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“Yes, I do,” she said and stared at me with a look of fierce determination. I knew there was no way I was talking her out of it. I kissed her forehead.
Glancing at my siblings, I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were all in. I felt a warmth spread across my middle.
“I’ll ride with Dante and Roman,” Ava said.
Dante nodded.
“Sounds like a plan. Bella and I can follow in my car, it’s useful to have multiple vehicles, just in case.”
“In case of what?” Bella asked.
I shared a look with my brothers. They knew that things could go south very quickly, and if so, I needed to be sure Bella and Ava got out of there. The boys needed her.
“Just in case we want to go our separate ways later,” I said.
Bella looked at me as if she didn’t believe that was the real reason, but I couldn’t bear to tell her the truth. Because if shit went south, it could mean the worst for our baby girls, and my heart couldn’t take even imagining that. I knew hers couldn’t either.
“It’ll be fine—we sign the paperwork, get the girls, and everything will be alright,” I said, wrapping an arm over Bella’s shoulders.
It had to be fine.
I had to get my family back together.
There was no other option.
34
Bella
Nobody had slept. We had arrived in Chicago with plenty of time to spare and waited in the parking lot of the Law Offices of Herman and Schmidt until they opened their doors.
“Is Tony going to be there?” I asked Gabe, who was sitting beside me in the car, eyes closed but very much awake.
“Doubtful.”
“How do we get the babies?”
Gabe opened his eyes and stared straight ahead. “Once the contract is signed, we will call Tony and arrange for a pickup.”
“And what if he doesn’t come through with his end of the deal?”
Gabe looked over at me, his eyes softening. “Then my brothers and I will handle it. But I don’t see that happening. Tony doesn’t want the girls, and he wants to continue doing business with Roman, I’m sure, so he won’t want to burn bridges with him entirely.”
“Roman will still do business with him after this?” My voice rose. The very idea of someone wanting to do business with a man who kidnapped his infant nieces caused my blood to boil.
Gabe reached out and took my hand. “I don’t know. Hopefully not. But at least until we have the girls, he has to go along with whatever Tony says. Don’t take it personally, we are just trying to make this go as smoothly as possible. Once we have the girls, Roman can do whatever he wants. But if he continues doing business with Tony after this, he won’t be welcome back in our home, that’s for sure.”
I relaxed into the seat. I knew that Gabe would never want to be associated with the likes of Tony; he had left that life behind years ago. If Dante and Roman wanted to be in our lives, they would have to make a choice. I knew Gabe would hold them to that choice too.
Gabe sat up straighter and reached for the door handle. “Looks like Michael Herman has arrived.”
There was a man entering the law office dressed in a tailored navy blue suit and tie. He didn’t look much older than me, maybe early thirties at most. He looked so clean-cut and professional, who would have guessed he was working with some of the shadiest people in Chicago?
I opened the car door and Gabe looked over at me.
“I’m coming,” I said before he could argue with me.
He shrugged and took my hand in his as we walked toward the office. Ava, Dante and Roman were right behind us. None of us said a word.
