Page 40 of Savage Hearts

“Okay,” I whispered as I traced the ridges of his muscular chest.

“We believe Carmela is alive, and we’re going to get her.”

seventeen

BECKETT

The intakeof breath I felt against my chest told me she hadn’t been expecting those words. Celestina had believed that Carmela was dead, and knowing there was a possibility she wasn’t had to have come as a shock. Playing with her hair, I blew out my breath and continued.

“Manuel Costa is heavily involved in the skin trade, among other things. Cristian Silva and Matias’ wife, Katya, have been working hard over the last year or so to bring down the sex trafficking mongrels in South America. When they heard what happened with you and that Manuel was involved, they came to assist us. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting them to find anything. Manuel is worse than his brother Jose ever could be. I’ve spent the last year trying to find him with no luck. Now I know why… he deals with people primarily out of Columbia.”

“Columbia? You think my sister is there?”

“Yes. And thanks to Cristian, we’re getting an invitation to an upcoming event in Bogotá. Miguel is going to go with us, along with several of his men, and we’re going to get her back.”

“What about the others?”

“For now, our only goal is to get Carmela out of there. If, by some miracle, we can bring the entire organization down, we will.”

“You say we… does that mean you’re going?”

“I have to, Cee. I need to finish this. Manuel threatened something I love and took another, thinking it was you.”

“You think he believes his goons took me?”

“Yes.”

Celestina’s body shook against my arms. Her tears cut at my heart in ways I never thought would be possible. A light tap on the door had me turning over to face the door.

“Come in.”

I shifted her body against me, not oblivious that I was shirtless in bed with her after she’d nearly ended her life. It didn’t matter to me—I needed to feel the connection to her. Catarina and Madison stepped through the doors, followed by the rest of Celestina’s family. Shifting so I was in a sitting position with my back against the wall, I helped her sit up to greet them. I knew this was going to be hard facing them after what she’d done, but what she didn’t know was they blamed themselves almost as much as I blamed myself. Celestina was loved, and they were here to show her that.

“I thought seeing your daughter would be good for you.” Madison stepped forward with my daughter clutched in her arms. “She’s been fed and changed… she just needs some mommy snuggles.”

Taking Emilia from her arms, I pressed a tender kiss to her soft head and shifted her toward Celestina.

“Here, baby. Hold our daughter.”

Celestina’s sob tore at my heart as she held out her arms. I could feel everyone’s eyes on her but didn’t dare look away. A myriad of emotions filtered across her face—regret, fear, sadness, but most of all, love. I could see the sheer adoration in her eyes as she looked down at our baby.

“I’m so sorry, baby girl.” Her gaze lifted to meet mine. “How could I even think of leaving her? I’m a horrible mom.” Her voice cracked.

“No, you’re not.” Massimo’s voice boomed through the room. “You’re struggling, Cee, and we should have seen it.”

“Non osare dirlo, Celestina. Sei la cosa più preziosa di questo mondo. Tu e i tuoi fratelli e sorelle siete la cosa più preziosa che ho. Ti amo piccola ragazza.”Don't you dare say that, Celestina. You are the most precious thing in this world. You and your brothers and sisters are the most valuable thing I have. I love you, baby girl.

Celestina’s head whipped to the door where her father stood.

“Padre. Mi vergogno tanto di me stesso.”

“No. I will not hear another word, Celestina.” His tone was commanding as he spoke the words in English. “There is nothing to be ashamed of for hurting. And if anyone in this room makes you feel that way, I will have them struck down—famiglia or not.”

“He’s right, Cee.” Vincenzo stepped away from the door and came to kneel beside the bed. “You are our baby sister. We should have seen this, and maybe we should have demanded him to come sooner… I don’t know. We’ll never know if that would have changed things. Instead, we need to focus on finding our sister and getting you better.” He leaned across the bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then turned to me. “I will gut you like a fish if you hurt her any more than you have.”

“Vin.” Celestina gasped. “Don’t be mad at him… please.”

“He has my permission to gut me if I do, but I swear to all of you, I won’t. I love her with everything I have. Without her… there is no me. And now that I have this beautiful daughter, I will set the world on fire to ensure both of them are safe.” I squeezed my arm around her, tugging her body closer.

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