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A chuckle escapes me and Elena’s head snaps up as her eyes meet mine.
“Why are you laughing?” she asks, cradling Cassie against her chest.
“I’m just happy, baby. I’m beyond happy.”
She smiles. “You did it. I had every faith you could,” she tells me.
“Thank you,” I breathe.
We stand there for several minutes until my mom steps downstairs with Salvador right behind her. Her face is pale, but there’s no mistaking the relief in her features as she takes in her granddaughter. Cassie stops crying as soon as she’s in my mother’s arms. But then Mom starts crying and that triggers Cassie as well. Elena moves to my side as we watch her grandparents try to soothe her.
“You’re moving in with me,” I state.
My tone is firm, but she doesn’t look inclined to argue.
“Okay,” she says softly, without looking at me.
The next few days pass by in a blur. All our efforts to find Ivan are fruitless. He has disappeared off the face of the earth. If he’s smart, he’ll never show his face in front of me again. The Russos have also gone radio silent. It irks me, especially since Michael’s efforts to find information on Enzo yields nothing.
He’s not registered in any databases Michael can access. As far as we know, Enzo Russo’s a ghost. But he’s not. He’s a real man. And when he’s ready, I’m sure he’ll show his face again.
The only difference is, this time, I’ll be ready too.
Elena’s eyes fly open in the middle of the night. She sighs softly before sitting up next to me in our bed.
“You need to sleep, Roman. She’s safe now. We’re all safe.”
My jaw clenches. “We almost lost our daughter. I couldn’t protect her.”
“But you did,” Elena says insistently. “You brought her back, Rome. Now, would you quit blaming yourself?”
She leans her head against my chest and I hold her to me for several breaths. When she pulls back, her eyes are shining with so much emotion, it makes it a little hard to breathe. I trail my fingers across her face and say the words I’ve kept inside me for too long.
“I love you.”
CHAPTER29
Elena
When I was younger, I used to dream of a love like my parents’. A love that transcends anything and everything. A love that was pure, good, unselfish. But that dream shattered when my mother left, forever distorting my opinion of love.
I love my daughter. I love my family. I love my friends. But when it comes to Roman, though, I’m not sure where he stands. I’ve never been in love. How am I supposed to recognize it if I don’t know what it feels like? And that’s exactly what I said to him after Roman dropped that bomb on me a few days ago. He just kissed my forehead and, with a patient smile, told me that I would know. And that when I did, he wanted to be the first person to find out.
Sometimes, he honestly feels like a dream. And I guess that’s what’s holding me back. The fear that I’m going to wake up one day and he’ll be gone.
Cassie giggles when I shake the rattle over her head, and her eyes follow it as I move it from one side to another. She’s in her crib and I’m standing over it. I haven’t been away from her for longer than a few minutes since the abduction. My heart can’t handle it. Any time I look away from her, my throat closes up with irrational fear.
She’s safe. I know that. But I’m also anxious. Worried that the next time something bad happens, I might not get her back.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up at Roman.
“Hey, how was your day?” I ask softly.
“Boring. I spent most of it doing paperwork.”
We stare at Cassie for a few seconds. “I wonder what her first word will be,” Roman says.
I glare at him. “It had better be mommy,” I state.
