Page 77 of Stolen By the Enemy

I decide that next time he’s here, I’ll give him that logical piece of information and let him decide on the date.

Being home will be nice, although I have no idea what has happened since I left.

Luca and Emelia were going to move into the family house so that they have a nursery for the baby, so it might be a little cramped in there now.

Maybe I can convince Luca to let me stay in his bachelor pad in the city, if he’s taking over the mansion.

I smile at the thought of Luca having to give up his studio apartment now that he has a wife and baby on the way.

As my eyes are getting heavy and I feel sleep coming closer, I hear the door again and Marco’s voice calling me frantically.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Marco

I’m driving along the coastal road that leads away from the beach house, feeling unsure about everything.

The fight is weighing on me for many different reasons. I’ve hated seeing Grazia hurting, and every fiber inside of me wants to stop doing that to her.

But then I saw the devious wisdom that she is capable of, and I was both impressed and turned on, and a little concerned, because if she ever decided to use that brain against me, she might just do some damage.

At the same time, hearing her thoughts has shown that she is much more than a mafia princess.

This is the kind of woman who could easily live beside me, helping me make smart decisions, taking care of me and my house, and satisfying me sexually whenever I felt the need.

This is all I would ever require of any wife, really, and it would come as second nature to Grazia.

But she has Italian mafia blood, and they’re not the kind of people that we cohabitate with—never mind try to marry.

These are the people that we stick to for business deals for good reason. I don’t make the rules, but loyalty to our family makes me follow them.

Carlos is angry now, but if I had to tell him that I was fucking my ransom, and now I was thinking about keeping her as my lover and possibly the mother of my children, he would most likely have me removed from Mexico, not just from his team and family.

If she wasn’t a Baldini, making her so far removed from my life that we could never truly find common ground, I could see myself committing to this woman.

We would have smart and beautiful children, and work together to continue building our home and our wealth.

That’s how I feel after baring my soul to her. She makes me feel vulnerable, yet the safest I have ever felt at the same time.

I still don’t know how Grazia feels. I can’t take this anymore, turning the steering wheel sharply and crossing over the road, making a U-turn before any other cars come around the corner ahead of me.

***

The beach is almost deserted today, which is ideal for this conversation I am planning to have.

Grazia holds my hand as we take our second walk down this strip of sandy beach, only now in the opposite direction.

She was surprised when I showed up at the house, just thirty minutes after I had left, and more shocked when I asked if she’d take a walk with me.

Thankfully the anger she was showing to me had mostly melted away, but I did have to let her sleep for a couple of hours before we came out.

I got some sleep on the sleeper couch as well, which was good for my mental clarity.

I want to talk with her, figure out where her head is, and see if perhaps what I’m feeling isn’t that crazy.

But so far, we’ve both been silent, taking in the smell of the ocean.

I show her the cabana as we walk.

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