Chapter 25 #2
“Uh, congratulations, sir.” The security guard cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, at this time, the power company is doing everything they can, but they’re stretched thin with downed powerlines causing outages across the city. It could be a while before they make it out this way.”
“Keep me updated.” Gio hung up without another word.
Staring up at him, I swallowed thickly. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to grab firewood and start a fire in the living room. You’re going to go upstairs and get Luca. Bundle him up with all the blankets you can find, put a hat on his head, and bring him down here. Okay?”
I gave a jerky nod. “Okay.”
“We have enough non-perishables in the pantry to last long enough for the power to come back on or the roads to be cleared, whichever happens first.” He shook his head with a wry laugh. “Kid’s gonna have one hell of a story about the week he was born.”
“I’m gonna need a vacation after all of this.” I groaned.
Gio tugged me toward the doorway where we’d split up to divide and conquer. “Fuck, after this, Matteo will be lucky I don’t leave him in charge again and disappear for good this time.”
He was joking, trying to lighten the heavy mood; he would never walk away from his position of power—not permanently, anyway. But that didn’t stop me from wishing for the impossible, for a life free of the constant danger, one where Gio could submit to love.
“Meet me in the living room.”
After a hand squeeze of reassurance, we broke apart.
He whistled for Cosmo to follow him outside, and I hustled as quickly as my current condition would allow up the stairs, using my own cell phone’s flashlight to guide the way.
Ducking into the primary suite to pull on a few extra layers of clothing for myself, I then resumed my mission to retrieve and bundle up my baby boy.
A smile tugged onto my lips as I stepped into the nursery.
Within days of his arrival, Luca had become my bright spot in the darkness.
Every time I held him, my heart swelled to the point of bursting with a type of love I’d never known.
It was unconditional; there was nothing he could do—even taking over as Don of this family—that could ever diminish it.
And God help those gunning for us, because I was willing to kill to protect him.
“Hello, my sweet boy,” I cooed, alerting him to my presence as I moved closer to the crib.
Only to find it empty.
My free hand roved over every inch of the flat sheets, and I called out his name, “Luca?” as if a newborn baby could answer.
With panic clawing a path up my throat, I rushed to the open doorway. “GI—”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
A smooth voice interrupted my cry for help, and I spun around with a blood-curdling scream, dropping my phone.
Whoever lurked in a dark corner of the room tsked. “Very disappointing, Rory. Though I can’t say I’m surprised, given that your reputation for defiance precedes you.”
Trembling from head to toe, I dared to ask, “Wh-who are you? And what have you done with my baby?”
His dark chuckle sent a chill down my spine. “Forgive me for not offering my congratulations earlier. He truly is a handsome young man, though my opinion may be biased, seeing as genetically, I’m his uncle.”
That’s when it clicked who I was speaking to.
“Nico, I understand you have a loyalty to your father, but surely you can see that Luca is innocent in all this. It’s Gio you want.” Mind racing, grasping at straws, I blurted, “We can disappear, me and the baby. You’ll never see or hear from us again.”
It was a lie, albeit a believable one, since I had a history of running. But if I kept talking, kept negotiating with Dario’s demon spawn, maybe I could buy enough time for Gio to realize we were missing and come searching for us.
“That’s a very attractive offer,” Nico replied. “But unfortunately, I will have to decline.”
My chest caved in, making it hard to breathe as I asked, “You’d hurt a baby?”
A heavy sigh sounded. “Letting Luca live means leaving loose ends. He might not be a threat today, but what about in twenty or thirty years from now? When he learns of his birthright and returns to challenge me? For my father to become Don, for me to succeed him when the time comes, Dominic’s entire bloodline must be eliminated. There can be no survivors.”
Terror squeezed my heart in a vise grip, learning that Matteo and Summer’s girls were scheduled for the executioner’s block, regardless of their ability to inherit.
And I wondered if there was someone at their house doing the exact same thing, and my sister-in-law was working as feverishly as I was to get them to spare her children’s lives.
Even though fear made my pulse pound in my ears, if I strained them enough, I could just make out footfalls coming up the stairs in the distance. Help was coming; I just had to hold on a little while longer.
“What about your brother?”
There was a hum from Nico. “Enzo was deemed unfit at an early age. Honestly, I should be thanking him. If it weren’t for his failings, I wouldn’t exist, wouldn’t have been named my father’s heir in his stead.
But to answer your question: while he may not be Dominic’s son, he doesn’t support our claim.
Any and all opposition will find themselves six feet under. No exceptions.”
The footsteps grew nearer, and relief surged in my veins when I realized they were almost right outside the nursery door. I began to breathe easier with our rescue was imminent.
Except it wasn’t Gio who joined us.
“What the fuck is taking so long?” a feminine voice barked.
“Rory’s stalling.” I could hear the smile in Nico’s voice.
“And you’re entertaining that instead of meeting me at the rendezvous point with the kid because . . .”
“It amuses me watching her desperation rise. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s only minutes away from touting her experience as a don’s wife and offering those services to me if I agree to let her son live.”
My stomach lurched, bile rising up my throat at his words. But what was even worse was realizing he was right. I wouldn’t hesitate to whore myself out if it meant saving Luca.
The woman scoffed. “Bitch is used goods. You can do better.”
“On that we can agree, Ari.”
Ari. The nickname for Arianna clued me in that the female voice belonged to Nico’s twin.
And I saw fucking red.
“How dare you come back here after what you tried to do?” I spat.
“Please.” Her eye roll was audible. “I was only trying to do you a favor.”
A sound of pure disbelief spilled from my lips. “A favor? You’re more psychotic than I thought if you truly believe that.”
“The brat has been marked for death since his conception. So sue me if I was offering you an early exit on the pregnancy. Would have saved your vagina from being ripped open for nothing.”
I lunged in the dark, but with my sight taken away, I caught nothing but air, crashing to the ground with a pained grunt.
“I’m bored with this, Nico. Can we go?”
“Aw, come on,” he cajoled. “We can’t leave before she realizes her attempts to keep us talking have been in vain.”
Pushing to my feet, I huffed, “What are you talking about?”
Nico spoke to his sister. “Why don’t you do the honors, Ari, since it was your handiwork?”
Fire flashed through my skull, my head wrenched back as I released a helpless cry.
Then Arianna’s voice was right in my ear, full of smug satisfaction.
“There’s no one coming to help you. The guards are dead, and Gio?
Well, Gio’s currently playing a fun little one-person game where it’s a race to see if he can wake up from a knock to the noggin before freezing to death, seeing as he’s currently lying unconscious in a snowbank. ”
Even though hearing the news of Gio’s perilous situation threatened to extinguish it, the rage churning in my gut only burned brighter.
“Coward,” I seethed. “Just like your father. Bet you came at him from behind because you knew you didn’t stand a chance fighting him face-to-face.
You’d better get down on your knees and pray he dies out there in the cold, because if not, he’s going to destroy you.
There’s no universe in which Gio Bellini doesn’t come out on top. ”
Arianna slapped me enough for my eyes to water. “I liked you better when you hated him.”
“Enough!” Nico boomed. “We got what we came for. Let’s go.”
The hold on my hair released so suddenly that I collapsed to the ground. Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed my phone and aimed the flashlight toward the sound of footsteps, illuminating the retreating forms of Nico and Arianna.
Surging forward, I gripped a fistful of Nico’s jacket. “Take me with you!” I begged.
The twins looked at each other before turning their eyes on me.
“She’s annoying as fuck,” Arianna grumbled. “But her tits will keep the brat quiet.”
Nico looked skyward, blowing out a “fine.”
I followed behind the pair as they navigated the maze of hallways with ease.
It wasn’t until we walked through the sliding glass door to the patio that I realized I didn’t have shoes on.
My socks might have been thick, but trudging through the deep snow had the wool soaked through within minutes.
But frostbite was the least of my worries when it was unclear whether I—and my baby—would survive the night.
Parked around the side of the mansion sat two snowmobiles. Arianna tugged on a helmet, taking a seat on one, twirling her finger in a wordless signal for her brother to hurry up.
Nico looked from his motorized winter vehicle to Luca, then back again, almost like he was just now realizing he hadn’t thought through the logistics of driving while holding an infant.
Extending my hands, I offered, “I can take him.”
Hazel eyes narrowing, he warned, “Don’t try anything stupid.”
“I won’t.”
Reluctantly, Nico handed Luca over, and I clutched him to my chest, nearly sobbing in relief.
Against my baby’s head, I whispered, “Mommy’s got you, sweetheart. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
And I meant it. I would die before I let either one of those psychopaths touch my son again.
“Get on.” Nico’s barked command could barely be heard over the gust of wind that came off the lake only a few streets over.
Luca whimpered, and to protect him from the elements, I carefully tucked him into my oversized sweatshirt, making sure he could breathe through the neck hole before hitching a thigh over the side of Nico’s snowmobile.
If I’d thought I was in pain before, it had nothing on the searing agony that tore through me as I lowered my weight, straddling the hard seat.
There was barely time to hang on before we were tearing through the blinding white landscape.
At the speed we were moving, the few snowflakes still falling felt like needles stabbing my face, so I was forced to bury it against Nico’s back with my eyes closed.
When we slowed to a stop, I lifted my head, and even though I’d been essentially blindfolded during our journey, I knew exactly where we were.
The casino.