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When she walks away, Wren stares after her curiously. “I’m guessing this is her restaurant?”
“She inherited it from her husband a few decades ago,” I explain as I sink into my seat again. “The rumor is that he died of a heart attack—but personally, I think she offed him herself. He was a miserable bastard. She’s happier now.”
Wren blanches. “Jesus.”
I chuckle at the horrified look on her face. “Don’t worry; she’s family.”
“Family, huh?” She looks around cautiously.
“I didn’t know what it was like to have a mother who’d kill for me until I met Stefania.”
Her hand falls over her stomach tenderly. “It’s an instinct that’s becoming more and more familiar to me.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. Leave the killing to me.”
“You’re not kidding when you say stuff like that, are you?” She leans forward and sighs. “That should scare me. But it doesn’t.”
Funnily enough, I’m experiencing the exact same sentiment. Sitting with Wren in this restaurant, talking about parts of my past I’ve only ever shared with the people closest to me—that shit should be scary.
But instead, it just feels right.
By the time we’re finished with dinner, the restaurant has mostly cleared out and Wren’s got a permanent smile on her face. “That was a transformative experience. Like, I’ve died and gone to heaven. I am one with the universe, and the universe is a bite of pumpkin gnocchi.”
Stefania laughs as she clears away our tiramisu plates. “I like this one, Dmitri. Bring her around more.”
I’m annoyed when my phone starts ringing. Excusing myself, I step outside to take Aleksandr’s call. “This better be good, man.”
“Why? Am I getting in the way of your quality time with Wren?”
My teeth grind together as I look up and down the street. “Did Bee tell you I was with her?”
“Nope. This is just how you always sound when you’re impatient to get back to her.”
“For fuck’s sake… why did you call?” I say before he can build up a head of steam on a topic I’m intent on avoiding.
He chuckles. “Just wanted to give you an update on O’Gadhra’s movements. He’s sticking to his territory for now. But he’s been a busy little bee. He had five different meetings and that was only today.”
“Anyone important?”
“Nah. Local gangsters in his area. Chumps, really. That’s about it.”
I hear the tinkle of the bell above the restaurant’s entrance as someone steps outside. “Keep at it. Call me if you hear anything else.” Cigarette smoke assaults my nostrils as I hang up and Stefania joins me at the curb. “I thought you quit smoking?”
She throws me a cheeky grin. “Gotta die of something. Might as well be something fun.”
“You? Die? Doubtful,” I snort. “You’ll live forever.”
She chuckles and takes another drag on her cigarette. “She’s lovely, by the way. I approve wholeheartedly.”
That’s not why I brought Wren here. But the moment the words leave Stefania’s mouth, I find myself wondering, Why else would I bring Wren here?
“It’s not my imagination, is it?” adds Stefania. “She’s pregnant?”
I grab the cigarette from her hand and take a puff. That’s all the answer she needs.”
“Mm. That’s what I thought. And it’s yours, yes?”
My eyes snap to hers, that itchy ferocity surging through my veins the way it always does when the thought of someone else touching Wren comes up. “Yes.”
