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Our kids.
I love the way that sounds coming off his tongue. It both soothes my heart and ignites my soul. We are a family. And one way or another, we will make this work and be happy.
“Then we take him down together.”
His body tenses. I know his first instinct is to object, but Drago surprises me.
“Okay, Detective. We do it together.”
“Just right after I beat Eric’s ass.”
D bellows, laughing so loud that Gabriel’s cries from down the hall ring out the next second.
“Whatever you need, baby.”
He slides out from under me and gets up to fetch Gabe without me having to ask. He does want this. That I’m sure of and my heart soars higher than it ever has. I want this too; every single second we’re given.
Tomorrow we can make a plan that’ll bring Vincent Acerbi to his knees for all his past and present sins. Tonight, we’re going to enjoy our newly fused family.
When D returns, I’ve cleaned myself the best I can for now, stolen a T-shirt from his closet, and slid my panties back on.
The bed dips as he brings Gabriel to lay between us. The last thing I remember before sleep overtakes me is thinking this is what bliss feels like.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
DRAGO
I’ve lived my whole life never once feeling fear.
Guilt, regret, sin—those are things I live with every day. I understand them. Those emotions lie under the surface of my skin, slowly eating away at me, but they’re familiar. I was raised by a man who strikes fear into the heart of everyone who knows him or knows of him, but the one thing he drilled into me from a young age was not to be scared of anything or anyone, not even him. And I never have—until now.
That’s right, motherfucker. It was your own blood that ordered the hit on your bitch and to take that bastard kid.Diaz’s words come back to me, pounding down on my chest as if hammering them into me will make them more real.
My father knows about Bri, and somehow knows I’m in love with her. If he didn’t believe that, there wouldn’t have been a reason to order Diaz to kill her. Like me, every decision he makes is calculated for his gain.
He wants me under his thumb. He wants me to follow in his footsteps like Eric did by becoming a federal agent because his father was one, but unlike Eric’s dad, my father is on the wrong side of the law.
Vincent Acerbi also knows I have a son. I wouldn’t put it past him to have orchestrated that whole fucked-up bait-and-switch scheme. Bri said Chasity Carlisle’s uncle was the person who used her love for him to his advantage, persuading her to go along with the plan for me to impregnate her.
Jesus, who thinks this shit up?
Even to my own ears, it sounds farfetched, but it’s been proven to have happened. I’d bet my life that my father was a part of it. He was likely the mastermind behind the whole thing. What better way to get me to do his bidding than if he was holding my child’s safety over my head?
With the exception of the man responsible for creating me, I’ve never held back how much I love my family and not being able to turn off my emotions from those I care for the most. It’s my only downfall. My one weakness.
Watching Bri asleep in my bed, her body curved around Gabriel’s, and knowing she is carrying my baby in her belly is one of the greatest joys in my life right now, but it’s also a weakness.
Bri, Gabe, the baby—they instill fear in my soul.
If I look at it from another vantage point, the way she needs me to look at it, then they could also be my ultimate strength because one thing is for sure—I’ll be damned if anyone is going to take them from me.
I pity the motherfucker that dares lay a hand on my family—again.
For them, I’ll commit any number of sins. I’ll break the law if I have to, to ensure their safety and well-being.
Turning away from them, I reach across the nightstand, grabbing my cell phone to shoot E a quick text.
Me
