Page 116 of Raphael

His grip loosened and air came rushing back into my lungs. And so did more tears. They rolled down my cheek without my permission, and stinging followed in its path. I didn’t need a mirror to know my face was covered in cuts and bruises.

“A whore,” Santiago spat out the words in disgust.

He took two steps forward, then gripped my chin, squeezing my jaw too tightly as he jerked my head to the left.

“By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be screaming my name.”

And all I could do was wait.

ChapterFifty

RAPHAEL

Four days.

Four fucking days without her and I was ready to lose my goddamn mind. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t rest. My temper was short and deadly. The only time I kept any semblance of sanity was when Gabriel was around me.

And I did it for my wife. Only for her.

The starless sky offered cover as I led my men to Cuba.

Alexei, Nico, and Sasha came along too. My sister Bella, Vasili, and Aurora remained behind on my island keeping Gabriel safe.

Every single minute since she had been taken had been agonizing. I’d looked for the boat that Sailor’s father and Santiago used to take Sailor. I’d searched every goddamn boat I got my hands on. Sailor’s father didn’t have a boat. Neither did that fucker Santiago. So I obtained boat sales records as well as recent boat leases.

And I finally found the cabrón who did. The piece of shit no longer had a boat to sell.

And thank fuck for Nico. It was only thanks to his relentless search that we were able to follow the path of the boat. He had to hack into several government satellites, including Cuba, to follow the boat to its end destination.

We hired fishing boats to offer us a disguise. Let’s just say those fishermen would be settled for the next five years. But we needed a disguise, and they were the best way in. The only ammunition was what we could carry.

We were about a mile out from the coastline.

I’m coming, Reina. Just hold on.

The moment the fishermen hooked the ropes to the coastline, I jumped out of the boat and my men followed swiftly. The lack of sleep had my head swimming. But I couldn’t stop now. I needed to get to my wife.

Once I had her back, then I’d sleep. With her in my arms.

My eyes traveled over my men. Diego and Caine by my side, as always.

“It’s time to move. Remember the plan. Team A is to handle the guards. Team B is search and rescue. Any victim.” I shoot them all a look. “We bring my wife home.”

I couldn’t allow doubt to creep inside my mind. It would fucking tear me to pieces. I had to keep it together.

For her. For Gabriel.

Alexei’s eyes met mine. “If I had to guess, I’d say they’d keep her in a basement.”

It was a good assumption. And I heard rumors of Alexei’s distaste for basements.

“I’ll check the basements with Sasha,” I offered him a way out.

“I’ll come along too,” he said in a cold voice. There was no time to waste.

A terse nod and we were on the move.

Sliding my gun into the waistband of my pants, I made my way up the path that led to the little fortress. An old military compound from the old regime. Guess who bought it? Fucking Santiago Tijuana. I was going to owe Nico a lifetime of favors for all his help in locating Sailor, favors I’d gladly pay. Over and over again.