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In jeans and a t-shirt, he was dressed casually since he was working from home a lot more often. He stepped inside without being invited and surveyed the large entryway with the double staircase. He whistled under his breath. “Of course, you buy the hottest piece of property in Tuscany when I’m trying to buy a place for my family.”
“You shouldn’t have dragged your feet.” I shut the door behind him and followed him into the house.
He continued to look around, impressed with the place. “This place is nearly the same size as my parents’ place.”
“Still get lost.”
“Why did you need such a big place? Got some kids I don’t know about?” He chuckled before he walked into the kitchen and helped himself to a drink from the bar.
I would have a kid there very soon. “I bought it for the privacy. It has the large gate in the front, and the house is quite a distance from the road.” I grabbed a glass and filled it when he was finished.
He took a drink as he stood with me at the kitchen island. “So what happened to your little pet? Egor picked her up?”
I hadn’t mentioned this to him. He’d been busy lately, so we hadn’t talked about it. I swirled my drink before I brought it to my lips.
Conway stared at me, his eyebrow slowly rising. “Carter?”
I swallowed the liquor down my throat then rubbed my lips together. “It’s a long story…”
“Alright.” He kept his focus on me, his black wedding band sitting on his left hand.
“I didn’t give her back to Egor. In fact, she lives with me now.”
His eyebrow inched even higher off his face. “What?”
“I couldn’t give her back, Conway. Just couldn’t do it.” It would have haunted me for the rest of my life, especially knowing her son was alone because of my decision.
“Did you kill him, then?” he demanded. “Or are we going to get shot at any moment?”
“No, I didn’t kill him. I faked her death… It was an ordeal.” I told him about the operation Griffin and I did together. “Egor bought it. Took the body with him. Then it was over. That was a few weeks ago.”
Conway was clearly pissed, but he didn’t explode. “How are you sure?”
“He took the body and hasn’t said anything. It seemed like he believed me.”
“What if he sees her somewhere?”
“Why do you think I moved way out here?”
He slowly nodded his head in understanding. “I should have known…”
“I just couldn’t do it, Conway. If I gave her back, I never would have stopped thinking about it. The guy is a psychopath.”
“Well, if you’re in love with her, what other choice did you have?”
“I’m not in love with her,” I said quickly.
He turned back to me, the anger emerging again. “You risked your life and the rest of the Barsettis for a woman you aren’t in love with?”
“She has a son,” I snapped. “When she told me that…I couldn’t go through with it.” I knew the mention of a child would calm Conway down since he was about to be a father. “It would have been wrong. Everything worked out fine, so it doesn’t matter.”
“It better have.”
“The Skull Kings have been taken care of, and Egor has more important things to do. If I keep her hidden for a while, we’ll definitely be in the clear.”
“So, what’s the plan? Her kid is just gonna live here?”
“Yes.”
He chuckled. “You’re kidding me. You’re gonna live with a kid?”
“The place is three stories,” I said coldly. “I told her to keep him out of my way.”
“But still,” he said. “I haven’t even had my kid yet, and I’m freaking out about it.”
“Well, I’m not going to be a father. The kid is her problem, not mine.”
He kept up his hostile stare, looking me in the eye like he saw something.
“What?”
“And you think you aren’t in love with this woman?”
“I’m not.”
“Right…”
“I’m really not,” I hissed. “I brought her for my own reasons.”
“What reasons are those?” He finished his glass then crossed his arms over his chest.
“Not that it’s any of your business…but I have a special kind of relationship with her. A relationship that involves whips and chains…”
He nodded slightly in understanding. “So you rescued her from that asshole so you could replace him?”
“Not exactly…but yes.”
“Must be one hell of a woman.”
“She is,” I blurted, picturing that brown hair and beautiful skin. “So, how’re Sapphire and the baby?”
“We aren’t done talking about you, asshole.” He slammed his glass onto the counter. “You’ve gotta tell your dad or my dad what’s going on. They just cleaned up our mess, and they have the right to know if there’s another potential situation on the horizon.”
I didn’t want to bring my father into my personal life, but due to the events of the past, it would be the right thing. “I’m going to talk to my father when I see him.”
