All Chapters of To Have and To Hold: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

EmilianoIt was near five o’clock on the West Coast, and I still hadn’t received an answer from the capo.Since Isabella’s and my secret relationship wasn’t a secret, after a day of assessing our chiefs, I decided to detour to the apartments, hoping to catch Isabella before she left. The image of her beautiful face mouthing ‘faith’ played on repeat in my thoughts.As I neared my exit, the alarms began to sound. The blaring wasn’t cautioning me of an incoming tsunami, rapidly growing wildfire, or any other natural disaster. The sound was my phone exploding with messages.Andros Ivanov’s men are here.Volkov knows they’re in San Diego.Volkov is in San DiegoWe have to move NOW.Fuck.Taking the first exit I came to, I reentered the interstate, changing directions and heading south toward the large warehouse.As I fought traffic on the 5, new concerns filled my mind. We weren’t ready. Moving now was too early. The raid was scheduled for Monday on the bratva hideout we’d learned about th

EarlierIsabella“Mom,” I said, answering my phone and closing the office door. I walked back to my desk. “I tried to call you last night.” I sat in the white leather chair.Her sobs came through the phone.“I can’t understand what you’re saying.” Panic rose within me. “Are you hurt?” I stood, gripping my phone tighter. “Is it Noemi? Tony?”“Isabella…” She struggled for breath. “Dario wants to do…He’s a vile, awful man…. He wants your father to…” She continued to struggle. “It’s awful.”Letting out a long breath, I sat back in my chair. “It’s not terrible.”“I needed to let you know that Catalina’s brother asked for your hand. It’s unfathomable. I want to plead directly to the capo, but your father won’t allow it. He says this is men’s dealings. I don’t know what kind of deal they made, but Isabella, I will not sleep until we have you back where you belong.”I looked around Mia’s office. “I think I’ve found where I belong.”“Here with your family, with your sister and brother—that’s w

IsabellaIt was after midnight as I sat alone on a twin-sized bed in a room that was big enough for the bed, a dresser, and a desk. The light fixture above was new but plain, giving off a harsh white illumination. With my knees to my chest, and my back against the wall where a headboard should be, I stared at the four corners, not willing to turn off the only source of light.My head and jaw ached from the stress. My stomach was twisted in knots.I couldn’t stop worrying about Em. How could it be that he finally tells me his feelings and I admit mine, and then he could be taken away from me? I was afraid my heartbreak would come from my father’s refusal or maybe Dario’s. Instead, it could be so much worse.Closing my eyes, I asked the God I’d been taught about all my life to spare Emiliano, pleading his case. He wasn’t a perfect man. He’d admitted to murder. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t a good man. He’d asked el Patrόn to close Wanderland. I also asked the same for others, not even

EmilianoHours later, the Midtown DC was clean as a whistle. The crates of weapons were hidden, and the technology Sebastián and Rei had brought with them was packed and ready to fly north to Sacramento.Tension in the air was still palpable.Wanderland had operated without any unusual instances. There were still hours to go before it closed. I called Horace and told him to keep the extra guards vigilant.The cartel chiefs I’d vouched for carried out the raid at the abandoned building. The hideout would need to wait. After the intel Adrian heard, the abandoned building was our target. If human trafficking was involved, it couldn’t wait until Monday, not with the Volkov bratva’s leader dead in a tub of blood and human waste. The nine of us waited for word from the chiefs regarding the soldiers’ progress.I received the call a little before midnight. Eight sets of eyes were upon me as I answered the phone.“Esta hecho.”“It is done,” I relayed to the men around me.“What did they find?”

IsabellaEmiliano nodded. “Only in the case of emergencies.” He squeezed my hand. “Retrieving my fiancée was an emergency.”I scoffed and laid my head against his arm. “Do you get to determine emergencies?”“Yeah, that’s what lieutenants do.”Once I was seated in his front seat and he was behind the wheel, I asked the question burning in my mind. “Horace said there was a casualty or more than one. Were they from the cartel?”Em nodded, starting the engine. “There were more casualties in the bratva.” He pulled his car out onto the quiet streets.“Is Volkov dead?”He again nodded. “We can’t talk about anything that happened tonight in front of anyone, even my parents.”“Even your parents?”His hand came to my thigh. “I’ll always be honest with you. Sometimes I might not be able to answer, but I’ll never lie. The lieutenants who were not involved will be briefed tomorrow.”“Your father wasn’t involved.”Em turned my way.“One more question.” When he didn’t respond, I asked, “Who in the c