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Once outside, I pulled out my phone and called back Peaches.
“Hey, Peach.”
“Hey, Falcon, sorry it’s been a while though I heard you were otherwise occupied.”
He obviously had heard of my hospital visit—thanks to Hawk, who probably staged a few pictures while I was unconscious.
I chuckled. The first rule of combat—do not show weakness or your brothers in arms will tease you mercilessly.
“So, it’s been slow going sifting through the data, but I had some downtime and programmed a nifty little app that analyzes videos and matches frames to search words.”
I didn’t even know Peaches was still sifting through the data like I’d done every free minute for the past couple of weeks. “And?”
“And, there’s something you need to see. I’ll send you the filename.”
“Thanks, Peach.”
“Sure thing.”
I ended the call, then walked into the kitchen—the most likely location to find my mother.
The scent of freshly baked bread hit my nostrils—a welcome home reminder of my childhood.
“Gabriel.” My mother raised her head when I entered, then crossed the room, and I took her in my arms.
“I’m mad at you,” she said, then squeezed me tighter. “My heart nearly stopped when Vincenzo told me you were in the hospital.” She hugged me.
“I know, Mamma. I’m really sorry.”
She took a step back, gave me a once-over, then squeezed me again. This time more carefully. “You’re hurting.”
I smiled. Nobody like my mamma could read me like this. “I’m okay. Nothing a bowl of your minestrone and a piece of freshly baked bread can’t fix.”
She turned back to stir the pot again. “Did you lock Sophie back in your room?” She gave me a sideways glance, her eyebrows waggling.
Even my mother was making fun of me now?
Fan-fucking-tastic.
“Very funny. She fell asleep in the car.”
My mom turned serious all of a sudden. “Tell me what’s going on, Gabriel.”
So, she didn’t know? I was damn sure Cristo, Alessio, or Vince would have blabbered by now.
“She’s pregnant.”
“Ahh.” My mom tried to hide her soft smile.
“What?”
“So that’s the only reason you brought her back?”
I remained silent and just stared at her.
“Alessio told me you’ve been acting like a wounded rhino lately. Stubborn as one, too.”
I cocked my head. “Alessio’s talking too much.”
