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Taking the suitcase, I move toward Gabriel’s room, and more tears form in my eyes when I recall the day Rafe showed me in here for the first time. Our future had been so bright back then, and it’s scary to think that the only thing that’s changed since then is the fact that now I know who he really is.
Leaving the case open on the changing unit, I start to collect Gabriel some clothes. I pack some diapers, and his favorite snuggly, too.
“What are you doing?” The voice that comes from behind me makes the breath catch in my throat, and when I slowly turn around and see Ricardo standing in the door frame, I close my eyes and realize all my hopes of leaving have been crushed.
“I have to leave,” I confess, praying that he might take pity on me. I heard what he just said to his sister. He knows Rafe is dangerous. And I’m relying on the fact Ricardo loves Gabriel. There’s a part of me that believes he might love me too, in a bratty younger sister kinda way.
“I know what Rafe does, how he uses women and sells them.” The words taste like acid in my mouth as I set them free.
“I can’t let you leave.” Ricardo’s eyes drop to the floor, suggesting he’s ashamed of being a part of all this.
“Please, Ricardo, think of Gab—”
“I meant, I can’t let you leave like this,” he interrupts, stepping toward me and placing his huge bear-like hand over mine. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes before he speaks again.
“You wouldn’t make it past the front gate, and if by some miracle you did, where would you run to, Riley? You have no money. Nowhere to go. And Raphael is relentless. He’d find you, and then… Well, I don't know what he’d do anymore.” There’s so much hurt in Ricardo’s voice. For the first time, the huge brute seems fragile.
“I’ll help you, Briga, but we have to bide our time. He can’t suspect, and you're gonna have to do a better job of keeping it together until I can work something out.”
“You’ll help me?” I check, both shocked and relieved at the same time, when Ricardo nods his head. I also sense the pain this betrayal to Raphael is causing him, but I can’t worry about that.
“Ricardo, I wish I had time. But Rafe wants to have another child, and you know how he is about getting what he wants. He took my birth control from me.”
Ricardo scrubs his hand over his face, breathing in a long sigh before he speaks again.
“I can help you with that. Just tell me what you need. My brother’s wife is a pharmacist.”
Every word he speaks echoes grief.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, my gratitude is so overwhelming that I could hug him and never let go, but I have to question what has made him turn against his friend.
“Because I vowed to protect you from any threat the day he brought you here, and then I vowed to protect your son too. I always stick by my word.”
“You think he’d hurt me?” I ask, fearing the answer to his question.
“I think he’d do anything to keep you,” Ricardo answers sadly. “Write down what you need, and this will be the last we speak of it. I’ll make sure you get your birth control, and I’ll figure out something for when I get you out of here.
“My brother. Find my brother. He can protect us. I know he will.”
Something about the way Ricardo looks back at me makes me nervous.
“Just focus on keeping the boss happy, Briga. He can’t suspect anything, or we will both have no hope.” He takes the suitcase from my hands and empties Gabriel’s stuff from it before leaving the room with it.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I’m alone. I have no idea how long Ricardo’s plan will take to come together or if he’s even got a plan that will work. But I do have an ally, and I have to trust in him.
Mine and my son’s future rely on it.
I burst through the doors of my home, desperate to see my family. It’s only been a few hours since I fucked Riley in the shower this morning, but the need to be inside her again has taunted me the whole journey home. It’s been a month since we started trying again, a month too long for a man as impatient as me. I’ve been working hard to close everything down these past few weeks. It’s meant I’ve had to be away from home a lot more than I wanted to be. I haven’t been giving her, or my son, the attention they deserve. But I keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it.
“Raphael?” Sylvia looks nervous when she greets me at the door, and her tiny legs have to almost run to keep up with me as I march toward the stairs.
“Where’s Riley?” I ask. I’m not in the mood for small talk. I’m in the mood for fucking. She can talk to me about which of my guards pissed her off this week when I’ve shot my load inside my girl, and I’ve seen my son.
“It’s um… well…”
“Spit it out, woman,” I snap. I seem to have zero patience these days for anyone other than Riley and my son. I put it down to the amount of pressure on my shoulders, but it’s not an excuse for being rude to Sylvia.
“It’s your nephew. He’s in your office,” Sylvia informs me timidly. She knows I’ve never been very fond of Danato. The boy may only be sixteen, but he’s the spawn of his father for sure.
