“Don’t piss me off right now,” I warned.
“Don’t piss you off?” The pitch of his voice rose. “If anyone else said that to me, they’d be dead.”
“I’d be the one taking their head off,” I agreed.
He sighed and then he started chuckling. “We’ve managed to join the families without formalities, I guess.”
“If she keeps the baby.”
“Of course she’s keeping the baby.” He scoffed.
Bastian never failed to amaze me with his loyalty to his family. He’d never wanted to be a mafia king but he stepped up to the plate and swung a home run, making the call to end his father’s life when he needed to. He could have us eliminated too, or at least the baby, to save the family the drama that would ensue. Yet he didn’t even consider it.
My throat tightened when I heard the conviction in his voice. He’d protect that baby just like I would.
“It’s her choice, Bastian.”
“That’s our blood in her now, brother,” he shot back.
“I’m not arguing that.”
He sighed, because he knew I was right. “The only reason she wouldn’t want that baby is because she wants the bratva to trust her and she needs to make sure she can trust us. So let’s make sure none of it is a problem.”
“The bratva will always be a problem.”
“Then, we make sure it’s one she can handle. Meet us at the club. The family will be there in about an hour.”
Neither of us said goodbye before we hung up.
I paced her penthouse, careful not to go near the window she’d said the bratva checked.
I went and sat in the bathroom, letting the steam swirl around me as I watched her rinse off. “Your belly is going to grow.”
“If we decide to keep it.”
“Already have,” I grumbled. Then I winced. “I know it’s your choice ultimately.”
She turned the water off and stuck out her hand for me to give her a towel. I waited a beat and she smirked. “Don’t get distracted, Rome. It’s how we ended up here in the first place.”
I shrugged, handing over the soft cloth. She had always pulled my attention from everything else. It could have been the end of the world and I would still have been drawn to her like a magnet.
“I wonder if you know what a mindfuck you are, Kate-Bait.”
She’d caught up her hair with a clip so that it wouldn’t get wet and now she let it fall over the column of her neck and down her shoulders as she dried off. She wrapped the towel around herself and turned to look in the mirror. “If you mean that I’m attractive and men can’t control their urges, then, I guess I’ve known that since Marvin and Jimmy. It’s not a blessing in this world unless you make it one.”
“I think some are dealt a better hand and it’s the other way around for them. Beauty is icing on top of their cake.”
“Yeah, girls born into a good family with a good face get a lot of good things. I had it for a small time with my father.”
“He was a good man.”
“He was a hard worker and a great father. Maybe it was him immigrating from Jamaica but he never gave up. Not until the end.”
“Maybe him giving up was for the one thing he loved more than his pride, huh?”
She shrugged like she didn’t know what to do with that. I knew she’d forgiven him for leaving her in this world. But I knew her heart missed him too, that it always would. “All I know is I don’t think you could ask for a better man than he was.” She murmured, her voice far off. “I got lucky even if it was just for a short time. Some people don’t even get that.”
I leaned back on the counter and watched her get ready. She moved lightly but always with purpose.