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“And behave,” he warns.
* * *
“This was a sweet thought,” I mention to Ricardo, as I curl my legs up on the picnic blanket Rafe arranged for Sylvia to prepare my lunch on today. “You want some?” I hold up the plate of the mini bruschetta she’s made, knowing he won’t be able to resist.
“Why not?” he shrugs, laying himself out on the blanket beside me and helping himself. Since I became pregnant, he and I seem to have found a mutual respect for each other.
“The baby stopped making you sick?” he asks, gesturing his head toward my stomach.
“Nope, I’m still throwing up every morning.” I stroke my hand over it and smile. “I do feel much better than I did a few weeks ago.”
“Rafe was worried about you for a while,” he chuckles to himself. I was worried about myself too. This didn’t exactly get off to a great start. It wasn’t long after we found out about the baby that the sickness started. It would last for most of the day, and I could hardly keep anything down. I was so exhausted that Rafe insisted Viktor hook me up to an IV to rehydrate me.
“He’s been really sweet,” I tell him, thinking about how tentative Rafe’s been toward me. He’s barely left my side.
“I don’t know what you’ve done to him, but… Oh shit!” I watch Ricardo’s face turn white when he notices something behind me, and when he immediately jumps to his feet and places his hand on his gun, I start to panic. I look over my shoulder to see what he’s seeing, and my body freezes when I realize why he’s looking so worried.
“How the fuck did he get past the gate?” Ricardo speaks into the mouthpiece that’s pinned to his shirt while holding his hand out to help me up from the floor.
“Stay fucking close,” he whispers.
“You can stand down, Ricardo. I’m not here to do the girl any harm. I’ve come to see my brother.” Adriano speaks so politely as his eyes roll over me, and I hate the snigger he makes when he notices the slight swell of my stomach.
“You look well, Briga. A little too well if you ask me.” He smirks wickedly.
Ricardo moves to stand in front of me, wrapping one of his strong arms back around me protectively. “You should leave. Rafe isn’t here. I can get him to call you once he’s home.”
“So this was his punishment to you. To taint you with his child.” Adriano ignores Ricardo and talks to me directly. I want to speak up, but I’m too terrified. Seeing him suddenly reminds me of the place where he kept me and the horrors that could have been. It gives me a protective instinct to clutch my stomach and protect my baby.
“Leave now,” Ricardo warns again, and I notice that a few more guards have gathered on the other side of the lawn, all of them armed.
“You must tell Raphael that I am pleased for him.” Adriano continues to address me. “He deserves happiness. Guilt very often destroys a man, though it appears my brother lives with his well.”
I try to make sense of his words, but I can’t focus on anything other than the pounding of my heart and the shiver that’s come over my skin. I grab hold of Ricardo’s jacket when I start to feel light-headed and need something to ground me.
“I came here to warn Raphael about something. I didn’t come here to cause trouble. My clients have been compromised. I merely wanted to warn him that he might experience the same inconvenience.” Adriano holds his arms up defensively. “Have him call me when he gets home.” He starts to back away with a smug smirk still on his lips.
“Congratulations, Briga. I look forward to meeting my niece or nephew.” Suddenly the space around me spins so fast, not even holding on to Ricardo’s large trunk of a body feels like it will steady me. I close my eyes to try to make it stop, then the last thing I hear is Ricardo calling my name and the thump of me hitting the floor.
“Rafe.” When Ricardo greets me at the door, he’s looking pale and scared shitless.
“Where is she?” I march straight past him.
“She’s upstairs in bed, she’s awake, and Sylvia’s with her.” He tries to assure me but sounds panicked.
“I’m going to check on her and get her what she needs, then you are gonna explain to me how the fuck my brother managed to get close to her,” I tell him, racing up the stairs and barging my way into her room. Sylvia is sitting on the bed, holding my girl in her arms and soothing her hair, and the second Riley sees me, she bursts into tears.
“Are you okay?” I race toward her, grabbing her face in both my hands while my eyes assess her all over for damage.
“I’m fine,” she snorts, wiping her tears and trying to reassure me. But I can see that she isn’t. She’s shaken up really bad. I should never have left her. “Viktor came and checked the baby. We’re both fine.” She fakes me a smile, but I can see her lips trembling like she wants to break again.
“Adriano said some really strange things, Rafe.” Her blue eyes brim with tears, and I feel each one of them trickle cold inside my chest as they fall onto her cheek.
“Forget what he said.” I pull her into my chest and kiss the top of her head. I’m thankful that she’s okay, but so fucking furious I can feel my heart thumping in my chest and fury cursing the blood in my veins.
I want to cause pain. I want to make Adriano, and anyone who allowed him to get close to her, hurt.
“I was scared he’d take me away from you,” she admits, forcing me to cling to her a little tighter. “That would never happen,” I promise, and it feels like a betrayal because it came far too close to happening today. Whether my brother claimed his intentions of being here were good or not. I know what he really wanted. He was showing me how easily he could take her from me.
