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It was then revealed that her mother went missing as a young teenager and showed up years later married to Harry Silver. Raylee’s mum was one of the earliest women Harry Silver took, but when he saw her, he kept her. Now that Harry is dead, Raylee’s mum is able to work through the trauma. She left mainland Spain and moved back to the island where she was born. She’s surrounded by her family. Raylee’s happy her mum’s healing, but she’s angry and upset because her mum walked away from Raylee and her brothers without a second thought. Now their relationship is strained as neither knows how to ease the pain that was caused by Harry and his selfishness.
“So, the father?” she asks. “Who is he?”
I shake my head. “He was a guy I had a couple of great nights with,” I tell her. I may not tell Raylee everything, but I never lie to her. We’ve both had enough lies in our lives, so I try to tell her the truth without telling her every detail.
“Okay, and what does he think about the baby?”
“He doesn’t know, Ray. He promised me he would be back, but it’s been almost two months and I haven’t seen him. We both know he’s not coming back, and he only said he would so he wouldn’t come across as a prick.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and hmmfs. “God, what a bastard. If I ever see him, I’ll have his balls. No one treats my sister like that.”
I smile at her words. God, I love her so much.
“This doesn’t change anything,” I say, needing to know that no matter what, she’s going to stay ever present in my life.
“You know it,” she replies without missing a beat. “You may not be my blood, Gabby, but you are my sister, and I love you. Nothing could ever stop that. Mal and I will be with you whenever you need us. You want me in the delivery room, I’m there. You want me to stay with you for a while after you have my beautiful godchild, I’m there.”
My emotions get the best of me, and I sob, grateful that I have people in my life who love me and want the best for me. Raylee curls her arms around me and holds me tightly.
“You’re not alone, Gabs. You’re never alone.”
Chapter 12
Alessio
Four years later
“Ales,” Makenna sighs. “Why do you look as though you’re about to kill someone?”
I grit my teeth. I’m not in the mood for jokes and shit right now. Once again, Thomas’ trail has run cold. Four years we’ve been searching for Gabriella, and every time we think we’re close to her, it turns out to be a dead end. The last sighting we had of her was in Spain nearly two months after the last time I saw her.
Thomas has dug deep into Gabriella’s life, and we’ve since discovered she’s Raylee’s best friend. The woman that’s married to Makenna’s nephew, Malcolm. I’d love nothing more than to contact Raylee and find out where her best friend is, but the moment I do that, Makenna and Malcolm are going to be on my ass, demanding to know my business and no doubt want to protect Gabriella from me.
Thing is, she’s mine. I knew it from the moment I woke up in that bed, patched up, and alive. I saw her sitting beside me,worrying her lip between her teeth, trying to decide if she should answer my cell or not. I won’t listen to anyone who tries to tell me otherwise. She ran away. I fucking knew she would, I could see it in her eyes when I told her I’d be back. But fuck. How has one girl managed to keep hidden for four fucking years?
“Ales?” Makenna says, a brow raised as she looks at me, waiting for an explanation.
“Kenna,” Dante says with humor. “That’s a permanent look these days.”
My sister-in-law sighs. “Please tell me you’re still not chasing after Yelena?”
I ignore her. I’ve let my family think she’s the woman I want. It’s better this way. They’re nosey as fuck and always up in each other’s business. I’d rather them stay as far away from mine as possible.
“Leave him be,” Holly says softly. My sister-in-law always tries to make peace with everyone. She never wants to have arguments or conflict within the family. She’s sweet and kind. The woman never gets on the wrong side of anyone, but if you piss her off, you’ll know about it. I’m still getting calls from that BDSM sex group. Holly always gets payback, no matter what you do.
Makenna glares at me, so I smirk at her, knowing damn well it’s only going to annoy the ever-loving fuck out of her. She hates not being in the know, and she despises being ignored. She should know by now that I don’t have to tell her anything. Unlike my brother’s, I’m not under her thumb. Hell, Dante doesn’t even ask me what’s pissed me off. He knows that if I need to talk to him, I will.
“Has Declan worked out who’s working with the Serbians?” Mac asks. Over the past four years, the man has become vital to the Clann, surpassing Romero as Makenna’s right-hand man.No one would ever take Finn’s place, but if anyone could, it would be Mac.
Makenna shakes her head. “No. Whoever the fuck it is, they’re good at hiding their tracks.”
“I’m telling you,” Stefan says as he crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s the damn Russians.”
This argument has been ongoing for four years. We took out every Serbian player that was in New York. The stupid fuckers had a meet with every one of their men. It’s ridiculous to do that so soon after hitting our club. But nevertheless, we took them all out, avenging everyone who lost their lives that night—including our bounces, who had their throats slit and whose bodies were left in the back alleyway beside the trash. We made our statement, and we did it loud and clear. Anyone who takes aim at the famiglia will do so by paying with their lives.
“If it’s the Russians, do you honestly believe Maksim would be working with us to figure out who?”
I chuckle. “Maksim may be helping us, but the man lost a fuck of a lot of men. That’s a blow to the ego no one can recover from. What better way to get back at us than coming after us?”
