Promises Forgotten
Chapter 44

The beach day had been chaotic. On more than one occasion, I had to step in before someone tried to take down Zach. Elliot hadn’t noticed and had the time of his life. Running and playing at the beach, he ran circles around Zach, and I laughed. It felt good for once not being the one chasing him around.

Ron had headed back early to the hotel, claiming he had a meeting he needed to get to in the morning. Elliot fell asleep in my arm around 9 p.m. after tiring himself out completely. I figured he would sleep in pretty late tomorrow, but it was always a coin toss with him.

“Let me.”

Zach stepped in and took Elliot from me as we walked home. I smiled as my little man snuggled into his father’s arms. Getting to the cafe, I unlocked the door and opened it wide so he could walk in.

“I’m gonna make some coffee. If you want to put him to bed. Just don’t forget Fitz. He’ll wake up if he doesn’t have him.”

Nodding, Zach quietly walked up the steps and disappeared from my eyesight. I turned and quickly made some coffee, using the personal mugs I kept downstairs. Placing the coffee on the counter, I grabbed two stools from the closet and plopped my a*s down in one. I took a sip.

“He’s down. Unicorn in hand. Though, I question the unicorn itself and why his name is Fitz.” Zach walked in and sat down on the other stool. I moved the mug toward him.

“For one, it’s Fitzgerald. One of the characters in his book who happens to be a knight. Very important character in this house.”

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through a folder until I found the photo I was looking for. Handing my phone to Zach, he looked at the photo, his eyes narrowing.

“This was from over a year ago? Man, did I look that thick? Maybe I did lose a lot of weight.”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “Zoom in to the background.”

He gave me a weird look before zooming in. His eyes widened. “It’s…”

“Yeah. It ended up being a mess in the house. That photo was in a magazine article and Elliot hyper focused on it. Saying the unicorn was with you and he needed to come home, too.”

Shaking my head, I remembered the f*****g pain in the a*s it was trying to replace the unicorn, let alone if we could have it shipped. “Never had he hyper fixated like that before and I almost gave up. Mike ended up flying out and buying one.”

“Mike? Your coworker and constant flirt.” There was an edge in Zach’s voice.

Snorting, I nodded. “Yeah. Elliot was still struggling with his night terrors at the time, and I couldn’t leave him. So Mike got it and brought it back. Turns out Fitz was what was needed to nearly grind the night terrors to a halt.”

“Just because it was in the photo…” He handed my phone back.

“You’re his hero. Fitz is a knight. The two just associate together for him.”

He took a sip and sighed. “Why does he have night terrors?”

My back straightened and I felt the corners of my mouth dip down.

“Evie?”

“I was stupid. I was stupid and angry and I want to play the f*****g hero. Spite your dad. Spite the people who shot me.” I took a deep breath. “When the SUVs pulled up, I had my phone. I videoed the whole thing. Every single one of their faces, guns in hand, threatening us. All on video. They didn’t even f*****g know.”

“I was trying not to faint, and you were over there filming the whole damn thing.” He laughed.

I nodded. “Before I left Greece, I worked with the government. Joint effort between the US and Greece, with Italy as well. They raided the Mafia dens and took every single one of those bastards to prison. I identified the lot of them with the added seal of the video.” Revenge had felt so sweet at the time.

“I can’t believe you did that. You put them in prison.”

Taking a sip of my coffee, I stared into the dark liquid. “I wish I hadn’t. I wish I had just left Greece and never looked back.”

“Why do you…” He reached out and touched my back, but I flinched so hard he stopped mid-sentence.

“They wanted revenge. I put their leader in prison with hard evidence. A f*****g cycle.” My eyes narrowed. “A year and a half ago, Elliot and I were walking to the local preschool…” In my periphery I could see Zach starting to shake his head. He needed to know, though. All of it. “They took us. Separated us. Elliot was put in a small, dark room next to mine. Alone. As was I.”

My throat felt dry. I took a sip of my coffee trying to gather myself. “They didn’t touch Elliot, thank god. He was left unharmed other than severely dehydrated and malnourished.”

“But you…”

I laughed hollowly. “I was lucky they didn’t sell me right off the bat. They knew who we were. Not that you and I were married, but it was me who protected you and reported their leaders. Anyone with at least one eye could see he’s your son as well.”

“At first, they tried to reach out to you, but they weren’t successful. You were hell bent on the destruction of the Mafia involvement in the company, so they went to the one person they did know, your father.”

Zach was mid-sip and he started to cough. “My father?”

I nodded. “They proved to him that Elliot was your son. You being a playboy was probably the only reason they didn’t think to look for a marriage certificate. It would have gotten a lot more complicated.”

“Did my father…”

“Step in and save us? Pay the ransom money and help free his grandson and his mother?” I looked at Zach, anger written all over my face, I was sure. “Of course, f*****g not. He said he would never acknowledge an illegitimate and that the boys were grasping at straws. He said to do whatever they wanted with us and didn’t care.”

Zach slammed his mug down on the counter and I winced. I continued. “We were lucky they were stupid. They wanted to try to continue to reach out to you. Still trying to get money. I was lucky I wasn’t sold, no matter how much they used me. That time allowed the placed to be raided and we were rescued. They took us to the hospital immediately. We had been missing for a month.”

“A month?!” His voice rose and I could see him shaking.

“I wouldn’t have ever gone after the Mafia if I knew down the line they would try to take my son. Try to hurt him.” I sagged forward.

“Oh f**k no.” My stool turned and I looked up at a very upset Zach. “You do not get to blame yourself. If you don’t f*****g blame me for you losing your arm, you don’t get to blame yourself for this situation.” He bent down, our faces inches apart. “He was okay. Elliot was okay.”

“I’m his mother, Z! I couldn’t protect him! He has night terrors because of it! He was two!”

“You were raped and abused! Who was there to protect you? You were alone! Elliot had more protection than you did! It never should have happened. My father. My father and his f****d up decisions are behind this. The Mafia attacking. It’s all on him.”

Tears fell as I watched the storm rage in his eyes. My hand went up and cupped the side of his face. “You’re blaming yourself again.”

His forehead touched mine. “I wasn’t there to protect you. Hell, I could have ended your suffering quicker. I don’t even remember. I don’t remember them trying to get ahold of me.”

“Stop. It’s okay. It’s why I get the panic attacks. Why I flinch sometimes when people touch me. Why I hate your father so much without knowing he was the cause of your memory loss.”

“F**k, Evie. Why? Why is there so much pain?” Zach enveloped me and held me close.

I didn’t push away. My strength to fight him was gone and I needed him. Needed him to hold me. Closing my eyes, I let the feeling of being home and safe envelope me. We stayed holding each other for a long time, our coffee going cold.

“When are you going back to New York?”

He sighed. “Monday. I’m helping Adrian settle in for the week. Family dinner is Thursday night. The press conference will be on Friday morning.”

“Then what?”

For the first time in a while, our eyes met. Zach brushed his thumb on my cheek and leaned down. Our lips touched and I kissed him back gently. He disengaged from the k**s, but his face was still impossibly close.

“I fly back on Saturday and close on a house for us.”

Leaning back, my brows shot up. “A house?”

“A house. For the three of us. I found one I liked. Four bedroom, not too far from here. You would have to commute a little, but it would be a home. Elliot would get his own room as well.”

I shook my head. “We can’t afford that, Z.”

“I can. What’s mine is yours, isn’t that how marriage works?”

“I…but…”

He smiled, cupping my cheek, his fingers weaving into my hair for a moment. “I told you. I’m not letting you go. I’m going to take care of you. This is only the beginning, Evie. You, me and Elliot.”

“Z…”

“I should go. Let you sleep.”

He smiled again and started to head away from me, but my arm shot out, grabbing his arm. My eyes were wide, looking at my own hand. Stopping, Zach was staring at my hand as well.

“Stay…” My voice was barely a whisper. My eyes looked up at him. “Stay…please…”

“Evie…you said…”

I bit my l*p. “I know. I just…” Closing my eyes, I tightened my grip. “Te necesito esta noche.” [I need you tonight.]