Page 50 of Reclaiming Izabel

“Drake?” I reached out my hand. “It’s time to meet Angelise.”

The trekto our daughter’s little grave was a blur. The marble headstone gleamed amidst the smell of newly turned earth. When we reached the spot, Drake collapsed to his knees with his head bowed, his shoulders shaking with the force of his silent sobs. His breath occasionally caught as he dragged air into his lungs. My own cheeks were wet but, at the moment, I was the strong one as I knelt beside my husband and hugged him. He leaned into my embrace and I hoped I gave him comfort.

Finally, our healing began.

Angelina Elise Maddox

Beloved daughter

Heaven has gained an angel

It wasover twenty minutes before our tears subsided.

“You named her after Nan,” Drake said, tracing the engraved lettersEliseon the headstone.

“You had such admiration for your grandmother, I thought it was fitting. I nicknamed her Angelise—a combination of both names. ”

Drake continued to inhale sharply and exhale shudderingly slow, trying to control the flood of emotions that must be overwhelming him.

“Hello, little one.” His voice cracked, and he blinked, a tear catching on his thick lashes. I was in danger of falling apart. I’d always known him as my protective husband. The warrior SEAL. I’d never seen him this vulnerable before. I’d never seen him cry like this. Even the strongest of men could be driven to their knees with the devastating loss of a child. I suspected Drake had never truly mourned our daughter until now.

After a while, he switched his gaze from the headstone to me as though waiting for me to say something.

“Burying a husband and a daughter within months of each other…there were so many times I wanted to die, too,” I began. “When I lost Angelise, the emptiness inside me wasn’t only physical, it was as if I’d lost who I was…as if I’d become this non-entity. It scared me—this gaping black abyss inside me. I had nightmares that a pit of tar was swallowing me whole and I would cry out for you to help me.” Drake winced, but I stilled myself because it needed to be said. “I called out for you. At times, I thought I could hear your voice, but then you weren’t there and I would feel like dying all over again. ”

“I’m sorry, Iza.”

I nodded. “I just want you to understand why I was so angry at you when you came back alive and well. Why I felt betrayed. We made vows to each other and, when I needed you the most, you weren’t there.” Drake was shaking his head…in regret? Buthe didn’t say anything. “Doc G asked me an important question. And that was whether knowing the man you are, if there was a chance of happiness for us if you didn’t go after your team’s killers.”

He froze.

I cupped his face in the cradle of my palms to keep our gazes locked. “The man I love has integrity and would never rest until he brings those murderers to justice.” I searched his eyes. “If you came back, we would be living half a life. We couldn’t be truly happy. A part of your soul was lost when your team died. My question is, Drake, have you gotten that missing part back?”

“I’m almost there, Iza,” he said softly. The love reflected in his slate-blue irises left no doubt that it was me who would finally complete him.

chapter

fourteen

Drake

I drovethe Escalade into the four-car garage of the estate home and turned off its engine. I grabbed the Italian takeout bag and another orchid I’d picked up on the way home.

Doc G had called me an hour before to let me know she was leaving. It was Izabel’s second meeting with the shrink and three days after that cathartic scene at Angelise’s grave. At first, I was pissed that I didn’t know more about her, but my anger quickly dissipated when Izabel held out her hand, asking me to meet our daughter.

It was as if all my guilt over abandoning my family had finally found its place in the past. When we returned to the house that night, our dynamics shifted, the last barrier keeping us apart evaporated. Were we fixed? Of course not, but hope shined like a beacon in a storm-tossed ocean because my wife was starting to look at me in the way she used to—with love and adoration.

During the day, I cooled my heels at Castle Rock, sitting beside Tim as I assisted Edmunds and Brick in their stakeout of Allison Tierney. We also discussed how to spin our story and return Izabel and Marcus to society after their “alleged”kidnapping by the notorious gang. Viktor was of the mind to use my back-from-the-dead story as bait and see what rats we could trap. As Tierney was the chief of staff of a possible future president, we needed to act fast and figure out if her boss was complicit.

I opened the door of the garage leading into the house. “Iza?”

The kitchen had the under-cabinet lights on and a faint smell of toasted butter permeated the air. They’d been baking madeleines again.

I smiled.

I tracked movement from the living room, and that was where I saw her.

“Here.” Izabel rose from the couch, a tablet in hand. She was wearing a short tee and low-riding drawstring gray sweatpants. Her heavy tits conformed to her tight top, and her belly button was exposed. My heart somersaulted beneath my chest. A stirring in my groin didn’t bode well for my self-control tonight. Jesus, what was this woman doing? Izabel knew how much I loved her exposed belly button, and all I wanted to do was throw her on the couch, rip away her clothes, and fuck her.

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