Page 58 of The Mafia's Surprise Gift

“Call the ranger. That fucker still owes us.”

“Gotcha.”

“Mae.” Rocco moved his hands to my arms and pushed me back slightly. “Is there anywhere he could have gone? Anywhere he might have run to?”

“No, no, he would never. He’s a good boy. He’s sensible and shy, so he would never! What if someone took him?” I gasped desperately for air, threading my fingers across my mouth. “What if I never see him again?”

“Mae, darling, I need you to focus on more time. What about his father? Could he have taken him?”

“No.” I shook my head rapidly. “No, no.”

“How can you be so sure? He hasn’t been around. Is he a threat?”

“No!” I yelled, pushing Rocco’s hands away and stumbling back. “I’m sure.”

“How?” Rocco demanded. “Mae, if there is anyone that’s even remotely an issue for you, it can help my guys with the search before we go wide?—”

“Because you’re his father!” I yelled desperately. “You… you’re his father.”

24

DINO

You could have heard a pin drop. Rocco was frozen in place while Mae continued to sob. She sagged backward, and Jian darted past me with a muted grunt of pain. He caught her before she could fall. Rocco still didn’t move, and while I was concerned, Zack was the top priority.

I answered my phone the second it rang and quickly barked a few orders down the line while keeping one eye on Rocco. We would start a sweep of the town, get ahold of any and all security cameras, and make sure that all nearby houses were searched. This would remain a family matter as we could act faster and much better than the police.

With the search started, I hung up and approached Rocco who was oddly pale. His gaze was fixed on Mae as she sat next to Jian and sobbed. Her pain cut right through me like the slice of a hot razor. I needed to find Zack. I needed to do everything and anything I could to ease her pain.

“Rocco?”

“He’s… he’s my son?” Rocco croaked.

Mae lifted her face from her tissue-filled hands. “Yes.”

“But…” Rocco frowned, and I could tell the gears were having a hard time turning. “He’s only six, and we were…”

“She was pregnant for nine months.” Jian snorted softly. “Dumbass.”

“Oh.” The noise slipped from Rocco so softly that it was almost just a breath. I could have knocked him over with a feather if I had one on hand. Just as I reached for him, running over the next steps in our search plan, the front door clunked. My hand immediately diverted to my gun, and Jian leaped to his feet.

Someone else was here.

Just as I headed for the hall, the door to the lounge swung open and in walked Mae’s mother. I immediately jerked my handgun behind my back so she didn’t see it and flashed her a small smile when she noticed three large men in her lounge.

“Mae? What on earth is going on in here?” she asked, holding tissues in one hand that she sniffled into.

“Mom,” Mae wailed, “Zack is?—”

“Mom?” Zack’s large hazel eyes popped around her mom’s leg, and all hell broke loose.

“Zack!” Mae surged upward and shoved past Jian to get to her son. I side-stepped and caught Jian who still wasn’t a hundred percent with his balance, while the sudden yell of Zack’s name finally unlocked Rocco from his stun and he slowly turned around.

Mae collided with Zack and gathered him into her arms, peppering kisses all over his very confused face.

“Oh, my God, Zack, you’re okay! You’re okay! Where were you? What happened?”

“What is going on?” her mom demanded again. “I just took Zack out for ice cream.”

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