Chapter Eleven
Vito
‘Don Vito, I am sorry to disturb you, but we have a problem…’
I glanced up from the report I was reading over lunch on the syndicate’s money-laundering operations in Europe, to find the head of my household staff standing on my private terrazzo.
Allegra’s flustered expression did not bode well, nor did the panicked look of the girl behind her who had been assigned to care for Mia late last night.
I paid Allegra well because she did not get flustered.
What the fuck has Mia done now?
I slapped the laptop closed and stood up, the familiar punch of temper and awareness flowing through me.
‘What problem, Allegra?’ I demanded, but I could already guess.
I should have known Mia’s subdued behaviour last night after the scan had been a ruse. Why had I trusted her?
‘When Gabriella went to check on the signorina five minutes ago, she was not to be found.’
Annoyance came first, swiftly followed by the hollow feeling in my chest that I despised—and which I had noticed again last night, when Mia had told me of her bastardo of a father with a beseeching look in her eyes.
‘I am so sorry, padrino. I searched everywhere, but there is no sign…’ The girl behind Allegra began to babble, terrified at having displeased me.
‘Va bene.’ I held up my hand to cut her off before she became hysterical.
My staff knew I expected their loyalty, always, and that if I gave an order, it must be obeyed. But it was not this girl’s fault Mia had chosen to defy me. Or that she had somehow managed to lull me into believing she would do as she was told from now on.
She had been exhausted and emotional in the doctor’s office.
In truth, I had been struggling with a reaction I had not expected myself at the sight of the child growing inside her.
My son. The fierce feeling of connection, of protectiveness towards that tiny, defenceless life, and the woman who nurtured it had shocked me.
Enough that I had let my control slip and been softer than I should have been with her.
I should not have let her have her own suite last night. But the desire to hold her, to possess her again, to mark her as mine, had been so visceral, I had chosen not to indulge it. I could see she was tired.
The doctor had assured me penetrative sex was perfectly okay—it was one of the reasons I had wanted to have Mia checked before we arrived on the island. I was a big man, and I had been concerned my need for her might hurt the baby. But I had not expected to see the child so clearly in those images.
As we had flown to Isla Donna, though, I had decided it was normal to feel a connection to my own flesh and blood—as I had told her, I was not a monster. But when she had told me of her father, I had let sentiment weaken my resolve. I would not let it happen again.
Yes, my world was dangerous. That was simply a fact of life. And as I had tried to make her understand, to survive in this life—the rewards of which were great—I was prepared to be ruthless.
All that talk about her choices, her freedom, had no place here, and the sooner she accepted that, the better. In this life there was only money, strength, sex and death. Everything else was a luxury I did not care to indulge.
I had loved my mother as a boy, and it had not improved her lot or mine one iota. I had also loved Dante as a brother, but it had not prevented him from attacking me. Nor would it save him when my men captured him.
Mia had chosen to have my child, but it was past time she understood that was where her choices ended.
Her bravery and boldness in challenging my control had earned my grudging respect. I could not deny it. But I did not intend to let her defy me again.
‘Should I contact Lorenzo and have the island searched?’ the housekeeper asked.
I shook my head. The last damn thing I needed was to have Mia disturb everyone’s peace.
The men were tired. They had been working long shifts for months now, not to mention the injuries some of them had sustained during Dante’s attack.
And the hunt for that bastard remained ongoing.
I suspected he had gone to ground in his estate near Sicily.
The Malvini family, his mother’s family, had been little more than a street gang when he had fought his way to the top of their ranks as a boy of fifteen, seven years after he and his mother had been expelled from the Rocco Syndicate by my father.
It was a sorry affair, and I couldn’t help thinking now, after seeing my own son on that monitor, I would not have been able to discard my child so easily. But then, my father’s ruthlessness had made us all rich.
It would be a waste of manpower to storm Dante’s stronghold, but he would have to leave eventually. When he did, I would be waiting. Until that day, though, my men deserved a rest—which meant not spending a day searching the island for a pregnant girl who could not have gone far.
I stared out at the searing blue water, my chaotic heartbeat slowing.
Isla Donna was my sanctuary, the place my father had brought me after rescuing me from my stepfather.
The place where I had grown the Rocco Syndicate into an empire of legal and illegal enterprises which spanned all of Europe and was making in-roads now in North and South America.
The place where I had come to lick my wounds after the attack, the place where my child would be born and Mia would remain until I tired of her.
When that happened, she would be provided for, as long as she obeyed the strictures placed on her for her safety and that of our child.
But as my gaze scanned the coastline, my irritation turned to something that felt akin to panic at the thought Mia might be contrary enough to attempt to swim the five-mile distance to Capri.
Could she really be so desperate to escape me?
Then something caught my eye in the small cove directly below the terrazzo.
Mia. Che cazzo?
What the actual…?
I swore under my breath. Then anxiety gripped my chest, which only made me angrier with her. And with myself.
I had given her space, out of respect for her condition and to give her time to adjust to her situation after last night’s emotional overload, which was another sign of weakness. But I would not trust her again.
‘The signorina will be staying in my rooms from now on,’ I growled as I marched across the wide terrazzo.
My housekeeper and the maid rushed off to make the necessary arrangements—at least someone around here knew the consequences of defying me.
While I headed down the steps in the cliff wall which led to the private beach, my fury increased with each step.
She would regret making me angry. She had brought this on herself by trying to trick me. She would soon learn, trust had to be earned. And until she earned mine—which was going to take several millennia the way she was going—the safest place for her was in my bed as I rocked us both to orgasm.
She had made it clear by her actions it was the only place in my world where she belonged, and where I could guarantee to keep her out of trouble.
Mia
I stared as a powerboat motored past the end of the cove. Two men stood on the deck, assault rifles thrown casually over their shoulders, while another armed man scanned the horizon with a set of binoculars.
My heartbeat pounded into my throat.
Isla Donna wasn’t an island. It was a fortress. I looked down at my bare feet sinking into the wet sand, my pulse ramping up as the boat disappeared past the rocky headland covered in the dark pink blossoms of bougainvillea.
The island’s spellbinding beauty, the profusion of wildflowers and this deserted beach nestled in a rocky cove beneath the lavish villa above, seemed so peaceful, so calm and relaxing. But for the vivid reminder of who owned this island.
I lifted the light linen negligée I’d found in the suite’s armoire.
It looked brand-new—had it belonged to someone else before me?
How many other women had Vito brought to his island?
The sting of jealousy was lowering. How much of a claim did I really have on him, despite the pregnancy?
How much did I even want? We’d been thrown together by fate—and while I now knew he felt a deep sense of responsibility towards his child, there was no evidence yet he would ever feel that for me.
I huffed out a careful breath.
God, I had so many questions I was too scared to ask myself, let alone him.
But there was no getting away from the fact anymore.
My life had fundamentally changed now. Deciding to have Vito’s baby hadn’t really been a choice.
The minute I’d realised our reckless night together had had unforeseen consequences, I’d felt the surge of love for my child.
For his child. But had there been more to that visceral longing to keep my unborn baby?
Would I have felt the same way about an accidental pregnancy with Dave, even though we had planned to marry?
I really didn’t think so. And the implications of that bothered me even more than having to figure out how I was going to find a place in Vito’s world.
The shallow waves caused by the boat’s wake lapped to shore and splashed over my shins, wetting the hem of the negligée. I dug my toes into the sand, absorbing the rough texture and the cool water on my hot skin, and stepped farther into the surf.
I’d woken from a deep sleep twenty minutes ago, surprisingly refreshed, even as the throbbing ache in my sex reminded me of everything that had happened the day and night before…and with whom.
Vito’s face—dark, dangerous and devastating—had haunted my dreams. Another sign the chemistry we shared had always had a powerful effect on my psyche. As well as my libido.
I gathered my hair up to enjoy the sea breeze on my sweaty neck and took another step into the ocean, keen to cool more of my heated skin.