Page 62 of Assistant to the Mafia

“The hell she isn’t! I gave birth to her, dammit!” Amber wiggled against her restraints again, but froze the moment her shoulder bumped his arm.

It took all his willpower not to close his hand around her shrieking throat. “Please. You don’t even remember that part, you were fucking unconscious. And when the doctors went to have you hold her, you had a panic attack and practically threw her away. You didn’t hold her for a whole goddamn week.” Romeo leaned just a bit closer. “You know who did?” He saw her draw breath, but he didn’t pause. “Me. My mother. My brothers. My cousin. Her family—we all cradled that innocent little baby in our arms and fucking wept. Everyone except you. You acted like touching your own daughter was poison. And now you want to take her from me?”

“I wasn’t—”

“I don’t care.” Romeo shoved away from the chair, putting space between them. “I’ll never let you near her. I hope you got a good look today, because that was your last one.”

“You selfish asshole!” Amber shouted. “Lucy’s my baby, too! I have rights!”

Romeo barked out a laugh. “You sure about that? ‘Cause a mother just up and disappearing, leaving her baby but taking a suitcase of clothes, is a real good way to persuade a judge to sign over full and legal custody to the remaining parent. Especially when time’s passed and that remaining parent can prove he’s tried all the reasonable things to find the one who left. Fuck, I even reported you missing. You know I hate working with the cops.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “You own half the damn department. Prob’ly bought off the judge, too. Consider me not impressed, jackass.”

Romeo narrowed his eyes at her. “You scared the shit out of my little girl today. So don’t give me that desperate mother crap. What’re you really after? You just looking to fight for custody so you can get your hands on the child support you figure I’d owe?”

“You’re a real judgmental piece of shit, aren’t you?”

“Hard not to judge after what you did.”

“It was your fault! Your stupid, psycho family!”

Slowly, and without breaking eye-contact, Romeo reached behind him and pulled out his handgun. He flicked off the safety and made a show of chambering a round before bringing it up to level. “My what?”

For the first time since he’d entered the room, Amber hesitated. She drew a shaky breath, her gaze glued to the barrel of the gun. “You can’t do that. If something happens to me … people will know. People will come lookin’.”

“What people? Your drug dealer?” He raked his gaze over her with a deliberately derisive sneer. “Not likely you have a pimp. Less likely I give a flying fuck.”

Her brow furrowed with another spark of anger and she struggled to control herself. “The people who knew I was coming out here. And I told you, I’m sober.”

“Your face says different.” Romeo paused for two seconds. “Now, I won’t ask again. What are you really after?”

“Oh, fuck you, Romeo De Salvo,” Amber bit out. “Fuck your whole nightmare family! I’m gonna get that girl, and I’m gonna take her far the fuck away from you, do you hear me? You’ll never see that spoiled little princess again. We’ll both disappear this time. You know I can do it.”

Romeo’s finger closed on the trigger. He didn’t blink, and no remorse flared in his chest at the bloody hole that exploded through Amber’s forehead. “Nope,” he said as his arm swung to his side and he watched her body sag against the restraints. He was going to have to figure out a way to half-lie to Lucia about this, but knowing that Amber could never threaten her again made that palatable.

Romeo tucked his gun away and started up the steps, flicking off the light as he walked. “Mo,” he called. “We’re leaving. Use one of the burners to signal Mikey—we need a cleanup.”

“Sure thing. Straight home?”

“I need to make another stop on the way.”

Grace blinked her eyes open early on Saturday morning, her body still far too comfortable to climb from bed. Although she was a bit warm—inside and out—and that was definitely due to the strong, heavy arm curled around her. Probably also the lips trailing down the side of her neck. Though, for just a moment, the only thing her brain could fully process was the sight of one of her newly gifted potted amaryllis, resting in the far corner of the room.

Romeo had come home with two of them this time, claiming he felt bad she hadn’t been able to yet enjoy the one he’d brought her at the office and that she needed some for the house. One had gone immediately into the dining room, where apparently Iris had said it would do best, and the other had been taken upstairs.

Grace smiled and leaned in to his warmth. “Good morning.”

She felt his lips lift in a grin as he murmured against her skin, “Good morning, angel. Sleep well?”

“I did.” She slept so contentedly in his arms, it made a mockery of the strained and sometimes fitful sleep she was used to.

Romeo dipped his hand under the waistband of her sleep shorts, rubbing it tenderly along the lower curve of her belly. “How’re you feeling?” He pressed his lips to her pulse point. “Cramps eased up?”

She could have melted right there. The cramps she’d developed after getting her IUD removed the previous day hadn’t been terrible, but at no time ever were cramps a comfortable experience. “I think so,” she said, even as she became aware of a moment-ruining sensation. She squirmed and sighed. “Can you let me up? I need to use the bathroom.”

Romeo chuckled. “Fine, fine. But don’t bother showering. If you’re feeling better, then we’re definitely taking advantage of the early morning.” He kissed her cheek and pulled his hand from her skin.

Grace laughed softly and pried herself from his arms, making her way across the room to the bathroom. She took care of business as quickly as she could, even making sure to brush her teeth before stepping back into the bedroom.

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