Lucio got out of the passenger side, his eyes studying my every move. The man was a soldier. He recognized a threat when he saw one.
My attention moved back to the backstabbing SOB who happened to be my brother. But the fact that we had the same blood running through our veins no longer mattered. Who the fuck said blood was thicker than water?
“You’ve got balls coming back without her, Antonio.”
He closed the car door. “You need to listen to me.”
“I don’t have to do squat. You betrayed me.”
“You’re wrong, little brother.”
I moved slowly down the stairs. “Am I?” My mind flitted back and forth from my brother to the gun at my back. “Because from where I’m standing, it sure looks like you stabbed a goddamn knife in my back.”
Antonio sighed then moved to the back passenger door. “If you won’t give me a chance to explain, I’ll have to show you.”
The door opened, and Kate stepped out. With narrowed eyes, I watched them. Kate’s eyes were red as if she had been crying. Her cheeks were pale, and her shoulders slumped. She seemed defeated, and that only fueled my anger even more.
“Antonio!” I growled. “What the fuck have you done?” Out of instinct—and rage—I reached for the gun.
Kate stepped aside, and then…a little boy.
I paused, my hand hovering over the gun at my back. “What is going on? Who is this?”
My brother closed the door, and Kate walked forward with her hands on the boy’s shoulders. Dark hair, dark eyes and lashes, the boy couldn’t have been more than five.
My heart thudded against my ribs. My lungs expanded little by little as my breathing became shallower. I recognized the boy.
“Dante,” Antonio started, “this is Rafe…your son.”
I sucked in a breath. “What?”
“This is your son, brother.”
My mind couldn’t make sense of anything. The boy. Antonio’s words…
The boy.
I tilted my head to the side, studying the boy. All I heard was the beating of my own heart.
My dad stepped in beside me. “I warned you this would change everything.”
Confused and perplexed, I kept my eyes on the boy. “I don’t even know what this is,” I breathed.
“This is your son, Dante.” My dad walked toward the boy. “This is the reason your brother had to take Layla back.”
Bewildered and feeling completely disconnected from reality, I looked at Antonio. “You have five minutes.”
Chapter 18
Dante
“So, you’re telling me the boy currently eating macaroons in our dining room…is mine?”
Antonio sat across from me, his eyes weary yet focused. “Yes. That’s what she said.”
Lucio shifted as he leaned against the wall. “It’s pretty obvious if you look at the kid. He looks like a mini you.”
Antonio crossed his arms. “You should know. You stared at the kid from the front seat of the car all the way here as if he was the boy Jesus.”