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I hesitated, unwilling to release Sophie’s hand just yet.
“I don’t want to leave,” Sophie said, her voice barely above a whisper. I watched her eyes fill with sorrow.
I could drown in those eyes. “Time to go, Mia Stellina.”
“Wait,” she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. “Just…one more minute.”
We sat there, our fingers intertwined, each second ticking away like an agonizing countdown. The world outside faded away, leaving only Sophie—her scent, her soft breaths, her undeniable intoxicating presence.
For a split second, I let myself fantasize about what the future with her by my side would look like: a life full of laughter and happiness that seemed almost within reach yet so brutally out of grasp.
“Thank you, Gabe,” Sophie murmured, her voice trembling. “For everything.” She looked at me, and our gazes locked.
I skimmed my finger along her jaw, then reached for her hand. “You’re my heart, Stellina,” I confessed, my throat aching. “Remember that, always.”
In the quiet confines of the SUV, her eyes on mine, my world shrunk until it was just Sophie and me, her hands in mine, our fingers intertwined, each second ticking away like an agonizing countdown.
Out of words.
Out of air.
Reluctantly, I stepped out of the SUV, leaving our temporary sanctuary, and pulled her behind me and into the clear night. A sudden gust of wind whipped at our faces as we approached the jet, but the balmy wind was nothing compared to the bone-deep chill settling in my chest.
I guided her up the steps and into the jet and pushed her into a seat, fastening her seatbelt with the utmost care, trying to savor the fleeting moments we had left together.
Our gazes met, and I brushed a kiss across her forehead.
“Here,” I murmured, pressing my business card into her hand as I kissed her knuckles tenderly. “My private number is on the back. If you ever need anything, day or night, anything at all, call me.”
I couldn’t let her go without knowing she could reach out to me.
Hoping she would reach out to me.
“Sei la donna più forte che io abbia mai conosciuto,” I told her earnestly, my voice thick with emotion. “It was an honor to have you as a captive, Sophie.”
My desperate attempt to lighten the mood fell flat as tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks.
I sighed, then stepped back.
Jemma, Cara, and Fiona gathered around her, offering comfort and support.
With one last lingering look at her tear-streaked face, I turned and left the plane.
“Take care of her,” I told Hawk, my voice barely audible.
He nodded solemnly, understanding—without needing to hear it—just how much she meant to me. Hawk knew me better than anyone. Had witnessed me and called me out on how I’d always kept my distance. How I never let anyone—especially a woman—come too close.
As a matter of fact, I’d never felt about anyone before the way I felt about her.
Hawk laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Even after I personally deliver her to her father, I’ll make sure she remains safe, Falcon,” he promised.
I forced a nod and climbed into the driver’s seat of the SUV, with Alessio sliding in beside me. Cristo took the wheel of the other vehicle, and we drove off to park the SUVs.
Once parked, Alessio and I climbed onto the roof of our vehicle.
I inhaled deeply in an attempt to gain some semblance of composure.
Perched atop the SUV, Alessandro beside me and Cristo on the other vehicle, my gaze remained fixated on the private jet as it taxied toward the runway—an unsettling hollowness gnawed at my insides, a pulsing pain throbbing against the insides of my hollow rib cage.
