AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m going after her. I have to get her back.”
“Stefano?"
"Yeah?"
"You've finally manned up."
“There's too much at stake not to.” My hand tightens around the phone. “I already owe you more than I can repay, but if she says she's done with me, if I don’t manage to see her today ... just talk to her for me please."
“You have my word.” A heavy pause. “Godspeed, Stefano.”
The line goes dead.
I toss my phone onto the passenger seat and gun the engine to life.
The airport is still a thirty-minute drive away.
I have no time to waste.
Chapter 43
Isabella
Theautomaticdoorsslideopen as I step towards them, heart racing with excitement. Goodbye America. Mexico, I'm coming home to you. I stop for a brief moment, to savor this, freedom that I have yearned for way too long.
But the cost of this freedom is heavy - it’s the loss of innocence, the loss of true love and the loss of a family of my own. What I have wanted for so long, to return to my homeland, just doesn’t taste as sweet as I thought it would.
I close my eyes, and picture his face. One last time, on American soil. I move to take a step forward.
But just then, I hear my name. That voice, the one I've been dreaming of every night. No. This isn't real. This can't be true. I shake of the hallucination, about to take a step forward, when I hear it again.
"Isabella, please. Don't enter that airport!"
Oh, this is real. Stefano is here.
Fear spikes through me. I whirl around, fists clenched, ready to strike. Is he here to kill me, like he said he would?
Stefano runs toward me, panic etching lines in his handsome face. His car is abandoned in the middle of the road behind him, door gaping open.
His hands reach for me, trembling. “Isabella, wait—please—”
I freeze in place, heart pounding. What is this? What game is he playing now? What the hell is he doing here?
He stops in front of me, chest heaving. “I was wrong. I was so wrong about you.” His dark eyes meet mine, tormented. “Forgive me. I should have listened to you when you tried talking to me."
I take a step back, but he stops me, instinctively grabs my arm.
“Isabella, wait.”
His eyes are wild, pupils huge in the dim light of the terminal. “I had to stop you. I couldn’t let you get on that plane.”
I try to wrench my arm from his grip. “Let go of me!”
“Not until you hear me out.” His voice cracks. “I made a mistake. The biggest mistake of my life.”
My heart stutters. I stare at him, searching his face. What is he saying?
“Choosing my loyalty to the Capo over you. I was blind. I should have trusted you. I’m so sorry, Isabella.”
