Page 52 of Mafia Baby

I navigate the rest of the route to the beach house that I rented for Gianna and I with a heavy heart. Every moment that she’s with The Cobra is one moment too many.

I feel incredibly helpless. I’ve never been in a position where I had to think about anyone but myself. It was easier that way. Heck, it would still be easier that way, but I also wouldn’t have Gianna in my life.

I wonder how men in my line of work manage to have families and people that they care about in their lives. I have never felt fear like this in my entire life.

I have no idea what I will do if Gianna doesn’t make it. Death feels preferable to me, versus having to hear that Gianna was hurt, let alone killed, all because of her connection to me.

I think about Gianna’s parents and her brother. I really should tell them that she’s in danger, but the more people that I tell about her kidnapping, the more likely she is to get hurt.

The Cobra has managed to keep their identity a secret for a long time now. If I call in even more people than Vince and his thugs, he might get scared and do something truly reckless.

I already expect The Cobra to reach out to me and tell me that he has Gianna in his hands. He will want to use her as a bargaining chip to get to Vince.

Everyone in the crime world knows who I answer to. Everyone also knows that if I’m in town, I’ve been brought in to take someone out.

I park the car outside the beach house and get out. I glance around casually to see if there’s anything suspicious going on.

Since Gianna has been taken, it’s possible that The Cobra and his people also know where we have been staying.

Nothing seems out of place, but I discretely draw the pistol from under my suit jacket and open the front door of the house with care. I carefully lean around the door and then slam it open, prepared for men to come rushing out to grab me or subdue me.

Nothing happens, so I shut the door behind me and move through the entire cottage, making sure that no one is hiding inside. It isn’t a very big house, so there aren’t many places to check.

Once I’m sure it’s safe, I put away my gun and get out my laptop. I start doing some research into all of the various places where someone might hide shady business in plain sight.

I already know that the box factory was just a meeting place and that it doesn’t belong to The Cobra. There have to be other places in Atlantic City, however, that would be ideal for someone to both live and work away from the public eye.

Just like Chicago, Atlantic City is an old place. There are lots and lots of old, derelict, or abandoned businesses and warehouses throughout the city.

I start to feel defeated as I scroll through the bad side of town, checking out images on Google Earth. Any of these abandoned buildings would make the perfect hideout for a gang of thugs to make and sell drugs.

Based on my brief acquaintance with the city, most of the police are on the take as well. It would be incredibly simple to get away with nearly anything here.

I shut the laptop and drop my head into my hands. I feel scared, worried, helpless, and angry, in equal measure. I start pacing around the small space inside the cottage. It will be hours before Vince is here, but I can’t in good conscience make a move toward saving Gianna without his help.

Growling with anger, I decide to take a shower. I know that I smell like cigar smoke from my hours spent sitting at the Blackjack table. I turn on the water, and then realize that I’m out of body wash. I decide to go and see if my personal assistant packed any extra toiletries in the side pockets of the bags that they packed for the trip.

I dig through my suitcase and don’t find anything. I decide it can’t hurt to check out the bag I brought for Gianna as well.

I feel into the front of the bag and frown when I feel a small baggy with some rectangular items in it. I pull the objects out, and practically stop breathing.

The baggy in my hand contains three white and pink sticks. Pregnancy tests. I spread them apart inside the bag and saw that all three of them are positive.

“Oh my God,” I say to myself. I notice in a distracted way that my hand is shaking. I draw in a steadying breath, trying to calm my racing heart. Why hadn’t she told me? How long had she known?

I thought back. She and I had never once used protection. Most of our early encounters had be complete surprises that I hadn’t planned.

She was so intoxicating that all of my good sense went right out the window as soon as I touched her. I had only thought of protection the one time, but she had assured me that she was on the pill.

Those things don’t always work, I thought to myself. I slipped the baggy of tests back into the suitcase, feeling like the weight of the world was resting on my shoulders.

Gianna was in the hands of a dangerous man and she was pregnant with my child. I couldn’t wait for Vince to show up now that I knew this. There was too much at stake.

I got up and turned off the shower. I went back to my laptop and went back to scanning the seedier part of town. I’d just start searching somewhere and figure it out from there. Maybe I could ask around to see if anyone knew where the worst element of the city hung out.

Suddenly, my phone pinged with a message. I yanked it off the table and unlocked it. The number wasn’t saved in my phone.

You know who I have with me, the message said. You know what I’m capable of.

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