Page 60 of The Mafia's Surprise Gift

“She?” Mae appeared in the doorway, one hand on the handle. She looked nervous and her eyes darted about between all of us. Rocco stood up the moment he saw her, and she flashed him a tight smile. Her eyes were red from crying, and there was an exhausted paleness to her skin.

No wonder. She’d revealed a secret and nearly lost her son all in the same night.

“Mae,” Rocco said, hovering near my shoulder. “How… How is he?”

“Zack? He’s fine.” Mae waved one hand and stepped into the room. She sniffled and blinked slowly. “He was upset by the yelling… my yelling. He doesn’t understand, really. I… I’m so sorry for dragging you all out here for this when he was fine.”

It occurred to me that the search for Zack was still ongoing, so I turned my attention to my phone and quickly called off our men.

“You had no way of knowing,” Rocco replied. “And I’m glad you called. We’re here for you, whatever you need.”

“I…” Mae stepped closer, then she perched herself on the edge of the couch and pressed her knees firmly together. “Pretty ironic that I told you all to stay away because I thought you were the most dangerous, and then I call you when I’m faced with another disaster that has nothing to do with either of you. Feels like the universe is really trying to tell me something.”

She laughed nervously, a quavering sound that brought an affectionate warmth to my chest. Messages sent, I turned back to Mae and her attention was on Jian.

“It’s good to see you,” she murmured. “Up and around, I mean. I was worried.”

“I’m okay,” Jian replied softly. “And I’m glad you are too.”

“Yes.” Mae nodded, then slowly, her eyes tracked back to Rocco. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” he asked cautiously.

“For not telling you the truth when we first met.”

“About Zack?”

“Yeah…” Mae rubbed her hands up and down her thighs. “I mean… I’m also not sorry because you vanished, y’know? You just abandoned me, and I thought I was just some one-night graduation fling. A quick fuck. Whatever. And then my job fell through in the city and suddenly, I was pregnant.”

Rocco slowly moved to sit next to her while still keeping a seat-length of distance.

“I tried to find you, but I had no contact information. Anyone who knew you didn’t seem to know where you’d gone. You just vanished completely, so I moved on. I raised Zack, and I told him his father was away and just kept putting that off to deal with later. And then I saw you and…” Her voice trembled, and she clasped her hands together.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t need you in my life, only to vanish again. Zack doesn’t deserve that. He’s never met any man I’ve dated since, although I’d hardly call it dating. And then when I started to fall for you again, for all of you, I…” Her eyes traveled around all three of us. “Well, I still wasn’t planning on telling anyone until I knew you were here for good.”

There was a long moment of silence after Mae stopped talking. Then, Rocco reached across and laid one hand over her clenched fingers.

“I understand,” Rocco said softly. “I think we all do. None of us have shied away from Zack, or you because of him, and I know we all will respect you and whatever choices you make because of him.” Rocco’s shoulders lifted and he wet his lips. “And I am so, so sorry that I wasn’t there for you.”

I glanced at Jian. He had the same soft look on his face that I felt in my heart. We’d all adored Zack, so he had never even been a slight issue when pursuing Mae. Knowing he was Rocco’s son? It was only a bonus.

“Whatever you choose to do. Whatever you want to do, with us or without us, then we will understand. But I would very much like to be a part of his life if I can.”

I expected him to tell her about what it now meant, how much of a target Zack would be to anyone in our world who craved power. He didn’t. Perhaps he was waiting for a better time to bring up that horrifying nugget.

“I…” Mae shook her head. “It’s been a long night. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to think…”

“Take your time,” Jian said. “I know for a fact that we’re not going anywhere.”

“Can…” Mae lifted her head, and for the first time, I saw complete exhaustion in her eyes. She’d nearly lost her son, her mother was sick, she’d been in a car accident, and even with what happened in the graveyard? That was all a lot for someone not used to the smell of gunpowder at breakfast.

“Can you stay the night?” she asked, glancing between us. “I don’t want to be alone.”

25

MAE

Rocco, Dino, and Jian were all piled together downstairs, asleep in the lounge.

---