Chapter 16
CIRO
I stormed into the mansion and went straight to Padre’s private office. There had to be information about Cara. Thinking of her name literally made me sick to my stomach.
I tugged on each drawer of his mahogany desk and they were all locked.
“Figlio di puttana!” I spat motherfucker into the air.
“What are you doing?” Wolf, my sister’s husband, asked from the entrance. I hadn’t bothered closing the doors.
“Come over here.” I waved him over. I was the Don of the family now and could do whatever the fuck I wanted. “You’re a thug. Open these doors.”
“You want me to break into Alessio’s private drawers?” He hiked one of his dark eyebrows.
“Yes. Don’t act like an alter boy, when you’re a fucking biker and connected to the Bratva.” What was his problem? He had probably committed more crimes than me so he’d better wipe that judgmental glare off his Russian face.
“Tell me what you’re looking for.” He kneeled and examined one side of the desk.
“For information on a woman named Cara.”
Wolf grunted, removing a paperclip from his pocket and messed with the drawer. The top one popped open.
“Eccellente.” I praised him in Italian. “Now do the others.”
Once they were all open, I rifled through each one and came up empty handed. “Nothing. Not a goddamn bit of information.”
“Do you want me to have Grizzly run a search?” my brother-in-law asked. My organization had gotten in good with the Knight’s Legion MC in Minnesota. That club had made millions working with me. Utilizing Grizzly, the club’s computer genius, was a perk I had full access to.
“I only know her name is Cara. She was behind my mother’s murder.”
Wolf growled low in his throat. “What about Alessio’s suite?”
“Yes, let’s check it out.”
“What are you two up to?” Rosa’s voice came from behind us.
I turned around and smiled. “Sister, I didn’t know you were home.” I cut my gaze at Wolf, who should have warned me Rosa was here.
“I was just getting ready to return to the hospital and needed my husband to go with me.”
“Sì, that’s understandable.” I backed away from Wolf. “You can go.”
“What are you looking for in Papà’s study?” She put her hands on her hips, which made her round belly protrude. She literally glowed while she was pregnant.
“The name of a woman,” Wolf replied.
I shushed him. “It’s fine. You guys go see Padre.”
“What’s the woman’s name? Maybe I know.”
“I doubt that.” I scoffed. Why would she know?
“Cara,” Wolf said.
I shot a stern look at him.
“Cara Clemente,” Rosa said.
What the hell? “I don’t know if that’s her last name. What do you know about her?”
“She died about ten years ago.”
“Then it can’t be her.” I was sure the Cara I was looking for was still alive. “But just in case it is the same person, what else do you know about her?”
“Well, I caught Padre drunk one night when I was thirteen. He had a newspaper clipping showing the obituary of a woman named Cara Clemente. He was crying so I asked what was wrong. He apologized and said he should have acted sooner. That maybe my mother would have lived. I never knew what he meant, but figured it was the booze talking.”
“It must be the same woman. Cara Clemente. Dammit. She’s already dead.” Cazzo! I wanted to be the person to end her life.
“Don’t sound so bummed about it.” Rosa made a tsk-tsk sound. “I mean, she didn’t look like an awful person.”
“Well, she was.”
“Enough, Ciro.” Wolf glared at me. “Let’s go, love.”
“What do you know about her?” Rosa asked. Beside her, Wolf growled.
“She wanted to hurt Padre because he rejected her when he married my mother.” Of course, I wasn’t sure that was what went down, but piecing it all together, I was confident she was a scorned woman. And possibly mentally unstable.
“Oh.” Rosa’s face fell.
“We’re done here.” Wolf guided my sister out of the room. I appreciated how he protected her.
I could do the same with Isla. If I could convince her to give me another chance.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and looked at the screen.
Fabio’s name appeared. I answered it quickly, remembering he’d asked me to call him. “Fabio, how’s it going? Did you find out more information about Isla?”
“Where are you?” His question came out rushed, as if worried or panicked.
“In Canada. Why?”
“That’s a relief. I think you should leave her alone.”
“What do you know?” Suddenly, I felt sick. Fabio wouldn’t have called unless he discovered something important, maybe something so shocking he didn’t feel right putting it in a text.
A wave of unease crashed down on me.
“Ciro. Take my advice. Just stay in Canada. You’re not ready for this. You may never be ready for this.”
“Fucking tell me what you discovered!” My patience was fading. Was she married and hid it from me? He was right. I wouldn’t be able to take it. But I had to know the truth. “Fabio!”
“All right. All right.” He inhaled but said nothing for a long beat. “I don’t want to be the messenger. Fuck, I really don’t want to be the one to tell you this.”
“I’m losing it. What did you find?” I asked for the third fucking time. In my peripheral, I saw Paolo looking at me from the double doors. My hands were shaking as I tightly held the phone to my ear.
“In October—”
“Son of a bitch,” I hissed, my heart racing like a horse at the Derby. “She’s married, isn’t she?”
“No. Not married.”
“Then what?” Instant relief crashed down on me. If she wasn’t married, what the hell could be so bad that I couldn’t handle it?
“In October, she had a baby.”
I stared at Paolo, seeing red. A baby. I quickly did the math in my head. Nine months back from October would have been January. We were still together. My blood boiled.
Isla cheated on me…
“Goddammit! She was fucking another guy!” I blew like a violent volcano, hatred coursing through my veins. Here I thought she was loyal. A good person. In love with me. “What a fucking bitch! Who’s the father?”
“No name is listed on the birth certificate. It could be yours.”
My breathing stuttered. Mine? No. Not possible. Isla wouldn’t have my baby and not tell me. She wouldn’t do that. Would she?
“I’m confident it’s not mine. Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?” A baby. My baby. Impossible.
“I’m sure, asshole. My guy is the best of the best.” Fabio cursed in Italian, calling me a slew of unkind names.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“Then why would she not name the father? If it’s another man’s and she’s with him, she would have named him. It has to be yours.”
I didn’t know how to reply.
“I never told her to leave with my baby! If it’s mine.” I leaned against my father’s desk to brace myself, so my knees didn’t buckle under me.
“I bet a hundred G’s it’s yours.” Fucking Fabio. He sounded way too happy about me possibly having a baby.
“Christ, Fabio. It’s been over a year. If the kid is mine, Isla went through it all without me.
” Emotion bubbled in my throat. “That baby is what? Seven months old now? And I’ve had no part of its life…
If it’s mine. My family, either. Jesus, my padre.
He’s in the hospital and had open heart surgery.
” A single tear slid down my cheek. I didn’t even care if crying made me look weak in front of Paolo.
My father would feel robbed of his grandchild. I felt robbed too.
“I’m sorry to hear about Alessio, but you need to calm down. This is a delicate situation. You don’t want to make matters worse.”
“Make matters worse? Could they get any fucking worse than finding out I have a child in the world that I didn’t know existed? I don’t even know what it is or its name.” Never mind the fact that Isla never mentioned the baby once when we were together.
“It’s a girl. Penelope Giovanna Martin.”
Penelope Giovanna. I couldn’t breathe. Her middle name was my mother’s. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
I have a daughter. A little girl.
More tears threatened to fall, but I held those little bitches back.
“Are you okay?” Fabio asked.
“No, I’m not okay. I just found out I might be a father. I don’t know what my child looks like. She doesn’t know me…”
“Give yourself some time to process. Talk to Roman and your dad. Let them help you with this.”
“No. I’m leaving tonight back to California. I need to confront Isla before she…”
“Before she what?”
“Steals my baby.” It sounded crazy even to me, but if Isla hid Penelope’s existence, she could go on the run with her.
“Shit, Ciro. I knew you’d overreact. Listen, I have a man watching them. She won’t get away with stealing your child.”
“I appreciate that. But I must see her. If I see her, I’ll know if she’s really mine.”
“How?”
“I’ll just know. If she’s mine, I’ll know.” God, I hoped I’d know.
“What about Isla?”
“What about her? I’m fucking pissed at her for keeping my baby from me.” How could she be so heartless? Treat my family this way? Even if I’d never wanted kids, this kind of betrayal was unforgiveable. I couldn’t believe Isla would do this. Maybe I never really knew her.
The very thought slashed my heart. I knew Isla in every way possible, physically, emotionally, all her hopes, dreams, and fears. It was why none of this made sense. Isla wasn’t malicious. So why the fuck had she hid my daughter from me?
You fucker, because you told her to never come back.
No, there is no excuse for keeping my child from me.
“Christ. That’s why I was afraid to tell you.” Fabio’s voice cut through my mental ranting. “Don’t hurt her, man. If you do, you’ll lose her and your child for good.”
“Don’t hurt her? What about how she hurt me?” I roared into the phone like a fucking animal. “I will not lose my child! Do you hear me? I will not lose my child! I’ll get the best goddamn lawyer money can buy. I won’t lose!”
“But you never wanted kids,” Fabio said in a tight voice. “Marriage and kids are your greatest fear, ever since your mom died. Think about it. You didn’t give Isla what she wanted because you were afraid of losing her if you loved her.”
Fabio was right. For most of my adult life, I swore I’d never get married or have kids. Isla knew this. When I told her to leave and never come back, she did as I’d commanded.
But still. I had a right to know I had a child… If the baby is mine.
“What are you going to do?” Fabio asked. “I know you love her, even if you won’t admit it. That’s why you wanted to find her after all this time.”
“I don’t know. Thanks for the information. I’ll be in touch if I need anything else.”
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
“Yeah.” I ended the call and stared at Paolo. “Do you think the baby was inside that little house?”
“It’s possible. But why would she leave the child there?” Paolo asked.
“Good question. Why?” I couldn’t imagine why Isla would leave her baby behind and then agree to have a drink with me. Unless she knew we were following her.
“I think you should make a plan. Get Alessio situated at home, then fly out to San Francisco. If Fabio has someone watching Isla, you have nothing to worry about. She can’t leave town with the baby. She probably thinks you’re never coming back.”
“Or she hopes I don’t. But I made my intentions known. I wanted her. At least I did before I knew about the baby.”
“You still want her. You’re just angry. You don’t want to see her when you’re unhinged.” My cousin’s words were wise, but I most certainly wanted to face Isla when I was unhinged.
I’d consider his thoughts. Rushing back to San Francisco may not be smart. I had no idea what I’d say or what I’d do when face to face with the woman who meant everything to me.
There were only two things that mattered to me right this minute. The first was confirming that I was Penelope Giovanna’s father.
The second was getting answers from Isla. I may have wanted her back initially. But now? Now I didn’t know what I wanted. If she’d betrayed me, I didn’t believe I could forgive such an offense.
If I never looked for her, would she have ever told me about Penelope? I didn’t care how she spun it. There was no excuse for keeping my baby a secret.
None.
If the baby was mine.
You know it is…
Jesus, I did.