Gabriella
One year later
Tortuguero National Park was exactly as she remembered and painfully different all at once.
But she had.
A year ago, she had stood on this same stretch of sand with a clipboard in hand and purpose in her veins. A year ago … she had also been running for her life.
This time, she was only a visiting tourist. Not a marine biologist or a hostage. She had been granted permission to venture the beaches, an apology from the Costa Rican government for the unfortunate way things had been handled.
Somehow she had lived. Thinking back to everything, Gabriella was still shocked by the revelations she had learned.
First off, it was her cousins who had paid a mercenary group to come find her. Gil, the leader, had somehow managed to track her down, and whisk her away to Italy, where her remaining family waited with bated breath.
Second, they had remained silent on the potential connections to any mafia of sorts but the way Beatrice and Sienna tried to redirect conversations seemed to indicate something more was going on in the background.
For months, she paced those terracotta halls, drank delicious wine, and spent nights wondering and wishing if there had been any news. Each day, her cousins shook their heads, pity etched on their faces for a man she desperately longed for.
Eventually, after many threats to leave in the dark of night to venture back on her own, her cousins agreed to her returning to where everything started. To the place she had left her heart.
As she stood ankle-deep in the brisk Caribbean surf, her emerald sundress clung softly to her legs as the tide pulled back, the cool water brushing her skin before retreating again.
The sensation grounded her, but it didn’t quiet the hollow ache sitting deep in her chest. Her heart beat steadily, empty and longing for the man who she did not know was alive or dead.
Because even now, she didn’t know if Mateo was out there or if she had imagined him into existence just to survive.
Her heart tightened painfully at the thought.
“Don’t be silly. He’s out there,” she whispered to herself, though her voice lacked conviction.
Because nothing about him had been imagined. Not the danger, his fire, his touch, and definitely not the way he had changed her.
It was heartbreaking.
Her phone rang then, the gentle chime carrying in the sea breeze. She answered, recognizing the name on her screen with a smile.
“Hi Beatle,” she said, her voice taking on a warm tone.
His voice seemed relieved. “Gabriella, I was checking to make sure you arrived safely.”
Beatle and his wife had met her at the airport before she was unceremoniously sent out to Italy.
She had instantly connected with his wife, Casey, who she later learned studied the very things she disliked.
During their brief exchange at the airport, they seemed concerned with her safety, especially given she probably looked like a muddied up tapir.
Yet the warmth of their questions reminded her of her cousins, and at the time, Gabriella wasn’t sure how much to reveal.
So she simply told them she was stressed from a bad fight with her boyfriend before being forced onto a plane overseas.
Regardless, she had kept in contact with both of them, checking in and exchanging notes on diverse animal life in Costa Rica. It had been nice to find someone who held a connection with the country.
“Everything is fine over here, Beatle. Stop worrying. The turtles are breaching now. I’ll send a picture when I get a chance.” She was accustomed to being doted on at this point.
“I figured but still wanted to check in.” He paused, hesitating. “Still haven’t heard from your boyfriend or seen him?”
That had been the hardest part, explaining to them that Mateo had somehow disappeared.
The Costa Rican government had labeled him as a missing person, seemingly unaware of his subterfuge.
When Beatle and Casey became closer with her, Gabriella felt comfortable enough to open up a little more.
They had more in common than she realized.
“Nothing yet. He may—he may not be alive anymore and I think I wanted to come here as a goodbye.” The words spoken out loud felt like a confession to a truth she wished remained hidden.
“It’s okay Gabriella. Take all the time you need.”
They said their goodbyes just as a large female turtle emerged from the dark water near her.
Her powerful body moved with slow, determined purpose as she pushed towards the shore.
Sand shifted beneath her weight, flippers carving a path older than memory itself.
And like the first time, Gabriella’s breath caught.
Now, instead of scribbling notes, she stepped forward and placed her hand gently on the turtle shell as it passed her.
It still felt sacred to witness the majesty of it all.
“Thank you,” she whispered reverently as her fingers felt the divots of her shell. Her fingers traced the grooves, feeling every scar, every mark left by time and survival. She couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her, feeling the cool smooth shell of her.
“I didn’t understand before,” she murmured. “How strong you are … how you always come back.”
She hadn’t truly found a place in life nor appreciated it. Too trapped in her memories of a broken, failed marriage. It wasn’t until her life hung on the cusp of death that she had learned to fly again.
Last year’s events had reminded her of her true strength. Something she now used while she was learning to heal. And Mateo? When her heart had felt broken back then, he offered her wholeness in opening up again. Safety.
God, I miss him.
She stretched up, the sun dress shifting and clinging to her curves as the air drifted around her. She watched the turtle’s approach, and her heart thudded with awe. Then a voice interrupted her.
“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”
Her head snapped, and then she saw him. Dark-clad and statuesque, her heart was a staccato of emotions that seemed to fill her entire chest with a tightening grip. “Mateo?” Her voice cracked on his name, fragile and disbelieving.
He smiled, perfectly white teeth flashing. “Hey there, tica. I’ve missed you.”
Her body moved before her mind could catch up, crashing into him with enough force to stagger them both. A year’s worth of tears drenching their clothes.
“I thought you were gone,” she choked out, her face buried against his chest.
He hugged her tighter. “Not gone,” he murmured, his voice rougher now, pressing into her hair. He took a deep breath in. “Never gone.”
“What took you so long?” she whispered, the tears hot down her cheeks. Is this real?
“I had to finish it,” he continued quietly. “The mission … everything I started. I couldn’t come back until it was done.” His hand slid up her back, steadying her as she swayed against him. “And I needed you safe,” he added. “Away from me. Away from all of it.”
She drew back enough to look at him, and her vision blurred with more tears.
“You don’t get to decide that for me,” she whispered, her brows dipped together, forming a divot between them though there was no real anger in her tone.
“And Sally? Is she safe?” She watched an array of emotions cross his features before he spoke.
“She is where she wants to be. I can’t tell you more than that. ”
But he had cared for her. That much was apparent.
Despite how much she had disliked Sally, it was difficult to admit she had hoped something had happened to her which she knew wasn’t right of her.
All year, when Gabriella had analyzed the past events, she had come to a few conclusions: Sally had been a byproduct of her situation. Some things were not her fault.
But with Mateo? He had made a deal, for her safety. Did he include Sally’s? Had they spent more time together? Did his feelings for Sally go away? They had to, otherwise, why would he be here?
“Did you love her?” she asked, unable to hide the vulnerability behind the question. She had to know. With a year of desolate thoughts, the only logical conclusion she had was Mateo once cared for her. Afterall, like with Justin, it was hard not to when they had been in your life for so long.
His expression softened, something vulnerable flickering through the control he wore like armor.
“No Gabriella. The only woman I have ever loved has been you.,” he said. “I know that now.”
An overwhelming sense of relief coursed through her body.
He loved only her. Her hands came up to his face, as if she needed to confirm he was real—thumb brushing along his stubbled jaw, fingertips tracing the familiar lines she had memorized under entirely different circumstances. “You really are here, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and I’ve thought of you every day.” He pulled her towards him and kissed the top of her head then her nose. “But that’s over. I’m on a new team, and I don’t have to do undercover work if I don’t want to anymore.”
The revelation was surprising. She wiggled back, wiping her face as a sense of hope fluttered through her. “Really? What new team?”
He hesitated long enough to make her suspicious before his eyes crinkled. “It’s classified, but I’ll tell you if you promise not to say anything. But you already met Gil …” He trailed off.
Her mouth dropped open. “Gil? That bastard? And you know I would never …” She started, then realized when his smile widened that he was messing with her. Her emerald eyes narrowed and her spine straightened. “Don’t you dare, Mateo. I waited this long for you, and now you do this?”
She was all spitfire now, her body both pushing him away and pulling him close. “You are lucky I’m not asking you to crawl on your hands and knees—”
He kissed her then, hot and heady as both their bodies melted into each other. Oh god, yes. With an urgency she felt to her very core, her hands threaded through his hair, pulling him down to her, and she felt his groan vibrating between them as their tongues danced.
Heat and longing collided instantly, the kiss deepening until they were breathing life into one another. This is what she had been missing. He was her other half, every missing piece snapping back into place all at once. She was home.
By the time they both pulled away, she was trembling and soaked.
If they weren’t on a beach with endangered sea turtles, she might have contemplated a tryst outside.
She looked up, meeting Mateo’s own lust filled gaze.
His eyes had darkened, pupils expanded to show her flushed reflection before he dropped to his knees.
Oh my god. Her brain struggled to keep up. “Mateo, what are you doing?”
“Getting on my knees to ask for your forgiveness.” His arms banded around her, putting his head on her chest. “I didn’t forget that promise.”
A year ago, she might have used it against him; thought of a snarky response but today… today, she only felt relief. To spend nearly every night wondering if he was alive or dead would do that.
“You were forgiven the night you helped me escape. Gil told me you were shot and made a deal for my safety. God Mateo, and then I never heard from you …” She trailed off, her voice thick with unsaid emotions.
He narrowed his eyes, clearly peeved at the mention of Gil. “Well at least he told some truths that night. Yes, I’m a Sentinel with The VEIL now,” he continued, voice low and soothing. “New division. New rules. But I was clear about wanting to be near you. I’ve already lost a year.”
Her breath caught, words stumbling out to understand. “And that means?” She couldn’t help the urge to pat his head, like he had been a “good boy” that deserved praising.
“I’ll be whoever you need me to be, Gabriella. I won’t ever leave your side if you don’t want me to,” he said, his own voice trembling and raw from the revelation. “And I want to honor both you and your fallen friends by making it up to you over and over again.”
He was giving her a choice. Just like before, after everything, Mateo was letting her decide their fate. Gabriella didn’t hesitate.
Her hands slid around his neck, her fingers running through his hair which she realized had gotten longer, gripping the silky strands like she had no intention of ever letting him walk away again.
She tilted his head back to stare up at her. “I do,” she said, her voice steady despite everything she felt. “I want you to stay.”
Mateo exhaled like he’d been holding that breath for a year. Body relaxing into her as he nuzzled into her chest.
“Then I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. “In whatever capacity, I’m here.”
“I was hoping as a husband but maybe a girl can dream too much?” she teased and then gasped, realizing with a mortified expression she had just proposed to him.
“Oh my god, Mateo. I mean, I would love to be your wife but we can talk more if you feel differently. And kids? I mean, I can’t have kids but we could adopt turtles. Or volunteer?”
She was panicking, words stumbling out in a chaotic mess, until she felt his heart beat erratic against her. When he looked up to her, there was a glimmer of tears in his dark brown eyes. “We seem to do things pretty backwards, don’t we?”
That earned a laugh from both of them, each wiping the tears between them. He took a deep exhale, “It would mean everything to take you as my wife Gabriella. To hold you, now and forever. Til Death do us part. And with time, I hope I can be redeemed in your eyes.”
He seemed hesitant at that confession, and Gabriella squeezed him tighter. “Your redemption happened the moment I saw you.”
Relief, stark and profound, shadowed his face.
His grip tightened and she barely heard his choked, “thank you” before the lull of the ocean settled between them.
They held one another, his knees and her feet sinking into the sand as the waves crashed nearby.
Behind them, the turtle continued her slow, determined journey.
Mateo was home. He was safe and she finally felt at peace.
A collection of dormant emotions broke free and settled deep within her. Happiness. Devotion. Love.
“I love you Mateo. Always have and always will.”
She felt his smile against her chest before he peeked up at her. “I love you, Gabriella. Now and forever.”