Page 59 of The Mafia's Surprise Gift

“What?” Mae stood abruptly, keeping Zack pressed against her leg. “You took my son without telling me?”

“I–I… you were asleep,” her mother replied sharply. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

“You don’t do that!” Mae yelled. “You don’t ever fucking take my son without telling me!”

“Mae—”

“No! I woke up and he was gone! You didn’t leave a note, no texts or calls or anything! He was just gone and I had no idea where he was! I thought he was—” Mae balked suddenly and her face paled. “I thought I had lost him.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous,” her mother remarked, straightening her shoulders. Then she coughed sharply into her tissues. “Mae, why are you always so dramatic?”

“Don’t you dare,” Mae snapped, and even Rocco bristled at her mother’s inability to see how awful her actions were. “You took him and you didn’t tell me. What the hell else was I supposed to think, waking up to an empty house and my son gone!”

“He was obviously with me,” her mother replied, bristling slightly. “Common sense, Mae.”

“Common sense?” Crimson flooded Mae’s face, washing away her paleness like a wave. “You weren’t here when we went to sleep. You weren’t supposed to be home until you called me and asked me to come and get you. How the fuck would I know you’d come home and taken him?”

“Watch your language,” her mother snapped. “And I called a cab. I didn’t want to be a bother.”

“I think,” Rocco interjected before Mae could explode, “you’re missing the point here. You took Zack without telling anyone and gave Mae a terrifying few hours thinking her son…” He paused and glanced down at Zack, whose eyes were rapidly filling with tears. “She thought the worst.”

“Because she’s so dramatic,” her mother snapped, then her eyes narrowed at Rocco. “Why are you even here? Why are you all here? If you were so concerned, why didn’t you call the police?”

“Don’t ever take him away without telling me, do you understand?” Mae yelled, dodging her question. “Not ever!”

“Mom…” Zack wailed, and his sudden crying immediately ended the argument. Zack sobbed, and Mae scooped him up into her arms, cradling him close to her chest. Then she turned and stormed out of the room. After an awkward few seconds, her mother followed, and the dull re-ignition of the argument could be heard upstairs.

“Poor Mae,” Jian murmured. “Her mother is quite something.”

“Narcissists,” I muttered. “Blind to everything except themselves.” We exchanged a glance, then looked to Rocco, who slowly sat down on the nearest couch and clasped his hands together between his parted knees.

“Rocco?” I moved closer to him, trying to get a read on the strange shadows dancing across his face. “Are you okay?”

“I… I have a son,” Rocco murmured, gazing off into the distance. “That kid… that kid is mine.”

“Ironic,” Jian said with a soft snort. “You were so intent on hunting down the father to make sure he never came near Mae again, and it was you all along.”

I shot him a warning look, and Jian merely narrowed his eyes, then we turned back to Rocco.

“I have a son,” Rocco said, twisting his fingers together. “Me. I have a son. Do you know what this means?” Rocco lifted his eyes to mine, and the moment his gaze locked onto mine, I understood.

Zack wasn’t just Rocco’s son. He was the heir to the Adami Family Mafia. The heir to every business we owned and every project we took on board. He was set to be the next leader and live the very life that Rocco had just left. On top of that, Rocco had just gained the biggest weakness any man in the Mafia could gain. That child just became the biggest target in our war with the Russians.

No one could find out. Not now. Not ever.

“What do you want us to do?” I asked, perching on the edge of the coffee table.

“I don’t know,” Rocco said hoarsely. “But it doesn’t leave this room, understand?”

“Of course.” Jian nodded. “No one will ever know. No one needs to know.”

“But…” I was wary to bring it up, but for me, it was a sudden glaring possibility. “If she is involved with us, with any of us, then he will be too. Even if no one knows, can you really overlook that if he ever found himself in harm’s way?”

From the set of Rocco’s jaw, I already knew the answer. He had always gone to insane lengths to protect me and Jian. He treated us like blood brothers, never wavering in his faith for us, and our loyalty to him, in turn, never faded. I could only imagine how deep that protective streak would run for Mae and Zack.

“We will deal with this,” Jian said quietly. “Whatever you want us to do, we will do.”

“It…” Rocco’s head dipped and hung between his shoulders. “All this time, they were both right there, and I was too stupid—too blind to see anything.” He sighed deeply, then raised his head. “Whatever she wants to do, we will honor.”

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