Page 28 of Killer Love

“It’s a pleasure to see you again.” Yuri nods.

Gio slides over to her and pokes the child’s ribs. “And this handsome young man is my son, Lucian!”

Sofia’s eyes instantly flinch to mine. She says nothing — she isn’t allowed to speak to me directly — but I read every word on her tongue by the look on her face.

“He is very handsome,” Yuri says, grinning wildly at the boy. “Well done, Gio.”

“It was quite simple, really,” Gio gloats. “Born nine months to the day of our wedding. Now, if only conceiving the second one was as easy…”

I bite my inner cheek, feeling a quiet rage building inside of me at the mental image those words bring.

Yuri waves a hand. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be blessed with another son when the time is right. By the looks of him, I’d say Sofia has her hands full enough already.”

“She could always do more,” Gio says, casting a look of blame onto her before shifting away. “Come on. I’m eager to hear more about your little problem.”

Yuri turns to follow him, but I linger behind, feeling completely latched in place near the boy.

My son.

With those eyes, how could he not be?

With that look on Sofia’s face, could there be any doubt at all?

I turn away, realizing that I’ve stood in place for too long, but I glance back one more time. “You mind your mother, Lucian,” I say to him.

Sofia blushes and takes a step back. “Come on, Lucian, it’s time for your nap.”

He fidgets in her arms and she lowers him to the floor before he can pull out of her grasp. Yuri pauses to watch them as I do, grinning as the child runs down the hall away from her. Sofia picks up her speed, but she can just barely catch up to him as he blazes out of sight around the corner.

“He’s quite the rambunctious lad, isn’t he?” Yuri notes.

“A trait he gets from his mother, I assure you,” Gio murmurs. “I keep insisting we belt it out of him, but Sofia believes he’s perfect just the way he is.”

“Perhaps she’s right,” I say, digging my nails into my palms. “A mother knows best.”

Gio scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Perhaps.”

He and Yuri continue on down the hall, chatting and chuckling, but I don’t follow right away. I try to move, but I can’t.

The odds were stacked against Sofia from the start. There was never any guarantee that there’d be a child at all, let alone that he would be mine. I always assumed that if he existed, I’d feel him out there somewhere. I never did. Now that I know for sure…

I never expected to feel so regretful.

Lucian is my son, my blood, but I don’t know a thing about him. I don’t know what toys he prefers or what colors he likes best. I don’t know what his favorite food is. I don’t even know his birthday. I don’t know a damn thing about my own son.

Sofia’s rebellion has gone completely according to her plan. Somehow, the stars aligned just right that night and those few moments we spent together changed everything. She carried him for nine months, she gave birth to him. For three years, she’s kept our secret safe right under their noses, just like she said she would.

For three years, my son has been claimed by a gutter rat like Giovani Zappia.

But that was the idea from the beginning. Sofia promised she’d never ask anything of me again. I’d bear no commitment to him. I’d hold no responsibility for either of them. She would raise him, teach him, guide him, and someday, she’d pull the rug right out from under them and the Zappia way. No one would ever know I was involved at all. Sofia would take that secret to her grave and I’d take no blame whatsoever, no matter the fallout.

I continue down the hall, forcing my feet to move but I can’t shake the dark spot taking hold of my gut.

Gio fathers my child. He provides for him and Sofia the way I should be. Lucian will grow up with an image of his father in his mind and that face will be Giovani fucking Zappia.

I pause by the study doorway and shove my hands into my pockets to hide my closed fists.

“Stop lingering around, Luka,” Yuri calls from the sofa with a glass of bourbon swishing in his hand.

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