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“Fuck.”
“I need a secure place.”
“Okay. I’ll text you an address.” I nod like an idiot, even though he can’t see me.
My eyes latch onto her bump, onto my baby. “And security. I need security too.”
“Gotcha.”
The line goes dead, and I close my eyes for a brief moment. When I open them, it’s with a steely determination to get Liz and my child to safety, then get back to Emi as quick as I can.
I have some explaining to do, and I don’t even know where to fucking start.
EMI
I watch from the landing, staying in the shadow of the doorway as her hand clasps over his. He closes his eyes, and I’m overcome with emotion as my hand tightens on the metal railing. I want to scream; I want to cry and yell. I want him to want me.
My body sags to the floor as he makes arrangements to find somewhere for the woman he loves. Her eyes light up when he tells her he has a place for them, and I close my eyes at the expression of relief on his face. My world is disappearing through the front door, but then he stops at the doorway and his body freezes. I expect him to look up, for his eyes to search for mine, but instead, he continues out the door without a second glance in my direction.
He's gone.
My stomach rolls, forcing me to my feet as I rush to the bathroom, overcome with dread and disappointment. I heave the contents of dinner into the toilet and whimper at the pain in my chest.
I’m becoming everything I never wanted to be.
I’ll be the perfect Mafia wife who bears the heir while my husband’s heart longs for his mistress. He’ll play happy families with me when he needs to while his joy will be for his real love.
I sit on the bathroom floor and ponder where it all went wrong.
Maybe I should have let my brother deal with her. But then Shaw’s child would be dead too, and as much as I despise Lizzie, I could never hurt an unborn baby.
Would he expect me to welcome it into the family the way some Mafia men do with their bastard children? No, Luca would never allow that. It would show disrespect.
A wave of panic rushes through me when I think of my brother and him hearing about this. He won’t accept it. I know he won’t. I jump to my feet and pace; a tremor works through me at the thought of Shaw getting hurt.
There’s not a doubt in my mind my husband would die for his child. And there’s no doubt in my mind my brother would kill for mine.
I close my eyes, but all I see is Shaw and Lizzie and their hands clasped together on their baby.
The way they should have always been.
TWENTY-EIGHT
SHAW
“The place is secure, right?” I question Owen for the thousandth time as I glance around the apartment.
He quirks a brow at me, his jaw locking tight, pissed at me for asking again, but I can’t have my child at risk, and right now, keeping distance between Luca and Lizzie is the only thing I can do.
“What the hell are you going to do, man?” Owen scan’s my face, side-eyeing me with concern lacing his tone.
When he volunteered his apartment, he didn’t know Lizzie was pregnant with my baby, and now the stakes just got higher.
I fidget from foot to foot and drag my hand through my hair. Panic and frustration don’t feel significant enough to describe how I’m feeling. “I don’t know. I went from being an on-off boyfriend to being a married father of two within a matter of a few fucking months,” I grit out.
“I’d be more concerned about how the fuck you’re going to keep Luca on your side. Not to mention your wife. She’s going to want to cut off your balls.”
I grimace at the thought of telling Emi. She’s going to be heartbroken, but if I tell her how I feel about her, then surely things can be different. She needs to know I’m not with her just for the baby, I want her too. I love her. My heart hammers at the thought of losing my wife when we only just really found one another again.
