I sat there, drinking my water and fighting the urge to cry. He was so damn confusing, and I didn’t know if I wanted to push him out of the plane as it lifted into the air or cuddle up on his lap and beg him never to leave me again.
Chapter 14
Gian
A pitiful moan left Monroe’s lips, and I scooped her up in my arms, carrying her into the bedroom so she would be more comfortable. She was exhausted after the events of the day before, and we’d already been in the air for over an hour. But she’d been fighting sleep, not letting herself relax enough to give in, until her body gave up and she passed out sitting up.
The feel of her in my arms calmed me for the first time in weeks. Fuck, but I’d missed her so damn much. Being without her was the worst torture, and I almost hadn’t been able to withstand it. The only way I was able to get through it was remembering I was doing it to protect Monroe.
Pressing my nose into her hair, I breathed deeply. I’d missed that scent more than anything, had ached to smell it every hellish day we were apart.
She was pissed at me for the moment, and I couldn’t blame her. I’d left her in that hotel room back in Rome, thinking it was for the best and I wouldn’t be gone more than a few days.
But I never thought the situation would take so long to deal with—or all the complications that would come up in the process.
If things hadn’t been so dangerous, I would have had her brought to me as soon as I knew everything was going to take longer than expected. But I knew she was safer with her family than with me, so I decided to finish what I needed to and then make it up to her for being gone so long.
Then I got word she and her sister were taken, and I’d lost my fucking mind. The time for diplomacy was gone; there would be no more negotiating. I made my enemy pay for daring to touch what was mine. The man who gave the order to take Monroe and Mila was dead, and I would gift Mila all the man’s assets for the trouble the bastard had caused her and the twins she was pregnant with.
But first, I had to tell Monroe everything and pray she would forgive me for leaving her unprotected.
Placing her in the center of the bed, I tucked the thick blanket around her and kissed her forehead. She sighed contentedly in her sleep, burrowing deeper into the plush pillow under her head.
There were dark circles under her eyes, and I knew she hadn’t been sleeping. I hadn’t contacted her once in the past few weeks. Given where I was and the people I was with, I wasn’t sure who was listening in. To protect her, I’d made us both suffer. Only a few times, I’d dared to open my app to check in on her, desperately needing to know if she was okay. To hear her voice. Know if she was missing me as badly as I was her.
One such time was when she had taken the pregnancy test. I’d listened as she’d gotten sick over and over again, then begged me to come back for her and the baby. I’d nearly lost my mind completely that day, but I knew I couldn’t do anything rash or it would put her and the baby more at risk than they already were.
But fuck, it had been hard. Being without her. Listening to her being ill and not able to be there to care for her. Hearing her cry and tell me she loved me and pleading for me to come back to her.
I’d suffered for sins I hadn’t yet committed listening to her quiet sobs that night.
A soft moan pulled my gaze to her face, and I saw her brow was scrunched up. “Gian,” she breathed, moaning again. “Where are you?”
Kicking off my shoes, I carefully climbed onto the bed beside her. I stroked my fingertips over her brow because I needed to touch her, but I was scared to wake her up and have her push me away if I pulled her into my arms. One of my biggest fears was that she had stopped loving me, second only to someone harming her or taking her away from me.
At the first touch of my fingers, her brow smoothed out, and she sighed peacefully in her sleep. For several minutes, she slept restfully, but I could tell when her dreams started to turn dark again.
“Gian,” she cried out quietly. “Gian, I wish you loved me.”
My breath suddenly felt trapped in my lungs. “I do, precious,” I whispered. “I love you so fucking much.”
But she didn’t hear me, and her chin began to tremble. “Mila,” she whined. “Mila, wake up. P-please wake up… No, no. You’re okay. You have to be okay. Don’t leave me. Don’t die. Mila!” Her scream caused my heart rate to jack up, and it was loud enough to wake her up.
Gasping for breath, Monroe sat straight up in bed, glancing around in confusion. “Mila,” she panted. “Mila!”
I sat up beside her, but when I reached for her, she turned startled gray eyes on me that quickly narrowed and had my hands dropping before they could touch her.
“Did you hurt my sister or brother when you took me from the hospital?” she demanded angrily.
“I didn’t touch Mila,” I assured her.
“And Maverick?” I clenched my jaw, not wanting to admit to what I’d had to do to get her back. “What did you do to my brother?”
“He tried to stop me,” I told her, letting a little of my frustration bleed through. “I only punched him once. Is it my fault he has a glass jaw and it knocked him out?”
“Oh God. Who else?” she snapped. “Who else did you hurt?”
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I stood. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I only wanted you back, and I knew they wouldn’t let me have you. There was a man at the door to your room, and I drugged him. He will be fine once it wears off.”