Page 69 of Accidental Alliance

My breath catches when Matteo suddenly comes into view, and for a second I cannot move. My mind refuses to accept the reality of him standing in the doorway just out of reach.

My son.

My baby.

He looks pale beneath the lighting coming down the hallway. His dark hair is sticking up on one side of his head, mussed from sleep. His face is faintly streaked with tears.

He looks so much younger than the brave boy I’ve raised him to be. Nowhere do I see the strong, confident young man running across the soccer field and grinning after scoring a goal, or the harsh negotiator debating with me about having sweets for dinner instead of vegetables.

He is pushed into the room with a rough hand between his shoulder blades, causing him to stumble and nearly fall to the floor.

I dart toward him with my arms out without another thought passing through my mind, my heart shattering and stitching back together all in the same breath as I finally get within reach of him.

“Matteo.”

His head snaps up from where he’d been staring at the floor and finally finds me.

The second he sees me, his face crumples and tears begin to fall again. His arms reach for me, his entire body pitching forward, and I am the only place left for him to fall toward.

I catch him and sink down to my knees so fast, pain sparks through my legs when I hit the hard concrete floor, but I barely feel it. My arms close around him with a force that would scare me if he were not clinging just as tightly.

His small body sags into mine, shaking, his hot tears wetting my sweater as he buries his face into my chest and sobs so loudly, it breaks whatever is left in me that has remained steadfast until now.

I wrap myself around him, curling to shield as much of him as I can from the guard, the camera sitting above us, the entire rotted world that dared put its hands on him and take him from me.

“I’m here, baby. I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” I whisper, though it comes out ragged.

He sobs harder. “I kept asking… I kept asking t-to see you… and they wouldn’t let me.”

My eyes burn so violently, the room blurs. I press my mouth to his hair and breathe him in, peppering his head with kisses. “I know, baby. I’m so sorry.”

“I was so scared.” The words are muffled against me.

I squeeze my eyes shut as tears spill down my cheeks silently. “It’s okay. I’m here now. I’m not letting them take you from me again.”

I barely register the door closing behind him, the lock reengaging with a heavy click.

For the first time since they brought me here, that sound does not make me want to scream. If anything, I’m happy he’s now safely tucked inside this room with me away from the rest of the wolves prowling outside it.

I rock him slowly, instinct taking over when language fails.

Back and forth, back and forth, the way I used to when he was small enough to fit entirely against my chest and the world outside our apartment didn’t feel too enormous to survive.

I hold him tight and murmur nonsense into his hair. Soft, useless things that only a mother can offer when the truth is too ugly.

His sobs begin to break apart into smaller, hiccupping breaths, though he does not loosen his grip. If anything, he clings harder. I pull back only enough to cup his face in both hands.

His eyes are swollen and red, that honey-brown gaze that makes my soul ache every time I look at them. I wipe his tears away with my thumbs, even as new ones slide free from the corners of his eyes.

“Why did they take us?” he whispers.

“Because some bad people found us,” I say carefully.

His lower lip trembles. “Are they going to hurt us?”

I think of Elio standing in the doorway with his bruised jaw and dark eyes full of wreckage while promising to keep our child safe, and then of Alessio somewhere in this safehouse, determined to label Matteo and me as a liability to be taken care of once we are no longer useful.

My throat tightens.