Free Leverage by Nancy S Thompson Page A

her for weeks. Then, a phone call. Marina said she was not returning to America. She said she was marrying another, and I would never see the children again.” Tears rolled down his face.
    I squeezed his shoulder as he clutched at my other hand. “Oh, Roman, I’m so sorry. How awful. Have you seen or heard from your children?”
    He shook his head. “I worked with the American government to get them back, but Cuba would not cooperate. There was no legal way I could recover them.” His eyes teared up again, but for only a moment. Then his powerful shoulders pulled back, and his once-gentle eyes blazed with the force of his memories. “I hired a team to abduct my own children and bring them home. It cost me everything, but well worth it to get my children back. But something went wrong, and Marina was killed. The man she had married whisked my children away. I searched for years, but could find no sign of them.”
    He loosened his grip on my hand and sat back in his chair, his eyes on the table. “Maya is a young woman now, seventeen years old, and Marco, fifteen. I missed their entire childhood.” He pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes and gathered himself together. His chair scraped against the old vinyl tiles as he stood and reached for me. “I am sorry, Hannah. I should not have carried on so. I hope you can forgive me.”
    I stood, took his outstretched hand in mine, and rubbed his shoulder once more. “Oh, no, Roman, please. There’s nothing to forgive.” I gave him a one-armed hug, and he began to lead me toward the entry hall.
    I felt bad, as if he were embarrassed and wanted to be alone. He opened the front door and I passed through, but Roman followed me onto his porch. He took my hand and helped me down the three concrete steps and onto the brick walkway, where he turned me around and clasped my hands in his.
    “You and your husband, you love each other very much. I can see that. He will come around, and you will be happy, no?”
    I smiled and nodded, as much to reassure myself as Roman. He glanced over my shoulder as a vehicle passed us on the street, then he looked back at me, a new smile, dimples and all. He leaned in and kissed both my cheeks before giving me a hug and a friendly rub on my back. He even tapped my cheek with his fingers. Then his smile melted away as his attention was drawn behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Tyler sitting in his truck in our driveway. The expression on his face was blank, remote even, as he stared over at me and Roman. I dropped Roman’s hands and offered one last smile.
    “I’m sorry, Roman. I should go. But thank you so much for the coffee and for sharing your story. Don’t you ever give up on those kids, you hear?” One more brittle smile, a small, civil wave, and I was off, traipsing through the lawn back to my house.
    Tyler watched my every step then withdrew from his truck as I approached. We stood face to face, three feet between us, and considered each other, our gazes fixed and determined. I broke first, dropping my eyes to the pavement with a shake of my head.
    “I’m sorry,” I said and peered back up at him.
    He closed the space between us and folded his arms around me in a stiff hug.
    “Me, too,” he replied. He pulled back and looked me in the eye then kissed my forehead first before placing another on my lips. It was tender, but conditional somehow. Tentative. He put his arm around my shoulder and steered me toward the kitchen door. “Let’s go back inside. We’ll start over. Okay?”
    I nodded and walked toward the house, Ty’s hand at my back. I felt Ty hesitate then turn slightly back toward the driveway. I looked over my shoulder and saw Roman watching us, his face unreadable. I watched them both, Ty and Roman, how they seemed to challenge each other with just their eyes. Tyler offered a curt nod and a neighborly wave, but Roman—even after his well wishes and proclamation that Ty and I would be okay—spun around