice guy. Your mom, Sailor, she kept you safe.”

I didn’t think I was doing a good job here. “Your mom and I made plans. We wanted to move somewhere south, have a little cottage, and we’d raise you together. Neither one of us ever thought she’d die. So I took you as my own. I was scared that-” That the Santos family would hear about you. But it wasn’t the right thing to say. “I don’t know, sweetie. I think I was just scared. Aunt Aurora and her brothers, along with Aunt Willow, helped me. Blink of an eye, and years went by.”

Silence followed. My heart ached. For him. For Anya. For all the things that went wrong. But it all led us here. It gave us a precious boy.

Gabriel glanced at Raphael. “Are you my brother?”

Raphael nodded. “We’re brothers.”

Gabriel’s eyes returned to me and I nodded.

“She loved you so much, Gab,” I rasped, emotions thick in my voice. “And so do I. We all do.”

My son's eyes shone but he didn’t cry. Our gazes locked and he buried his face in my chest. “I love you too, Mom.”

It turned out my husband was absolutely right.

ChapterForty-One

SAILOR

Two days cooped up in this house. On this island. This world was a cage in the form of paradise and surrounded by a dreamy blue ocean.

I was ready to scream. Except I’d done that already, at Raphael’s men. A lot of good it did me. I couldn’t lose my shit with Gabriel around. He was fond of Raphael and after our little talk on the beach, he loved him even more. If that was even possible.

I felt like a caged animal. Anxiety and tension simmered under my skin. I needed to burn off some of this energy and this island wasn’t big enough. I needed a hundred miles, not twenty miles between Raphael and me at this moment.

I attempted to leave the island to go shopping, but I was told no. When Gabriel and I wanted to go to the Miami zoo, we were stopped and told it wasn’t a good time.

I dialed up my boss, planning on covering the editorial story, but before I could even say five words, the call was interrupted and the signal shut down.

It was then that I lost my shit. Rage vibrated in my veins while I stormed through the large manor and straight into Raphael’s office. My hands shook with anger and I marched straight to the large mahogany desk he sat behind, like the devil ruling his hell.

I slammed both of my palms against the wooden desk. He wore a white dress shirt, accenting his biceps and giving hints to the tattoos I had come to know so well. He watched me with a dark, half-lidded stare, Diablo ruling his realm, while my heart raced with adrenaline and anger.

“Reina-”

“Don’t you fucking reina me,” I hissed. “Am I your goddamn prisoner or what?”

“You’re my wife.”

“Fuck the wife shit,” I growled. “A wife apparently can be a lifelong sentence too. Am I your goddamn prisoner?”

Animosity felt heavy in the air, dancing between us like poison.

“Sailor.” One word, spoken in a soft tone, but underlined with the slightest clench of his teeth. I didn’t heed the warning.

“Raphael.”

My husband gave a terse nod to the men in his room. I didn’t even glance behind me. All I heard was the shuffling of feet, his men clearing the room.

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