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“We did for now.” I didn’t want to tell her that I doubted we would ever agree...that we may end up killing each other. For now, I needed the sweet balm of my woman. I needed her. “The last week has been too much for me, and I’ve missed you.”
She gazed into my eyes. “I’ve missed you so much. I don’t want to be without you again.”
I kissed her sweet lips. “And I can’t be without you. Now that I know I have a son, I hope he won’t always see me as an enemy. That somehow, he’ll give me a chance to know him.”
“He’s stubborn. But I’ll get Laffy to talk to him, and he’ll eventually come around.”
I whistled. “This is all surreal. Lafayette is still alive and is now over the Desire, and I have a grown son. I need more time to digest everything.”
She rested her head on my chest. “More than ever, I want normal.”
Smoothing back her hair that fell across her forehead, I said, “Move in with me. Let the Desire Crew go. Keep your job at the bank and come home to me every day. I can protect you.”
Diamond asked softly, “From who? My brother? My son? You? Who are you protecting me from? You’re a part of the largest crime family in the world. More people want you dead than my brother.”
I closed my eyes, wishing as I had so many times that that fateful day long ago when Tucci killed my father never happened. That my father would still be here, loving my mother. That Laffy and I would have gone to college, maybe gone pro, maybe not. That we would have been married with children by now. That Diamond – I mean Paris- would be my wife, that we would have children that I helped raise. “I want to make you happy.”
“You can’t, Gianni. You can’t. At least not totally. Not as long as we are on the wrong side of the law with death around the corner.” She tapped my chest gently. “Baby, don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. No one can stop me from being with you.”
I looked down at her. “What kind of existence do we have if I can’t really make you happy? What do you need me to do?”
“Be like Tinkerbell.”
“What?”
“Make my dream come true,” she responded and curved her body to mine. I caressed her hair as I contemplated making the woman I loved more than myself truly happy.
Chapter Seventeen
The doorbell rang atmy home, and I had one of my men answer the door. Soon Roberto walked into my office, where Mamma and I waited. He kissed Mamma’s cheek, and we dapped before he sat down next to Mamma and across from where I sat behind my desk.
Roberto asked, “Why are we meeting here instead of the restaurant?”
“Thinking it best we keep our movements limited for now.”
“I’m not fucking going to bow down to no fucking Wisdom.”
“This is us being safe. Lives have been lost in the last week. Desire is not our only enemy. Other gangs may use this to their advantage and come after us while we’re still reeling from Santini.”
“We strike strong. We won’t be seen as weak.” He hit his fist.
“Gunning down two men in the French Quarter is a pretty strong message. More people could have died if I hadn’t made the call to stop. Also, it could’ve gotten civilians killed. I think we’ve made our message.”
“What happened yesterday with you and Wisdom anyway? You disappeared without telling me about your conversation.”
