Chapter Twelve #2
‘Are you sure you’re okay? Where even are you?
’ Evie asked, not buying my white lies. ‘It’s not like you to just disappear.
You didn’t even take your phone or your shoes with you.
It reminded me of when Mum took off…’ she continued.
Her voice broke, and I could see the panic in her eyes from the day our mother had disappeared.
‘I’m in Italy. It was all quite sudden. Vito didn’t want to hang around. I’m so, so sorry…’ I tried to make amends, to convince her, but before either of us could say more, Vito rode his hand up my bump, tugging me firmly into his lap.
‘You must not concern yourself with your sister’s welfare,’ he said, as if that was even a thing Evie could do, just cut off her feelings for me. ‘She is my responsibility now.’
I glanced at him over my shoulder, the weightless feeling in my belly at the possessive tone not helping. ‘Vito, please. I need to talk to my sister without you interfering.’
His dark brows flattened. But he didn’t object the way I knew he wanted to.
‘Prego!’ he growled, clearly not happy, but willing to give me an inch—which felt like a mile. ‘Talk. I will listen.’
The weightless feeling in my belly returned because he had backed down when I’d asked him to and made room for my feelings, even though I knew he wanted to dominate this conversation.
I turned back to Evie, trying not to make too much of it. ‘Honestly, I’m good, sis. Vito’s arranged maternity care on the island. He’s taking care of me…’ Heat blasted up my neck as I recalled exactly how well he’d taken care of me in the shower. Maybe don’t go there.
‘He’s not…’ Evie’s gaze darted to Vito. ‘He’s not keeping you there against your will?’
Vito tensed against my back. Was he expecting me to use the chance he’d given me against him? He still didn’t really trust me, I realised.
So don’t go getting ahead of yourself, Mia, and reading things into his behaviour that probably aren’t there.
He’d made concessions I hadn’t expected him to on the beach, but I’d made concessions too. It was still early days. And baby steps.
‘No, he’s not,’ I said. ‘I want to be here,’ I added and meant it.
‘And he wasn’t angry you hadn’t told him sooner?’ Evie kept probing, watching me so carefully I suspected the strain of the last twenty-four hours was written all over my face.
We had never kept secrets from each other, not ever. But I knew however I’d got here, whatever had happened in the last twenty-four hours, I wasn’t lying to her now when I replied.
‘He wasn’t too pleased,’ I said. ‘But he understands why I didn’t tell him.’
Which was no small concession either. He seemed to have finally forgiven me for keeping his child a secret from him—despite what he had revealed about his past.
I also had to wonder now why he had come back when he had.
Had he been unable to forget me, too—after that night?
He’d taken a risk coming to London. I had no idea how much the authorities knew about his operations, but he’d used a secret airfield, flying in and out of the country without any of the usual checks. Exposing himself when he didn’t have to, all just to see me. That had to count for something.
I felt him relax, his hand stroking my belly absently.
‘Listen, Evie, you’re going to have to contact the school and let them know I’m resigning. I’ve already arranged maternity cover for next term, but I don’t want to leave them in the lurch.’
Evie’s eyes widened. ‘You’re not coming back home?’
I had no idea what would happen in the long term.
But I’d dealt with so much already in such a short period of time.
I’d have to figure all that out in the next four months.
I’d agreed to stay on Isla Donna, but there was so much else to work out.
Good thing I was the queen of planning and practicalities.
‘Not until after the baby is born,’ I answered, anxiety knotting my belly again. ‘Maybe you could come here for a visit,’ I said tentatively.
I had no desire to pull Evie into Vito’s world, but she seemed to have no qualms when her eyes lit up. ‘Really, I’d love that. I miss you.’
‘Use the savings account to pay my half of the rent, Eves,’ I added, going into Mia the Manager mode and momentarily forgetting who was sitting behind me listening in to the conversation. ‘I’ll have to find another job once the baby is…’
‘You will not work…and I will have one million euros transferred to your sister’s account for her expenses.’
‘Really?’ Evie said at the exact same time I said, ‘No you won’t…’
I had no idea where Vito’s money came from, and I didn’t want to know. I was dealing with more than enough already. But there was one thing I was absolutely clear on.
‘I don’t want my sister implicated in whatever you do to afford all this…’ I began.
‘Stop.’ He whispered in my ear, ‘The money is clean. I spend a great deal of time and effort to ensure it. I am not an amateur, Mia.’
‘That’s not the point,’ I said. ‘I can’t… What if someone died to make that money?’ I started to babble, getting a bit frantic. This was why I did not want to think about this in my condition.
He kissed my nose. The look in his eyes was both patronising and amused, but the admiration there too made my heart stutter again.
‘No one dies unless they threaten what is mine, Mia. It is not good for business. But your sister is mine now too, do you understand?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘I am?’ Evie interrupted me, sounding more excited than concerned.
Good grief, this was getting totally out of hand.
Evie and I had never had the kind of money that meant we didn’t have to constantly worry about how the next bill was going to be paid.
We didn’t have foreign holidays or expensive clothes.
When our friends went out clubbing or to the pub, we stayed home and watched TV.
I’d always thought Evie was okay with that.
It was a struggle, but we’d never done anything illegal, if you didn’t count forging our mum’s signature on her cheques and claiming her benefits so we could stay together when she’d deserted us.
‘We’re not taking the money,’ I tried again.
Vito tugged out his phone, typed something with his thumbs, then tucked the phone back into his pants pocket. ‘It is done.’
‘Wh-what? You can’t just do that. You don’t even know our account number…’ I cried.
Then my objection was drowned out by Evie’s squeal. ‘Oh. My. God. Mia, I just got an email from a bank in Geneva… We’re rich!’
She sounded so ecstatic, it only crucified me more.
‘No we’re not. We’re not taking the…’ I began again, but then Vito whipped the tablet he had given me to call Evie out of my hands, dumped me off his lap and stood up.
‘Hey…give it back,’ I cried, jumping up and dancing around trying to grab the tablet, which he simply lifted out of my reach while he talked to my sister.
‘Enjoy the money,’ he said to Evie, who had pound signs floating in her eyes now.
‘I will arrange a visit for you here before the baby is born. And I will send men to keep watch on your apartment. You will not see them, but they will be there to keep you safe,’ he added.
‘If you need anything, contact me on the number I will send you, and use the code Sorella.’
‘Wow, seriously? How cool,’ Evie said, having gone to the dark side for a million euros.
Vito switched off the connection and dropped the tablet on the coffee table in front of me.
‘I… I can’t believe you just did that. What gives you the right to…’
‘Stop. You know what gives me the right,’ he said, dragging me towards him. Until my belly was pressed against his growing erection.
Seriously? He was hard again. How was that possible? And how come I was already melting at the thought of feeling him pounding me to orgasm again?
I slapped my hands against his chest.
‘Just because I’m having your baby, you can’t just…’
‘She is my sister now too,’ he broke in. The passion in his eyes disturbed me almost as much as the conviction. ‘If she is not safe, you are not safe.’
‘But you didn’t have to give her all that money right now…’ I tried.
‘When did your mother abandon you…?’ he asked, the abrupt change of subject and his sober expression confusing me even more.
Was that curiosity or pity? Or something much scarier… Tenderness. Compassion. Concern. The emotions I’d wanted to believe I had glimpsed before but knew I couldn’t cope with now—when I felt so powerless and insecure about my growing feelings for him.
‘How do you know that?’ I asked, trying to delay this conversation until I had some sense of perspective again. Everything was moving too fast. I felt as if my whole life were being transformed in ways I had no control over. My common sense and my sense of right and wrong most of all.
He didn’t even dignify that with a response, because we both knew Evie had let it slip.
I huffed out a breath. Damn it, why shouldn’t I tell him? There was so much I wanted to know about him too. Maybe this was the opening I’d been waiting for. ‘A long time ago… We were teenagers.’
‘How old?’ he asked.
I shrugged. ‘I was fifteen, Evie nearly thirteen. But to be honest, Mum had clocked out of looking after us long before that. She wasn’t what you’d call a natural at motherhood. And she was very young when she had us.’
‘Puttana.’ His brows lowered, the cold expression making me realise exactly what Vito’s enemies would see if they dared to cross him. ‘And your father, he was never there?’
‘We never knew our fathers. They didn’t stick around.’
‘They?’ he murmured, the frosty expression becoming turbulent.
I nodded, strangely embarrassed. Could our childhoods be any more pathetic, if even a mafia boss felt sorry for us? ‘Strictly speaking, Evie and I are half sisters. My mum went through a phase of getting pregnant to try and attract a breadwinner. It backfired. Twice.’