Page 55 of Mafia Baby

Dom was kind to me and cared about me. I clung to the thought of his affection as a means to keep me adrift in a sea of pain.

“Well, that’s enough explaining the past to you,” Will said abruptly. He brought his phone out of his pocket and started texting someone. Feeling ill again, I closed my eyes.

“Want to know who I’m talking to?” Will said to me.

I shook my head. I wanted to sleep for years. I wanted to wake up and find out that all of this was a terrible dream.

“Oh, you do want to know, I assure you,” Will had gone on. “I just told your loverboy where to find us. I’m going to make him a deal that he can’t refuse.”

“No,” I whispered, my eyes flying open. “Will, don’t hurt him. Please, don’t do that. Your hatred for my decisions isn’t his fault. You can marry me to anyone that you want, just don’t hurt him.”

Will laughed, but the sound had been mirthless. “Oh, it’s far too late for pleas,” he said to me. He tucked his phone back into his pocket, then turned to leave. He paused at the door and looked back over his shoulder at me. “The problem with you pleading for his life, is that it doesn’t matter anyhow,” he said.

“Why is that?” I had asked him dully.

He had grinned at me then, the smile terrifying to behold. “Because he loves you, you moron,” he said back. “I couldn’t keep him away from you even if I tried.” And then he left, slamming the heavy door behind him.

Because he loves you, Will had said.

The words were like knives to my heart over and over again. I had turned them over in my mind hundreds of times since Will had left me.

Was Will right? Could Dom really love me enough to sacrifice himself for me? I thought about William killing him in cold blood and my heart broke into a thousand pieces.

I slumped back against the rough wall behind me, tears slipping down my cheeks.

There was nothing that I could do to stop any of this. My brother was insane, my parents didn’t love me, and Dom would die because of me.

I leaned my head against the wall and cried for myself, for my lost innocence, and for the tiny life inside of me that I couldn’t protect.

I wasn’t sure that my brother would allow me to live, despite that fact that he hadn’t specifically threatened my life yet. He would probably at least try to sell me to the highest bidder first.

I would have to keep the baby a secret for as long as possible. I figured that I would have to goad him into picking me a husband right away. The pain that I felt each time I said that I didn’t care about Dom was almost physical in nature rather than emotional, but I would say the words as many times as I had to, if it would save the life of my child.

Maybe if I was married to someone else soon enough, I could pretend that they were the father of my child. I didn’t have long, however, before that tactic wouldn’t work at all.

Sniffling, I slid to the side and curled up on the dirty floor. I sent my thoughts to the tiny life inside of me. I’ll keep us safe, baby, I said to it. I know it’s hard to tell, but I’m doing my best.

I thought of the packets of vitamins that Diva had given to me and started sobbing again. I wished to God that the only concern in my life right now, was remembering to take my vitamins.

The sense of safety I had felt when I lived with the girls who worked at Dom’s club felt like a faraway dream.

I didn’t want to think of my life as being over, but I thought it was possible.

Still crying, I gave in to my exhaustion, and let sleep carry me away for a while.

Chapter Twenty-One

Dominic

The address that The Cobra had given me belonged to a run-down warehouse at the edge of town.

It didn’t look like any of the structures here would survive even a single gust of wind. I parked my SUV and then glanced at my phone. Vince had called me over and over again for the twenty minutes that I had been driving.

I knew he was going to want me to wait. But there was no way.

He was calling again, and I picked up the phone. “Yeah,” I said shortly.

“Are you fucking nuts?” Vince demanded. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

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