15. Sandro #3
“No,” Nicolo said, finally speaking. “They might have been doing just that. We have no way of asking. But Emilio had already moved the majority of his funds over to a Russian bank in preparation for their upcoming move.”
Master Vincent spoke next. “Those funds have been secured and are now in an account for Leo. There is zero chance they can be traced, so he has no need to worry about his grandfather being able to find him if he should decide to use them.”
“Has he considered changing his name?” Marcello asked. “Or at least taking your surname? It would be another level of security.”
I sighed again. “We’ve barely discussed being pregnant, let alone him taking my surname.
I’ll discuss it with him when I do all of this.
” I glanced at Master Vincent. “I can mention all of this to him, correct? Something of this magnitude is impossible to keep from my beloved. Especially when it pertains to him and his family.” He was raised to believe that his father’s family were human, and they couldn’t know about him.
“You can share with your beloved whatever it is that you feel he needs to know,” Master Vincent said.
“If he knew his father’s last name, how had he not ever bothered to look them up?” Nicolo asked.
I shrugged. “He told me he couldn’t be with his father’s family because they were human, and he couldn’t be around them because he was a shifter. There is nothing out of the ordinary about that. Humans, unless mated to a paranormal, aren’t supposed to know about us.”
“We will be here to help support Leo in whatever it is he wishes to do,” Master Vincent said.
“I appreciate that, Master. We’re still getting used to the idea of welcoming a baby into our relationship, and I’m not certain how this will fit into things.”
“I can tell you that you will never be fully ready for the baby part of things,” Marcello said.
“But this other stuff?” Marcello shook his head.
“If it were me, I’d avoid it at all costs.
I simply wouldn’t worry about his family.
They’re there, we’re here, and they don’t know he’s here with us.
He has only ever been brought here through magical means.
Even if they have someone watching every station in Rome, Leo has never left. As far as they know, he’s still there.”
How was I going to explain any of this to Leo?
“You look like you are walking the plank, so to speak,” Master Vincent said.
“I feel like it a bit. I’m trying to figure out how to explain all of this to him. He needs to know. Obviously, he can’t rejoin his family, but he needs to know who they are and the threat they pose to him and our child or children if we should be gifted more in the future.”
“From experience, and I know nothing about your beloved as of yet beyond what is on paper, but shifters like the outdoors. Take him for a long walk in the garden and tell him there. Abel loves the fountain in the eastern garden. Try there,” Marcello said.
That was a good idea. And Leo did love to be outside. He loved our hikes and the time on the lakes when we were in Banff. Perhaps Marcello was onto something.
“Thank you. I’ll give that a try,” I said. “Is there anything else I should know? No hidden prince in disguise or anything of that nature?” I asked, only just jokingly. It wouldn’t surprise me at this point.
“No, nothing else. Enjoy your time with your beloved,” Master Vincent said. “There will be a bit more presence around the villa though, so if you see someone out walking around the grounds, you will know them, and they are supposed to be there.”
I nodded. Got it. Security had been upped just in case because…yeah. I happened to claim the grandson of a truly evil mafia boss. Lucky me. Now I really wondered how it was that his mother met his father. There was no way they ever moved in the same circles. Except…
“Sofia’s family,” I said. “They’re not bratva by chance?”
Master Vincent laughed. “No,” he finally said. “They are what a lot of people would call boring accountants and other business owners. But they have zero ties to the Russian underground.”
That was a relief. Maybe it shouldn’t have been, but it actually was.
“Good to know,” I said. “If that is all, I’ll go see if I can talk my beloved into a tour of the grounds, and then I’ll share with him all of the wonderful news about his grandfather.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Marcello said.
I scowled at him, which caused him to laugh.
There truly wasn’t anything any of us could do with the information.
We simply made do with what it was and did what needed to be done to keep Leo safe.
But the first thing to help ensure his safety was to let him know what was going on.
Because if he had no clue, at this point, that could be incredibly dangerous.
Hopefully, he wasn’t too terribly upset with everything I was about to drop on him.
Perhaps I could make it up to him later if he was feeling up for it.
I wasn’t going to say no. Only a fool would, and I certainly wasn’t one.
At least, not when it pertained to anything to do with my gorgeous and sweet beloved.