Page 3 of His Dark Desire

"You remember that woman from Manchester?" he says, his jaw ticking. "Carmella?"

Yes, I remember her, vividly, in fact. "Yes, what about her?" I ask. "What's the problem?"

He glances at me, hesitancy in his eyes and I glare at him. What the fuck is going on?

"She's been trying to contact you for a while. Lucas took the call, she's pregnant, boss," he tells me with a wince. "She's fourteen weeks and she's adamant that you're the father. Lucas has assured her that he'll pass the message along and you'd get back to her."

I've never thought about being a dad, it's something I would never go into willingly, not with Christina anyway, that woman is a bitch, and I can only imagine how fucked up she'd be to the children. If Carmella is telling the truth, I want to be present in the baby's life. We may live in different countries, but I'll be a present father.

"Set up a paternity test and then ensure that she has everything she needs for her and the baby. If she is pregnant with my child, I want to make sure she's set up," I tell him.

"Pregnant?" I hear Christina's shrill voice. "You fucking bastard, Joseph, you're a dirty bastard."

I wave Donavan away, letting him off the hook so that he doesn't have to be around for this shit show that's about to commence.

"How many others?" she shouts. "Hmm? How many other women have you fucked?"

"None of your business, Christina," I snap, pissed that she's shouting.

Her eyes widen and she begins to shake. "Not my business?" she hisses. "I'm your wife!"

"Only in name and that's only because your old man wanted it to be. If I could have got your father's backing without marrying you, I would have. However, that wasn't possible, as you know. Why are you acting as though you're surprised? You know damn well that I've been with other women."

Her face is pale. "What are people going to say?" she questions. "Hmm? What will they say when they find out that someone else has your child? It should be your wife, not some nameless whore that you screwed while you were out of town."

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "What the fuck do you want from me, Christina?"

"Tell that whore to have an abortion, get fucking rid of it, I don't care how she does it, I want it gone."

I rise to my feet. "This is my child," I snap. "Don't fucking talk like that again."

"I want it gone," she screams, grabbing a hold of the vase that's on the table and throwing it across the room toward me. It bounces off my desk and shatters. "You fucking animal, I want that child gone."

"It's not fucking happening, if anyone is going to go, it'll be you. Shut your mouth and do what is expected. You throw anything at me again, Christina, and you won’t like what happens."

She doesn't heed my warning, and she charges at me, her fists raised, and she beats my chest over and over again. I stand stock still, not moving. If I touch her, I'm going to hurt her and while I'm a bastard who fucks other women while married to her, I won't physically hurt her. One of her fists lands against my jaw as she continues to lose her fucking shit.

I grab a hold of her wrists and keep her still. "I will provide for my child," I say through clenched teeth. "They will have my name and I will be present in their life. You will not dictate otherwise. You try to interfere in this, and I don't care what your father thinks, I'll end the both of you, do you understand?" I'm not messing around anymore. There's no fucking way I'll allow her bullshit to taint what could be my child.

"Remember who the fuck you married, Christina," I snarl as I push her away. "Now get the fuck out of my office and don't come back in unless you're asked."

Her heels click against the wooden floor, and I take a steadying breath.

Fuck, my life has gotten even more complicated.

Shit.

CHAPTER 1

Joe

THREE YEARS AGO

I'm trying to figure out what the fuck happened in my city almost two months ago. What the hell was Nikolai Vasilev thinking in trying to have Alessio Bianchi taken out on my streets? That asshole was in my city uninvited, not to mention he brought his men with him. He tried to kill a man that I had personally invited. I'm fucking grateful that Alessio is a ruthless and skilled fighter, the man is able to take care of himself, he's more than capable of it. He killed the three men that Nikolai sent his way.

There's a lot about that night that doesn't make sense. The doctor on my payroll called me to inform me that Alessio had been shot and stabbed, not to mention beaten to an inch of his life. But there was no mention of who the fuck helped him. Is there someone in my city that's helping the Italian Mafia? I'm going to find out, I need to know what the fuck is going on. I'm missing something.

“Joe,” Christina calls out breaking through my inner musings as I try to solve this fucking mess. “That woman is here to see you,” she says, her voice filled with disdain, there's only one person that Christina uses that tone about.

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