Page 6 of Claimed By the Enforcer

Luca

The day after Mia had the baby, I volunteered to stay with her and Eli at the hospital while Teo went into the office to handle a few things since their son’s birth had been so unexpected.

Mia napped quietly in her hospital bed while Eli and I had some guy time together when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” I sat up in my seat, ready to defend them if it was anyone that wasn't welcome there.

Armando walked in with Mia's chart in hand, and I relaxed.

Mia stirred from her nap and smiled at her cousin. "Armon."

"Ciao, Mia. How are you feeling?"

"Not bad. Ready to sleep in my own bed."

“Where’d Teo run off to?”

“He had a couple of things to wrap up at the office that couldn’t wait. He’ll be back this evening to take us home.”

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here a couple more days."

"What? Teo said that it was all arranged with the hospital. That as long as we had you and Sienna at the compound to keep an eye on us…" Mia sighed in disappointment.

“Well, you know it’s customary for a woman to stay longer after a c-section. And the other doctor said that it should be okay for you to go home early under my care if everything looked good.”

“So, something isn’t good? Is it Elio? Is he okay?” Mia sat up straighter as if she was going to leap from the bed, but Armando’s soothing voice calmed her.

"Everything is fine. Some of the numbers from your blood tests aren't exactly where we want them to be, so we want to keep you an extra night or two as an overabundance of caution."

“After everything that had happened and all the attacks and challenges to get to this point, Teo just wanted us safe behind the walls of the compound.”

“Around an army of armed guards, I’m sure.” Armando smiled at Mia, and she nodded.

“He didn’t even want to leave me here alone for a few hours which is why poor Luca is stuck here when I’m sure he’d rather be anywhere else right now.”

“Nonsense,” I interjected. “There is nowhere I would rather be than protecting my donna and our future don, here.”

Mia smiled at me affectionately. She’d had a rough start of things in the Venturi family, but I was so glad that my friend had found someone who was such the perfect complement to him.

"I should probably call Teo and let him know. Are you good with Eli for a few more minutes?"

"Oh, yeah. We're just having some guy time. Isn't that right Eli?" I looked down at the tiny little baby in my arms and smiled. It was amazing to me how sweet and innocent we all started.

It didn't take long for a concerned Teo to walk through the hospital doors to be with his wife and son.

"Ciao, Teo."

"Ciao." He gave me a grateful nod before turning to Mia. “How are you doing?”

“I'm fine. I feel fine. Like I said on the phone, Armon said that they were keeping me out of an abundance of caution. I promise there's nothing to worry about."

“I still feel better being here with you. Speaking of,” Teo turned from Mia to me. “I wanted to see if you would mind going by the office and wrapping up a few things for me. I left before I was able to finish but it's mainly just a few calls and emails. I can forward you a digital copy of my agenda.” Teo pulled out his phone and tried to wake the screen, but it didn't work. “Phone must have died. I'll plug it up and forward you a copy as soon as I can but there should still be a hard copy of my daily agenda on my desk.”

“You got it. It's not a problem at all. Is there anything else you need for me to do?”

“No. I think we're good.”

I stood and handed Eli to Mia before slapping Teo on the shoulder. “I’ll call you if there’s any issues at the office.”

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