Page 23 of Secret Baby for the Mafia Don

“So, I just got back from Mexico,” I say. I turn the ring bearing the La Rosa family crest around my finger as I speak. Family. I have family of my own now, just waiting to be rescued.

“Was the weather nice?” Gabriel asks me idly.

“I don’t really know. I wasn’t there very long. I got knocked out and told to come home.”

“Wait, what?” Gabriel says, sounding more alert.

“I found out Kate would be at the Baldini and Rodriguez wedding, so I decided to crash the party.”

“Oh, shit,” Gabriel says.

“Correct,” I agree. “And I’m deep in it now.”

“Is Kate there with you?” Gabriel asks. I can hear the smile in his voice. He always liked Kate. He told me once that if I was stupid enough to let her go, he would snap her up and make me jealous for the rest of our lives.

“No,” I say, my voice tight. “The Baldinis have her. They want me to give them some of our trade routes to Russia in return for handing her over.”

Gabriel snorts. “Fuck that,” he says flatly. “You aren’t going to do that for them, even if you do love that girl too much.”

I sigh. “There’s a complication,” I say.

“Oh?”

“They also have my son.”

There’s a small silence as Gabriel processes this. “Your son…Elio, what the fuck are you on about? It’s late, and I haven’t slept for three weeks now because my wife is determined to give birth to a girl.”

I laugh in spite of my worry at this. “Sorry, sorry. It’s a long story, but Kate had a baby after Marco hid her away. He told the world it’s his, but the Baldinis say it’s mine.”

“And you believe them?” Gabriel says, a skeptical note in his voice.

I sigh. “Yes. It might explain why Kate took off and ran to Marco, although I haven’t ever really figured out why she thought she needed to get away from me. We were really good together, and she grew up in the life. She understood me and what her role in my life would be.”

“Women,” Gabriel said dismissively. “They get these ideas, and you can’t convince them of anything else.”

“Spoken like a married man,” I say with a little smile.

“So, the Baldinis were brave enough to kidnap your betrothed bride and your son.” Gabriel whistles. “What are you going to do about that?”

“Well,” I say, flopping back onto my bed. “First, I’m going to sleep off the headache that Enzo Baldini gave me when he knocked me out at the wedding reception.”

“And then?” Gabriel says.

A slow smile curves my lips as I look up at the ceiling of my bedroom. “And then, I’m going to get Kate to fall back in love with me.”

Chapter Ten

Kate

I finish rinsing out the bathtub in the bathroom I was told to clean and then sit back on my heels.

I run my fingers over the ugly maid’s uniform that Enzo gave me and grimace.

I had been bored at my little house in Mexico, and my child had been lonely, but at least I had been able to read books, draw, and go for walks on the beach flanked by my security detail.

Here at the Baldini house, I’ve been reduced to acting like a servant, cleaning toilets, washing dishes, and helping the head cook make meals.

My son, on the other hand, has been having the time of his life going to school with the Baldini brood and swimming in Enzo’s swimming pool. I’m grateful for their kindness to him, but I worry daily that it will come to an end.

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