Page 138 of The Devil's Fire

“No. Just… if you could get different kinds that would be great.” I said, trying not to panic any further.

“Give me ten minutes.”

“Okay.”

“Are you okay?” He asked, and I could already feel the tears forming.

“I don’t know.” I whispered.

“Hey, it’s okay. Whatever happens, we’re here for you, okay?” He tried to calm me. I nodded before realizing he couldn’t see me.

“Thank you, Luca.”

All three of the pregnancy tests turned positive.

I leaned back as I wiped the remaining tears from my face. Giovanni was standing next to me, hands in his pockets, as he looked at me. I looked straight ahead at the little lake, feeling more broken and emptier than ever.

“Damiano is calling.” Giovanni said, making me snap my eyes at him.

“Don’t answer.” I said in a panic. They would have to report to him about my whereabouts, and I didn’t want to explain what happened right now. He would immediately know I have been crying if I talked to him.

“You know he’s going to think something is wrong if I don’t pick up.” Giovanni pointed out. I looked at him, defeated, with tears in my eyes. “Ah, fuck. He’s going to have my head for this.” He sighed and picked up the phone.

I stayed quiet, barely daring to breathe as Giovanni talked to Damiano. He tried to come up with some excuse that I was probably in the shower and that I would call when I got out. He had to say twice that he was sure I was home and safe. It sounded like Damiano didn’t believe him, but after some time, Giovanni ended the call and looked at me.

“You will need to save my ass for this one.”

forty-three

Althaia

We were slowly making our way back to the house. I didn’t want to go back, but I had to if I was going with the excuse that I was in the shower because I knew he would call again. I just had to calm down entirely and make sure my voice didn’t sound off when I talked to him. Hopefully, I could end the call by saying I was too tired to talk just to keep it safe.

“Do you think he will be mad, or…?” I asked them quietly while keeping my eyes down. Maybe they would be able to prepare me for his reaction when I get the courage to tell him.

“Why would he be mad?” Luca asked, and I shrugged at his question.

“I don’t know… It’s not like this is planned.” I murmured. Hell, I didn’t plan to fall in love with a Mafia Boss either.

“I don’t think he would be mad.” He said, thoughtfully. “He’s not allowed to be mad when he was the one who got you pregnant.” Luca tried to lighten the mood. He even got a pathetic chuckle out of me.

“Damiano as a father… Shit, I didn’t think I would live to see that happening.” Giovanni commented.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I turned to look at him, but he kept looking straight ahead.

“My guess is just as good as yours.”

“You’re so helpful.” I said sarcastically.

“What I mean is, Damiano is private and a mystery, even around us. But…it’s you. Even a blind man can see he’s crazy about you.” He added, giving me hope that maybe Damiano would be happy about it. “I don’t know what he sees in you, honestly. You’re barely average.”

My smile dropped immediately.

“You’re such a mean bitch!” I threw a punch to his stomach. Giovanni was taken by surprise and let out a restrained breath. Luca laughed, and Giovanni looked at me with an amused look on his face.

“And she’s back.” He patted my head. A smile slowly formed on my lips again when I realized he said that to get me in a better mood.

Giovanni and I had that sibling relationship where we sometimes wanted to kill each other. Luca and I were the type of siblings that never bumped heads with each other. We shared the same humor, and he was pretty cool about everything. And we loved to gang up against Giovanni because he was constantly grumpy, which made it even more fun to mess with him.

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