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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Esteban
It’s been over two months since the New Year. Esteban had been busy overseeing his November coca harvest, completing the conversion procedure from coca leaves to cocaine, and sowing seeds from December through January for the next lot.
'Twas the life of a drug lord—you reap what you sow.
The holidays were always difficult for him, grieving over memories he never got to make with Gabriella. Planting was a welcoming distraction from the ache in his heart.
Though Esteban is busy observing one of several of his drug warehouses to look at the inventory, his mind is clouded with thoughts of the boy.
His boy.
As he works, his mind wanders back in time.
When Cruz had taken Gabriella from him, Esteban was enraged. He scoured all of Columbia, eliminating those who got in his way of finding his beloved. When he discovered Gabriella returned to the States with the Navy SEAL who’d accosted her at the clinic where she once worked, Esteban went nuclear. He killed all remaining personnel from the villa who were not taken out by the SEAL team invading his home, closing the residence. Then he fled south into the mountains with his soldiers.
The villa, which held all his shared memories with Gabriella, had been infiltrated and was no longer a haven. To remain there would have been suicide. So much of himself and her were left behind in that place. Esteban wished to return to it, to see it for a moment, but the risk was too high, and attracting attention to it would only stir trouble. Instead, he paid for someone to manage the property in his stead, but it was to remain locked up in a time capsule.
He should destroy it, remove all evidence of his past—it would be the smart thing to do. Yet, the very thought of destroying the last few things that tied him to Gabriella was mind crippling. It’s why it remains as it is, a memorial for a life he once had.
Gabriella returning to the States was the worse news he could have received. With the war against drug trafficking in America, Esteban was one of the most wanted criminals. Going to the States to retrieve her was out of the question. The Feds would have been on him as soon as he crossed the border. He would have to wait ‘till the heat was off him. It wasn’t impossible, but it was a high-risk gamble.
Sending someone there to retrieve her was an option—if he knew where she was.
When her location had been pinpointed, his heart surged with relief. Then the information came flooding in, and what had been reported caused a cyclone of emotions to grow inside him.
Gabriella had married Cruz as soon as they landed in Florida, where he was stationed. That betrayal was as scorching as a brand to the chest, searing his heart. He refused to believe she had done so willingly. Esteban may have abducted her, but the relationship between them was real. There was no way she faked it. The nights he would release her from her shackles, she was receptive to his touch, curling into his chest, seeking more.
No.Not his Gabriella. She wouldn’t stray from him.
The other news which came to light was that she was pregnant and coming due.
That did it. Esteban threw caution to the wind and hopped in his jet to the States, risking everything to uncover the truth. There was no plan, nothing laid out on how to extract her from the country. He hoped to convince her to leave with him willingly.
Cautiously, he watched her from afar, waiting for an opportunity to approach her when she left the Naval base. An opportunity presented itself when she went to run errands.
She ambled as she approached the store, her stomach heavy with a child due any day. Why Cruz had let her leave alone was baffling. Esteban may have been overconfident when he left Gabriella to mind his fields, but he had left her protected. There was no security here.
Esteban approached her slowly, not wanting her to panic and draw attention to them. When she looked up and saw him, she froze, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Esteban?” she whispered.
“Ven conmigo,”he cooed, beckoning her with his hand.
She looked scared. He didn’t mind her fear, he preferred her to have some toward him, but the look of aversion pulling her brows together bothered him. Cruz had tainted her perception, undid all the love which once held its place.“No puedo.”
“¿No puede?”he challenged, low and throaty, holding her stare as he towered over her before pulling her into his arms.“Tu me perteneces.”
There was no resistance from her. She leaned heavily into him, trembling, and it felt heavenly. But then her face twisted, marred with pain. Her hands splayed over her swollen stomach.
Labor was never in his mindset when hypothesizing outcomes. He was not equipped to handle the situation. Fleeing with her now would put her and the child in jeopardy.
There was no hesitation as he raced her away, her screams having him floor the accelerator. He wouldn’t leave her once they reached the hospital, even knowing the risk was high. Their time was limited and the baby was coming.
Gabriella was in agony, unable to focus on much of anything but delivering her child. Esteban watched her bring a baby into the world, able to see with his own eyes the child in question. He knew at once the baby was his. The thin almond-shaped eyes showcasing coal-black diamonds were a dead ringer for a Moreno. They weren’t brown like hismadreor hazel like Cruz’s. No, they were dark like his.
Esteban clutched Gabriella tightly in his arms as she held their child. She was shaking—the delivery had been fast, but brutal—she was still in pain.
The clock was ticking, and Cruz would be in pursuit realizing Gabriella had not returned when she should have.
