‘He… He has?’ I asked, hope surging. ‘But if he’s willing to negotiate now, why didn’t he do that before?’
‘Because he was a prisoner here. He wished to bargain from a position of strength. Taking your sister, escaping from here was part of his plan. This is why he has refused to sanction any deal for so long, I think.’
I nodded. Trying not to let my fear swamp me.
All I could do was hope now that Vito was right. And Dante wouldn’t hurt Evie.
I stared down at my baby…at our baby…clamped tight on my nipple, sucking voraciously. I smiled a watery smile. I trusted his daddy, implicitly. Not just to rescue Evie, but also to be honest with me about the threat Dante represented.
‘All we must do now is wait for him to decide what it is he wants. Then the negotiations begin.’ Vito said, pressing his large hand to our baby’s head. ‘And you, Signora Rocco,’ he said, his voice heavy with pride, ‘your job is to rest and recover after giving me the most beautiful son in the world.’
I yawned, so totally drained, emotionally as well as physically, it felt impossibly good to have Vito’s muscular arms around us both.
‘For once, I think I might do what you tell me to without an argument,’ I murmured, and he let out a husky laugh of approval.
Capturing my chin between his thumb and forefinger, he lifted my mouth for his kiss.‘Brava ragazza.’
I felt the love flow between us as his lips covered mine. I swallowed down the lump of panic lodged in my throat as exhaustion overwhelmed me.
Tomorrow we would concentrate on getting Evie back and ending this bloody feud once and for all, but tonight was for us. And our baby boy. And our love. Which was the bedrock of this family now.
Hopefully one day soon, Dante would realise that, too.
