“Miss Linsc—”
“If you say a word of this to anyone, I will make sure to tell Castello what happened here today.”
He stepped back. “What are you talking about?”
“You touched me, Doc. Remember?” I cocked my head to the side, pulling the best goddamn poker face in history. “You took advantage of me while I was hunched over the bed throwing up.”
Grooves formed on his forehead, gray eyebrows slanted up. “That is a lie.”
I plastered a wicked smile on my face. “Is it?”
“Yes!” he blurted out, his eyes wide and worried. “That is a blatant lie.”
“And who do you think Castello will believe? You? Or the woman he killed his own mother for?” As the threat left my mouth, I felt the power strengthen me. I felt the euphoria of knowing I would get what I want and I would have this man under my thumb. With a simple threat and the dark sound of warning, I would force this man to keep my secret.
He stared at me for the longest time, and as the seconds turned to minutes, I knew he was fully aware about the fact that he had no choice.
“Well done, Miss Linscott,” he sneered, his lips pulled in a straight line. “I will keep your secret, but this is something you won’t be able to hide forever.”
I stepped back, relaxing a little. “I don’t plan on keeping this secret forever. I just need some time.”
Doc rounded me and walked toward the door. “While you take your time, we need to have a few blood tests done, and a sonogram.”
I turned to face him. “Could you arrange that? You know, without anyone knowing?”
He turned his gaze to the ceiling while taking a deep breath. I was putting his loyalty to Castello on the line, in turn putting his life on the line as well. But unfortunately for him, this was one of those situations that demanded I be selfish and do everything I could to protect myself…and my unborn child.
“Fine. I’ll try to arrange it. But, Miss Linscott, do not underestimate Castello. He might be the quiet type, but he is very observant.” And with that he left the room.
Doc was right. Castello was a very observant man. Nothing got past him. I had to make sure I didn’t act differently or give him any reason to believe I was hiding something from him.
I placed my hand on my belly. But as Doc said, this wasn’t a secret I would be able to hide forever. I needed to figure out what my options were, and I needed to figure that out fast. If only I knew how he truly felt about me. If only I didn’t feel all this uncertainty when it came to him—to us. Maybe then I wouldn’t have felt like I needed to keep this pregnancy a secret. Maybe then this would actually be something I could share with him—something we could share together. Just the thought of it caused a faint flutter inside my belly and me hoping that maybe…just maybe this wouldn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would.
Chapter 12
CASTELLO
I’d done some pretty bad shit in my life. I’d stolen, lied, murdered, but nothing I’d done had me in a situation where I experienced the bone-chilling fear that had the potential to bring a grown man to his knees. Until today.
Today I felt that fear. I experienced it as I watched Tatum faint, her body going completely limp as if all life had been drained out of her in a split second. It was the most terrifying moment of my life…so far. Somehow I had the feeling I’d be experiencing more of these bone-numbing moments with Tatum in my life. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I just couldn’t stop myself from wanting to protect her, to keep her away from harm. Wasn’t it fucking ironic how I went from hating her to loving her?
Loving her…
I couldn’t be sure, but I got the feeling that she didn’t remember my words. There was no recognition in her eyes when she woke up. It was as if she still didn’t know how I truly felt about her. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe I spoke too soon, acted on impulse. I needed to start thinking with my head around her, not with my heart and cock. If one wasn’t careful, love could easily become a weakness. After all, it was those we loved the most who had the power to destroy us.
“Is everything okay?” Uncle Gino looked up as I walked into the study.
“Yes. She’s fine. Just had a dizzy spell.”
“Good. I’m not surprised, though. She’s been through so much.”
I took a seat across from him. “Yeah, so I’ve been told.” I pulled my palms down my face. It wasn’t even two in the afternoon and already I felt exhausted.
When I looked up, I noticed Uncle Gino staring at me with a huge-ass grin on his face.
“What?”
“You did good today.”