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“Oh, God.” Instantly, tears welled in my eyes.
Sabatino took my hand into his, pulling my knuckles to his lips. As he rolled them over my fingers, I couldn’t help tingling all over. “She didn’t want to go out for months, falling into a horrible place of darkness that I couldn’t seem to help her with. I was angry with everything and everyone, blaming God for what had happened. When I convinced her to come out one beautiful afternoon, she insisted on coming into the toy store. The doctors told me that however she wanted to handle her grief I should encourage her. So I did.”
“Oh, Sabatino.”
“She picked a little stuffed lamb, but I didn’t want her to purchase it. I didn’t think that was good for her.”
A stuffed lamb. Oh, dear God. I held my breath, terrified to hear the end of the story.
“Anyway, that made her angry. We stopped to have ice cream and she said she wanted to try and have more kids. I didn’t handle the conversation very well. I honestly didn’t know what to say.”
“Don’t blame yourself.”
“Oh, I do. Emily was angry. She told me she wanted to leave. We were parked right over there. She allowed me to guide her toward our vehicle then broke free from me, saying she had her own money and could buy what she wanted. She wasn’t gone long but I knew what she was doing.”
“Purchasing the lamb.”
“Yes. The smile on her face when she left the store I could see from where I stood by the car. She had a spring to her step, as if she was determined not to allow any doctor to stop her from conceiving again.”
When he looked away, I could swear I noticed tears in his eyes. I couldn’t imagine what the two of them had gone through.
“Anyway, she was headed back, looking both ways before she crossed but it didn’t matter. She was…”
I squeezed his hand, holding on tightly.
“A driver ran a red light and hit her at forty miles per hour if not more. She died from the injuries in my arms in the middle of that street.” Sabatino closed his eyes, lowering his head. Somehow, he’d managed to stop the tears, anger returning, although I couldn’t blame him.
“I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry.”
He gripped my hand with enough pressure, I was shocked. “She was… almost seven weeks pregnant.” When he lifted his head, there was no light left in his eyes.
There were no words to describe the way I felt, no easy method of making him feel any better. What he’d lost was more than just tragic. It was life changing, even for a brutal man like Sabatino. All I could do was lean closer, placing my other hand on tops of ours. “I’m here. I’m right here.”
“I will not ever allow anything to happen to you or to Dillon. That promise will never leave me, Georgia. You awakened and pulled me from an icy depth that no one deserves.” When he lifted his head, I could see so much emotion in his eyes. For a few seconds, I was positive that included love.
“I believe you. I… I’m falling in love with you, Sabatino. For right or wrong, I don’t care.”
He kissed my hand once again before taking a deep and exaggerated breath. “We should get back. I’m sure Dillon is tired.”
Whatever else was troubling him was all about Rico. I didn’t need my instinct to tell me that. “I want to help you any way I can.”
“I know you do. Let’s just get you both back to safety.”
He helped me stand, rolling his fingers through Dillon’s hair before easing my little boy to his feet.
“Can we talk later?” I asked. Something continued to nag at me and I was determined to figure out why.
“Of course.” After tossing the rest of the trash, he guided us out to the sidewalk. “Time to go see Max.”
“Yay!” Dillon squealed.
When Sabatino’s phone rang, he seemed frustrated, motioning to Andres, who immediately started to cross the street.
“This won’t take long but I need to take it,” he told me.
“Of course.” I placed Dillon on my hip, waiting until Andres made it to the sidewalk, taking the bags into his hands. One of the things I’d noticed was that Sabatino didn’t want me to go anywhere without him. One of the rules was that I was not to go anywhere without a bodyguard. That told me just how concerned he was about the possible war with Rico and his soldiers. I wanted to be able to help Sabatino but what little I could remember about Rico’s organization might not mean anything after all these years.
Yet the nagging continued.
