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Chapter Twenty-Two
Esteban
Esteban watches the wedding celebration from the road between the two checkpoints, out of sight of the security feeds. He sees no point in letting them see him on this happy occasion and souring the mood. Maceo will learn he’s there soon enough and start his manhunt as usual.
Watching Maceo cradle his new bride in his arms causes a pang of jealousy to run through Esteban—not because the boy holds themami, but because he was robbed of his own happy ending with Maceo’s mother, Gabriella.
He grits his teeth, recalling the moment he came back to his villa and found her missing from their bedchamber. He knew at once who had taken her—Cruz Tabares.
Shit luck would be his demise, finding Gabriella working with Doctors without Borders in the mountainous village on the same day she grabbed Cruz’s attention. But he saw her first and what he saw he loved. What he loved, he would have. So, he took her.
When Esteban closes his eyes, he can still smell her sweet scent—ripe passion fruit, fragrant, and citrusy. He can still feel her thick, dark-chocolate hair sliding between his fingers like silk. He can recall the sound of her whimpers while he held her in his arms and the taste of her salty tears as he kissed them away. And he recalls how good it felt to get lost inside of her again, and again.
A shuttering sigh escapes Esteban.Gabriella—oh, how I miss you, sweet flower.
The most beautiful woman was his, and that fucker striped her away. Cruz stole her right out from under him when he was away handling business, too coward to come at him head on.
Esteban’s fist connects with the dashboard with a sickening crack. He shakes his hand to ease the sting, but it’s no use—the real pain is not in his hand, but in his heart and the hollow space that once held his love for a woman who was taken from him.
Calming down, Esteban looks back out the window and sees the walking, talking embodiment of the man he hates most. Everything Maceo has done has been to emulate himself after that man. From joining the United States Navy and becoming a SEAL, to his choice in mercenary work. How he surrounds himself with his makeshift family and his overprotective nature for his woman. It’s all Cruz.
The woman beside Maceo—mulish and more petite than he would have guessed Maceo’s type—holds all his love. It’s something Esteban can relate to, loving one woman so fiercely it drives you to insanity. As Esteban looks at the bride, he can see her appeal. Slender and elegant—a classic beauty. Her eyes are definitely her most unique quality. He doesn’t believe he’s ever seen an eye color as gemlike as hers.
The way the boy surrounds her, lets Esteban know Maceo will go to the ends of the earth for her, fight whatever battles necessary to keep her at his side…
Josefina is definitely Esteban’s ticket to reaching Maceo. He only needs a way to access her.
The compound Maceo asked his wife to design and build is a modern-day fortress. Gaining entry is unlikely. If there’s anything Esteban has learned from observing Josefina’spast abductions, the key is luring her out.
However, Maceo’s wife has proven routinely she’ll not be taken easily, and Maceo certainly has put security measures in place to significantly limit the possibility.
Esteban drums his fingers on the steering wheel, churning over ideas of how to extract the boy’s wife. If he can trick her out of her stronghold…
A loud bang nearly has Esteban throwing the car in drive. Excited shouts from the wedding celebration make his hand stall above the gearshift. He follows the crowds’ line of sight and sees a vibrant array of fireworks being shot off from deep within the property.
Maceo points to the sky, cradling his wife from behind. Her smile nearly takes over her face as she listens to him, ignoring the skyline and focusing all her attention on him.
She loves him—truly loves him. Whatever plan Esteban devises will need to capitalize on their weakness for each other.
Maceo smiles at his tiny bride, making Esteban’s heart lurch. The boy has his mother’s smile—a smile so vibrant it has the power to render a charmed one speechless. His smile is the only resemblance, though. The rest is too sharp and lethal to be anything akin to the woman he loved.
Esteban looks back over the last thirty years and thinks about the life stolen from him. The woman who should have been his wife and the family they would have created. It’s isn’t fair, but then nothing in life is.
Two times he went to Gabriella after she was taken, two times he asked her to return to him willingly, and two times he was denied. Cruz had gotten into her head and filled it with lies. Each time she saw Esteban, her face would pale and fear would dance in her dark-brown eyes. Esteban wanted to kill Cruz for poisoning her against him. He had grown impatient and sent a crew to their home.
It wasn’t supposed to turn out the way it had. The operation went horribly wrong, and Esteban’s sweet flower is buried six feet under cold ground because of a fuckup.
The boy’s boisterous laughter floats all the way to Esteban’s car on the road. He’s found happiness.
Guilt for having Maceo’s mother sent to heaven too soon made Esteban keep coming back to check on him. He stayed away for many years because turf wars had broken out in Colombia with other drug cartels, and his attention was needed there. But every time Esteban had a free moment, he would come to the states and check on the boy.
Even now, as a man, Esteban still feels the urge to check on him. Maceo’s mother would have loved to have seen this moment, seen her son take a holy vow to a woman who would give her grandchildren.
Esteban doesn’t blame Maceo for hating his guts over losing his family, but Maceo needs to understand his anger is misplaced. He needs to understand Esteban would do anything for a do-over.
There’s no doubt Maceo is what Esteban wants in his organization. His military and leadership skills are exactly what Esteban needs back home in Colombia, manning his empire. Had things gone the way Esteban had wanted when he sent his crew to retrieve Maceo’s mother, it would have been his home anyways. Maceo would be working beside him and learning the business, carrying out Esteban’s legacy.
Now that Esteban has found Maceo’s weakness, his legacy may have a chance to continue.
With one last longing look, Esteban takes in the young couple who are oblivious to his nearness.
“Gabriella, I wish you were here to see this. I know you had your reservations, but they were lies planted in your head. I promise I will do right by your son and bring him back home where he belongs.”
Without drawing attention to himself, Esteban starts the car and slowly drives into the night.
