His (The Sabatini Family 1)

“Forty fucking grand each time we do this, and they aren’t giving us everything they can to make sure it works? I called that clinic in Athens. We’re going next month. They’re contacting the clinic here and getting everything sent over. And the clinic in Athens is half of what all this is costing us. It’s not the cost, it’s what they’re willing to do.”

He pats my shoulder, taking my glass from me he refills it. “I’m sorry.”

I shrug. “It’s no one’s fault but my own. I can’t talk about this right now. What’s going on with Emilio?”

“He thinks someone is digging into him. An alert on his computer tripped but he can’t backtrack. I looked into it, no Fed or cop I could find.”

“I’ll have Valdez look into it. He has a bunch of people just to dig into shit online.”

Pop spits out a curse.

“What?”

“You said Valdez would find her. It’s been two months and he hasn’t found her.”

I go still, it doesn’t compute for a minute. “Pop, if he can’t find her. She could be dead.”

He doesn’t even pause. “That’s what he said. No, she’s not dead. I’d know. She’s alive.”

There is no doubt in me Pop knows if his woman is alive or not. The same way I know if Regina is happy or upset and I’m not even in the same room with her. He knows. “What aren’t you telling me? It could mean the difference between finding her or not.”

His eyes are locked on the liquor he’s swirling in his glass. “I put my mother’s ring on her finger. When I woke up she was gone.”

Fuck. No wonder it’s been five years and he can’t move on. Valdez answers on the first ring. “Christina Teller, the woman you’re looking for for Pop, stop looking for Christina Teller. Look for Christy Sabatini.”

Pop’s head comes up, Valdez answers. “Will do.”

I let him know what I need on Emilio, he promises he’ll find out.

“You really think?” Pop asks as he finishes his scotch.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. If Valdez couldn’t find her it’s because she isn’t Christina Teller anymore. You put a ring on her finger. She was your wife before you ever gave it to her. For some crazy fucked-up reason, she loved you and it enough she kept the name when she left you. Which means she’s hiding something really fucking big.”

As Pop considers it, he pours himself another drink.

***

Regina

Chloe is careful as she presses the cup of hot tea into my hands. “I should have brought a lot more chocolate. Sorry.”

“You brought more than enough. I’m sorry. I had no idea I was going to start bawling at you showing me pictures of baby Anthony. He’s just so cute and I—”

“Stop apologizing. You are going through so much right now. What’s a few tears between friends?”

I snort. “A few.”

“Hey, cut yourself some slack. It’s a huge disappointment. I couldn’t imagine. I do think it’s wonderful Dominic is saying fuck your doctor and taking you off to Athens. I’ve read up on the clinic, it’s the absolute best. It’s also sweet you guys are going to just relax and enjoy a few weeks there in the sun and sand. This winter is miserable.”

“Dominic is always so amazing. He is doing everything he promised and more. Every time I’m a crying mess he’s there holding me. He doesn’t say a word, just holds me. Then he’s sat through a dozen watches of The Princess Bride because he knows it’s my favorite and he puts it on to cheer me up. He is even reading Jane Austen with me so he can understand why I love her so much. Then when we’re done reading we watch the movies together and fight over which ones are good or not.”

Chloe chuckles. “You’re lucky. I can’t get Enzo to watch any of the movies except the one with Kiera Knightly in it.”

“One night early into all this, I lay there wishing we didn’t have to do all of it. That we could do this like any normal couple, because I was hating the way my body felt like it wasn’t my own. Then I swear Dominic could feel it in his sleep, and he pulled me close into him. And I remembered we aren’t a normal couple, nothing about us is normal, so why should this be any different? I don’t regret it, not any of it.” I sigh, I really don’t, and I feel a little guilty about it.

“Before this we were slowly coming together. Our time together was him teaching me Latin and how to cook. I was attempting to teach him he could trust me with everything. As stressful as the surgery and injections are, and as painful as the tries and fails have been, it added up to us becoming stronger together faster.”

“It’s crazy how stress and pain cuts through all the bullshit. Things get clear fast. I think it’s why so many couples break up going through infertility treatments. All the bad things become worse and everything you tried to ignore becomes bigger. I’m sorry you had to learn the hard way just how much you guys love each other.”