110

110
ALEXANDER 

The minute my eyes landed on her, my heart melted. I was heading to go meet her in the kitchen but like she had been reading my mind, she walked out of the kitchen looking tired and her forehead was covered in sweat. 

“I’m so sorry, my love,” I said, my voice quiet as I watched her eyes flicker with fear at first then hurt and then her expression turned blank. 

It felt like I was losing her and I didn’t want that, I didn’t want to see the fire in her eyes dying or the bond between us unraveling.

She crossed her arms around her chest looking at me but her shoulders were tense and her body rigid. She didn’t try to move nor did she run into my arms like I had prayed she would. But I felt hopeful because even though she looked sad and angry she didn’t move away from me nor did she push me away. 

“I should have yelled at you or said any of the things that I said,” I continued, my voice low and barely audible. “You didn’t deserve to be treated or talked down on that way.”

Raina blinked slowly as if she was trying to horn back her tears. Her mouth opened slightly like she was about to say something but no words came out at first but after a minute, she let out a long, shaky breath. 

“I should apologize for what I did too,” she started, her voice was shaky, soft and it sounded raw. “I… I acted without thinking or considering what could happen. I just thought that if I could get rid of Nathan for good then…” she paused, her voice trailing off as she took her eyes off me and focused them on the floor. “I only wanted to protect you and the kids. I wanted to protect our family.”

I moved closer to her, closing the space that was between us slowly, not wanting to push her away to do anything for her to get distant again. I reached for her hand and she didn’t pull away as my hands wrapped around hers.

“I understand,” I said as I raised our intertwined hand and pressed her fingers against my chest, right over the part where my heart was racing. “I really do, love and I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to do everything yourself and handle it alone.”

She let out a small sigh. 

“I was scared, Alex,” she confessed. 

“I was too,” I replied. “And I still am. I’m scared of losing you and the thought of harm coming to either you or the kids made me paralyzed with fear. I didn’t want you to do anything risky or something that would make you their target.”

She didn’t say anything in response and we fell into a long silence, the air around us thick with tension. It was filled with all the things we hadn’t said in the few weeks that had passed since our fight, filled with all the sleepless nights, the unanswered texts, the missed calls, the endless loneliness even though we were under the same roof and slept in the same bed. 

But for the first time in those weeks, the space between us didn’t feel cold… or void. 

It was warm, healing and I felt the thread that we were hanging in slowly repairing itself.

“Speaking of the kids,” I finally said, my voice slicing through the silent air. “How about we call them now and say hi?”

A smile curled at the edge of Raina’s lips and her face brightened before she quickly nodded. She wiped away the sweat across her forehead with the sleeve of her sweater and gestured for us to go sit on the chair. 

I pulled out my phone as we walked over to the chair and dialed their number. After a few rings, the phone connected and familiar voices echoed from the other end of the phone. 

“Daddy! Mommy!”

I smiled so wide that my cheeks started to hurt. I put the phone on a loud speaker and Raina moved closer to me on the chair so she could also talk to them. She gently rested her head against my shoulder and I could feel her smiling too. 

“Hi babies,” she said softly into the phone. 

“Hi mommy,” Ava replied excitedly. 

“When are you coming to see us?” Liam said almost immediately, his voice whiny through the phone and sounding almost desperate with the kind of longing only children could make. It sounded so pure and painful at the same time and it tugged at my heart. 

“Soon. Very soon,” I replied, curving my voice to remain light and neutral. “I’m not sure but we’ll try to come see you real soon, okay? Just make sure you’re good to grandma and we’ll be there sooner than you know.”

“Okay daddy,” they said in unison and I could practically see them nodding their heads. 

“Grandma wants to speak with you,” Ava said.

Before I could respond, I heard grandma’s voice coming through next, it was filled with laughter and scolding at the same time. “You both shouldn’t work okay?” She said, her voice filled with reassurance. “They’re both safe and behaving fine, well sometimes.” She laughed.

Raina also laughed and it made my heart swell. The sound was so beautiful and I realized that it had been so long since I last heard her laugh. I felt warm all over and all the fear I had been feeling vanished into thin air just like that. 

The phone was returned to the kids and we talked for a few more minutes, with them giving us details about all their activities and what they have been up to.

I smiled with every story they told and all their excited giggles and all the adventures and good times they have had at their Grandma’s house. 

After the call ended and we said our byes, promising to call again, I turned to Raina who was still smiling happily, raised my hands to her cheeks, cupped her face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

It was slow at first as I was trying to figure out if she wanted it or not but once she kissed me back, it quickly became hungrier and hotter. I felt this desperate and aching need to feel close to her again after being sorry for so long. 

My other hand left her face and slowly trailed down to her waist, she let out a small moan and leaned into me, giving me the go ahead. My heart started pushing so loud and in that moment I wanted to forget everything. 

I didn’t want to think of Nathan, Cale or any danger that was looming. All I wanted my head to be filled with was Raina. Nothing else but us.  

But the minute I started trialing my hand up her waist and to her breasts, the door was slammed open. We snapped out of it and immediately pulled away from each other, frightened by the loud noise. 

Dom stormed into the living room, his hair was all one try place and his eyes were wide as his chest fell and rose unsteadily.

He opened his mouth and was about to speak as he moved closer to me but he stopped in his tracks when his eyes landed on Raina, and it was clear that whatever he had to say, he didn’t want her to hear about it. 

“I need to talk to you,” he let out with a small sigh, his voice low but tight and filled with urgency. “Now.”

Of course. I knew he had something important to say. 

These days, there was always something. It was always either an emergency or a looming danger that would rudely pull us back to reality and remind us that we didn’t have the luxury of putting our mind to rest. 

When we took one step forward, we usually somehow managed to be five steps back. That was our life now and it was beyond frustrating. 

I had only just resolved things with Raina and I had to leave her again. I turned to her and gave her the biggest smile that I could muster even though it was false as I brushed my thing over her red cheeks gently. “I’ll be back okay? Just give me a second.”

She nodded but I could see the sadness slowly creeping back into her eyes as I got up and walked over to Dominic. 

He didn’t wait as he grabbed onto my hand and pulled me to the balcony. He closed the doer behind us after he made sure no one was around and the words that came out of his mouth next left me weak to my knees. 

“Nathan has escaped,” he said in one breath. 

“What?”

It felt like I had been stabbed hard in the heart and my knees became weak, threatening to give up on me. I held on to the wall for support and a wave of nausea hit me as my stomach twisted into knots. 

I looked at the door that led back into the house and my heart twisted even more.   

Raina. 

I couldn’t leave her here without doing anything. Especially now that Nathan was out there again. I couldn’t put her at risk. 

“We are getting her out,” I said, my voice cracking. “It’s time to get them all away from this. Raina, Faith, and Caleb. It’s getting more dangerous.” 

Dom nodded in response, his expression tight. 

“I don’t care if she argues with me on it or if she refuses to leave,” I said more to myself than to Dom. “I’ll take her away myself if I have to.”

I was not going to lose her now. Not after everything. 

Dominic and I talked some more before he agreed to suggest the same thing to Faith too. 

I walked back to the living room, my expression calm and a smile on my face as I tried to act like all was well. Immediately I stopped in front of her, she immediately sat up and her eyes searched my face. 

“Something happened, didn’t it?” She said softly, but it was more of a statement than a question. 

My smile grew even bigger even though it was threatening to slip and give way to my fear. 

“Dom found something useful,” I lied through my teeth. “We made good progress with Cale and that’s why he rushed in. He was just excited, nothing else.”

She didn’t look entirely convinced but she let it go and didn’t say anything else about it. 

I needed to get her out of here before she started getting suspicious. But how was I going to get her away without her noticing?

I sat down beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders then pulled her even closer to me. “Hey,” I started, making sure to keep my voice light and neutral. “Have you been feeling bored or stuck in this house?” I asked as an idea suddenly popped up in my head. 

She let out a small laugh as she snuggled closer and rested her head against my chest. “I feel like a prisoner in this house sometimes.”

Perfect!

I ran my hand through her hair, pretending to just be having a casual conversation with her. “How about you go on a vacation then? Just you and Faith to have some girl time. You both have been through a lot and you deserve it,” I suggested, watching her face to see her reaction. “While Dominic and I handle Cale.” 

She sat up and turned to look at me with wide eyes filled with excitement. “For real?”

“Yes, love,” I smiled genuinely. “Just say yes and leave it all to me to plan everything.”

The next few days were so busy as Dom and I arranged for everything. We planned the bike trip like mad men, making sure to cross check every detail from security escorts to private flights and safe accommodations on a private island that was far away from Nathan’s reach. 

I called in every favor I could and took every precautionary measure. 

We weren’t just sending them away on a vacation but we were making sure to make sure they were protected. Just sun, sand and nothing but safety.

When everything was set up and I finally broke the news to Raina, the biggest smile I had ever seen in months appeared on her face. 

Faith was squealing as she made her way down the stairs and she tactically jumped on Raina as she pulled her into a hug.

I smiled to myself, knowing Dom must have told her. 

“I can’t believe it,” she whisper yelled. “This is going to be so amazing.” 

Dom walked over to me looking just as tired and relieved as I was. 

“How long are we staying there?” Faith asked as he turned to look at both of us. 

I turned to Dom and gave him a silent warning not to say anything that could make them suspicious. 

“As long as you want,” he replied with a shrug, already catching on to what I told him. 

The girls immediately got up and went to pack while they discussed all they would do and buy. Their laughters were like music to my ears and my heart swelled as I watched Raina. 

I was relieved and I wanted her to always be this happy. 

The day of the fight came and we checked everything more than three times, making sure nothing would go wrong. There were security guards at the airport and escorts on the plane. 

Dom and I made sure we followed them to the airport, watched as they boarded and waved them off as the plane took off. 

I didn’t breathe. I couldn’t until the security team on the island called and told me that they were on ground and ready to receive them and I felt a bit relieved. 

It had only been a few hours but I had heard nothing. 

I decided to calm down but when another hour passed and I still didn’t hear anything I started to get worried. 

I paced around the room, tapping my feet against the floor anxiously as I water the call. After what felt like years, my phone rang and I picked it up almost immediately. 

“Have they landed?” I asked.

There was a long pause—too long for everything to be fine. 

“We're still waiting”, the guard replied. “But they’ve landed.”

I stared at my phone, my blood turning into ice. Something was wrong, I could feel it in my bones. 

“What do you mean by they have landed but you’re still waiting!?” I yelled into the phone. “What the hell am I paying you for?”

Dom grabbed his phone beside me and started calling different numbers as his face turned pale and his hands shaking slightly. 

“The… plane… we—“ the guard stuttered and I got even angrier. 

“You what!?” I yelled, seeing nothing but red. 

“They’re missing sir.”

The phone slipped from my hand and fell to the floor with a loud bang. 

Missing.

The voice echoed in my head, louder than any gunshot could. 

“Find them,” I yelled into the phone as I picked it up again, my voice breaking. “FIND THEM OR I WILL KILL YOU ALL!”

Dom cursed behind me as he punched the wall hard. 

The girls were missing. Where could they be?