Alphonse sat with one leg crossed over the other, hands clasped tightly in his lap. “I didn’t either. Always thought it was hypocritical to pretend to be a man of faith and a leader of a mafia crime family,” he said with a chuckle before falling silent for a moment. “My daughter is alive, and I’ll do anything to keep her that way, including praying to a God I’m not sure exists.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
“He had her raped. That sick fuck...hebeat her so bad she lost the baby.”
He shook his head. “I can’t even begin to comprehend what my baby girl went through.”
I nodded, my throat tight.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Nico.”
I averted my gaze, fixing it on the dancing flames of the candles, the soft light offering no comfort for the darkness within. No apology could ever mend the physical pain and the mental trauma she endured.
She had been pregnant with my baby.
My child.
Then the bastard thought he had the right to take it away from her. He and whoever else had a hand in torturing my angel would know the depth of my wrath. I would summon and unleash all my demons and would take pleasure in watching as they tore their souls out of their bodies. They would learn the true meaning of pain with what I would inflict upon them.
We fell into a tense silence, both of us staring straight ahead, lost in our thoughts. For the first time, I prayed.
I prayed for Gigi to have the strength and confidence to make it through her trauma. I prayed for his guidance to help me be the man she needed. And I prayed to God for forgiveness for all my sins if that was what it would take to bring my angel back to me.
Aweek later and my angel had yet to open her beautiful golden eyes.
“I know I fucked up,” I said as I applied the ChapStick on Gigi’s dry lips. I glided my thumb over her lips with a gentleness that betrayed the war battling inside me. “But I promise I’ll make up for it. I’m not giving you up. No matter how hard you’re going to fight me.”
I replaced the ChapStick with her comb.
“Your hair’s growing,” I murmured as I smoothed out the kinks from her head being matted against the pillow. When I first found her, her hair looked dull and greasy, but now the shine was returning, and she smelled like roses.
“Do you remember our first date?” I asked, still combing through the strands. “You wore that white dress that made you look like a fucking angel.” I chuckled softly. “You probably didn’t know this, but I was nervous as hell. I wanted to give you the bestnight of your life. I hope I did. But when you wake up, I will give you all the best nights.”
I draped her soft waves over one shoulder and set the brush down. Gigi laid motionless, her long wavy hair spilling across the pillow, a halo of dark silk that framed her face.
I leaned down, letting my nose graze her cheek, tracing a path down to her chin. I pressed my lips against hers, a kiss that sent my heart into overdrive.
“Please, Gigi, wake up,” I whispered, burying my face in her neck, trying not to suffocate from the guilt and anger of all that she’d been through.
“I swear, I’ll do right by you,” I promised, placing a tender kiss on her neck. I hovered over her, watching her chest rise and fall, that rhythmic motion a reminder that she was still here, still fighting.
“You’re the reason for making my heart beat again. You’re the reason I fucking care. You’re my reason for living.”
Just come back to me.
“I fucking love you.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Dante snapped at me.
“No, I’m not,” I responded.
“You can’t put a tracker in her, Nico,” Dante stated.
I turned away from Gigi’s still body. Even my own men were looking at me like I’d lost my damn mind.
“Watch me,” I challenged, my jaw clenched.
“Don’t you think you’re going overboard?” Malik asked.
