Page 83 of Daddies of the Underworld

“She’s tied to all three of them, Nina. He won’t stop until he has her.” Marco was relentless in his pursuit, making sure I understood the monster waiting on the other side of the world.

30

NINA

Three days after Marco arrived, I caught myself laughing while locked inside a house with armed guards outside. And I didn’t stop right away. At this point, I couldn’t tell if it was a healthy change or not.

The safe house had become its own strange little world with guards outside, cameras over every entrance, and codes on all exterior doors. Dante had taught Sofia to call the reinforced pantry room the storm closet because safe room made her ask too many questions. He’d taught her how to put in the code by herself, which made my heart ache, but I’d rather she knew as much as possible about keeping herself safe.

Fuck. My baby girl should not be in a position to need to know these things. The ache in my heart I’d been fighting all day intensified, and I rubbed my knuckles over my sternum. Dante crossed the room and rubbed my shoulders. “We’re going to get through this.” His promises had always settled me, and sometimes I hated how much his touch helped.

The house should have felt like a cage. Some hours, it did. I missed walking Sofia to school. I missed the regular world where my biggest concern was whether she’d come home with glitter in her pockets or a note from her teacher saying she’d interrupted class again with her questions.

“Luca, that is not how normal people set a table.” I stood at the stove stirring sauce because Sofia had announced spaghetti was better in secret houses. Apparently secrets needed noodles.

Luca looked down at the silverware he had arranged in a sunburst around the plates. “You say normal like it’s something we’re aiming for.”

Sofia leaned over her chair to inspect his work. “I like it. It looks fancy.”

“Thank you, little star. Finally, a woman with taste.”

Dante walked past with a stack of napkins and moved every fork to the correct side without slowing down.

Luca stared after him. “He vandalized my art.”

“You’re welcome.” Dante smirked and tweaked Sofia’s nose, making her giggle.

Matteo sat at the end of the table with Sofia’s chessboard set up beside his plate. Sofia stood on the chair next to him, one hand on his shoulder. “Daddy, can pawns be sneaky?”

The spoon slipped in my hand and clanged against the side of the pot.

Sofia glanced at me, annoyed that I had interrupted her military planning. “What?” Turning slowly, she took in Dante’s shocked expression. He smothered it quickly, but my girl was too observant. “Oh. Right. I forgot to ask if I can call you Daddy. Can I? It might get confusing sometimes, because there are three of you.” She bounced up and down, clapping. “Oh, I know! I can call you all by your initials. Daddy D, Daddy M, and Daddy L.”

I fought the rush of tears that turned into a tremulous smile when Matteo cleared his throat and angled toward me. The question in his eyes almost broke me. I nodded.

“I think Daddy is fine. No need to add initials. We’ll know who you’re talking to.” Matteo’s fingers flexed on the back of Sofia’s chair where he kept it from tipping over while she danced. “And yes, pawns can be sneaky.” His voice broke, and Luca whipped his head to the side, wiping his damp eyes with one of Dante’s napkins.

Sofia nodded and returned to the board. “Good. I want this one to be sneaky but polite.”

I had loved Sofia with everything in me for five years, but I could not be her father.

That thought still hurt, but not the same way. It didn’t feel like failure anymore.

A throat cleared from the open doorway, and we all turned. The heaviness in my chest returned at the sight of Marco’s thin frame. His bones jutted at odd angles, and he stood with one shoulder lifted higher than the other.

“Hi, Uncle Scarecrow.” Sofia waved at him, her hand streaking side to side so fast she almost clipped Matteo in the side of the head.

We’d discussed Marco at length yesterday, and after some back and forth, it had been determined that he could join us for meals but was otherwise restricted to his room.

Marco grinned, his rusty laugh making Sofia giggle even harder. “Hi.”

“Still haven’t thought of a nickname for me?” Sofia sighed dramatically and rested her fists on her hips. “You can call me Princess Unicorn.”

Luca nearly fell out of his chair laughing.

For a little while, we were a normal if unconventional family. Sofia slurped up her spaghetti, making the noodles slap her chin and coat her face in sauce. Breadcrumbs fell onto her shirt, and no one bothered to clean them right away. We all hoarded the moment, and I wished for more of them.

Then Dante’s gaze flicked to the security monitor near the pantry.