I lean down and whisper into her ear. “I want nothing more than to hold you in my arms, but we really need to go.”
Nodding, she pulls away, her beautiful blue eyes are filled with tears, making them seem lighter. “I’m sorry, Zane. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. That I made you take me to the hospital. It’s all my fault.” Big fat tears fall from her eyes, and my heart cracks a little in my chest.
“It’s okay, baby, and it’s not your fault. We’ll talk when we get back to Matteo’s place,” I tell her.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I turn and guide us back to the SUV. Matteo’s men swarm us like we’re the president of the United States, which for once, I’m actually grateful for. When we reach the car, I open the door and lift her inside before climbing in myself. Pulling her tight to my side, I press my lips to her forehead.
This feels like a dream. And I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like at any second, I’m going to wake up and realize that none of it was real. That I imagined the whole thing, and that Dove isn’t really here with me.
Matteo climbs into the front seat, and one of his men takes the driver’s seat. Even as the car starts to move, it still doesn’t feel real.
“Where are we going?” Dove whispers, peering up at me through her wet lashes.
“Matteo’s place. I have so much to tell you… but first, I need to make sure you’re okay. Did they hurt you? Touch you in any way?” Bile rises in my throat as I speak. God, I don’t know if I can handle this. If either of them fuckers touched her...I’ll lose it. Fury overtakes every emotion I’m feeling at the moment.
“Neither of them hurt me, and I wasn’t with Christian long before Xander’s men found me.”
Thank fuck… I was getting ready to paint the entire world red.
Sighing, I hold onto her a little tighter. “All I could think about the entire time they had you was if you were okay. If they were hurting you? If you were eating, or if you were cold? All I could think about was saving you and how I had let you down.”
“No,” Dove whimpers and grips onto my shirt as if I’ll disappear at any second. I’m certain she is close to shattering, and things are only going to get worse from here. “It’s not your fault, none of this is your fault, Zane. You tried to protect me. You warned me, and I wouldn’t listen. I thought you were crazy, but if I had believed you—”
“Don’t worry about that right now…”
“Hate to break up your reunion, but I believe you owe me a thank you,” Matteo announces from the front seat.
Rolling my eyes, I grit my teeth as I speak my next set of words. “Thank you, Matteo.” Playing nice with this guy is trying on my patience, and I’m not sure how much longer I can go before I snap and do something drastic.
“That doesn’t sound like you’re really grateful, but I’ll let it slide since you’ve finally delivered on bringing my daughter back to me.”
Fucking Christ. Why did he have to go and say that? I was hoping to spill the beans to Dove once we were back at the house.
“Wha-what is he talking about, Zane?” Dove blinks, but the shocked expression on her face doesn’t dissipate.
Tension fills the vehicle. “Dammit, I didn’t want to do this yet, Matteo.”
“Why not?” He shifts in his seat. “There is no better time than the present to let my daughter know that her father isn’t dead and didn’t abandon her.”
“You’re my father?” Dove whispers so quietly I almost don’t hear her. “How… how is that possible?” She looks from me and back to Matteo, and I wish, now more than ever, that I had told her no when she begged me to go see Donna one last time. Maybe if I had said no, none of this would’ve happened.
Matteo snickers. “Well, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you where babies come from, so I’ll skip that part, but you see, your mother was actually a married woman who happened to fall in love with me. When she found out she was pregnant, we had planned to run away together. However, she had a change of heart and disappeared. When I finally found her, she was dead, and you were gone. I looked everywhere for you, but every trail led me to a dead-end. I was sure I would never find you, and then Zane came to me. As soon as he told me that Christian had been looking for you for many years, I knew who you were.”
Just from the way she tenses beside me, I can tell Dove isn’t just shocked but uncomfortable as well.
Turning toward me as if I can shield her from the truth, she opens her mouth and asks me the one question I know will be the final nail in her coffin. “Is it true? Is he really my father?”
My throat tightens, and as badly as I want to lie, I know it won’t change anything. It won’t help her. Finding out Matteo is her father, was a surprise. I thought I could get help and slip away into the night with Dove, but now I know that’s not possible. Matteo is going to do whatever he can to keep Dove in his life, and I’ll be fighting a war I can’t win if I try and keep her from him.
“Yes, he’s your father,” I say.
All I can do is watch with an ache in my chest as she works through the emotions, agony, fear, and confusion flicker across her beautiful features. After watching her closely for years, I can almost tell how she’s going to react to a situation before she even does. It’s weird, but an added plus to having stalked her for years.
“I know it’s a lot to take in on such short notice, especially after everything that’s happened, but I want you to know that now that I’ve found you, I plan to get to know you better, and be the father I never got to be,” Matteo says.
Father? I choke back my laughter. I haven’t known him long, but Matteo doesn’t take me as the father type. He’s the leader of the Castro family. All he knows how to do is order his men around and threaten people. Plus, what kind of parenting is he going to do? Dove’s an adult now and doesn’t need his money or protection. Not when she has me.
Dove is quiet the rest of the way back to the house, and when we arrive at the mansion, she seems a little overwhelmed. Once out of the car and inside the house, I take Dove’s hand into mine. “Thank you so much for helping me find her, but I think it’s time we end this charade. Her safety is my biggest priority.”
Matteo stares at me, his face blank. Two of his men hover just outside the massive wooden front door. I can feel their eyes on me.
“There is no safer place for her than here, surely, you can agree, given that you were the one to put her in the situation that got her taken by Christian in the first place?”
His remark is a kick to the balls, and if it wasn’t for Dove standing beside me, I’d have him pinned to the wall. Strangling the air from his lungs. Still, fighting with him on staying for the night isn’t something I want to do. Not when I could be holding Dove in my arms, kissing every inch of her skin, and making up for lost time.
“Fine, we will stay for tonight,” I say, pinning him with a glare.
“Great, why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? Karl will take you up.” He smiles, his eyes twinkling with some unknown emotion.
I don’t bother paying him another second of attention. Shifting gears, I tug Dove toward the grand staircase. Karl follows behind all the way to our room, like the guard dog he is.