Page 123 of Thorns of Blood

“I have a lead about your—” Fuck, how did one break such news?

“My son?” A soft gasp tore from her lips. “Already?”

I let out a sardonic breath. “Not really already. It took me a whole damn week.”

She shook her head. “I searched for The Mistress… your mother… for years.”

At the reminder of the role my mother played in my wife’s life, fury rolled through me, and I fought to contain it. As if she could sense it, Lia brought her palm to my cheek and cupped it.

“We don’t choose our parents.”

She was absolutely right, but it didn’t make the sting any less painful, knowing what my mother had put this woman through. But I would set it right. I’d find the children Julia had stolen from her and love them as if they were my own.

“Albania.” Worry flared in her eyes and I released a long breath before saying, “I believe the Albanian mafia has him. But that’s not all.” Locking gazes with her golden one, I braced myself for the next reaction. “You had twins, Lia.”

“No, no, no… That’s—” She shook her head, a soft tremor rolling through her healing body, and I internally cursed myself. “I would know. As a mother, I would know.”

Her voice cracked and my chest tightened for her. I hated being the one to bring her pain, but I knew better than to lie to her. She deserved better than that.

“A boy and a girl.”

Her expression was pale. “T-twins?”

“Yes, wildflower.” A variety of emotions played over her expression, another crack in her porcelain skin, and I wished there was a way I could have taken that one away from her. That golden heart of hers didn’t deserve to suffer more. “We’ll find them.”

“B-but… Albanians?”

The Albanian mafia was notorious for its cruelty and insanity, but we couldn’t focus on that now. We’d pray that whoever bought them had at least some decency in them for two innocent children.

“They probably don’t know that they are the heirs to the Tijuana Cartel or the Volkov empire,” I told her. “That little fact, despite my mother’s intent, probably protected them.”

She buried her face in my chest and broke down, holding on to me. She cried bitter tears, and I held her silently through it all until those wretched sobs finally eased.

I cupped her face, my eyes locked on hers for several stretched heartbeats, knowing our worlds would be changed soon.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her face wet with tears that broke my heart to see. She was the strongest woman I’d ever met, and she deserved so much more.

“Whatever the obstacles, we’ll get the twins back,” I promised. “Nobody will stop us.”

And if anyone tried… it would be their end.

FORTY-SEVEN

LIANA

Two Months Later

Alazy, warm breeze pushed the curtain through the open hotel window while the sound of soft waves washing off the shoreline filled the room.

I looked at the man sleeping next to me, soft snores coming out of my husband’s mouth while soft morning light reflected against his dark hair.

I’d never dreamt of finding love or any semblance of happiness. The trauma of years under my first husband and then Perez would always be there, manifesting itself in different ways throughout our lives, but Giovanni accepted it. He accepted me as I was.

He’d given me a home, purpose, and became my anchor. But most importantly, he loved me and the two little human beings I birthed even if we hadn’t met them yet, along with my Mara, who were all extensions of me. Unlike his mother, he wasn’t starved for power. He’d gladly give it all up, only to remain with me, and that… that spoke volumes in my love language. And then therewas the fact that he was doing everything in his power to get my babies back to me.

Twins.Gosh, it was still hard to wrap my head around that fact. I was a mother to a boy and a girl somewhere out there. Were they scared? Did someone take pity on them and protect them from this cruel world?

I hoped so.