Page 169 of Milo

"Sometimes I think she hates us," Kiara admits. "Do you ever get that feeling?"

"No.” I press my lips against her forehead. "Her father died a hero, Kiara. He died saving the lives of seven of our men. He did his duty. He stayed loyal until the end."

"But we let him go," Kiara whispers, shaking her head. "We sent him there. We both know how it feels to lose a parent, I just—" She swallows. "I just feel bad for Luisa. He was her only family."

"You are wrong, tesoro.” I sweep away a few stray strands of hair off her shoulder as Claudia appears in the doorway, Sergio in her arms and Annabella by her side. "We are her family. She knows that Kiara. She does not blame us."

"Mamma! I found Claudia!" Anna yells, running up to us. She frowns, scanning Kiara's face. "Why you sad?"

Kiara blinks, forcing a smile as she strokes our daughter's cheek. "I'm not sad, baby, I'm just going to miss you and your brother so much."

"He just woke up," Claudia says, smiling fondly at Sergio, a child that she grew for us, that she kept safe and warm for nine months. We owe Claudia a debt of gratitude. She helped make our family whole. Complete.

"Can I come with you?" Anna asks, tugging on Kiara's dress as Claudia hands off Sergio. "Please?"

Kiara pouts, shooting me a defeated side-eye as she bounces Sergio on her hip. "Sorry, baby but this is a business trip. Mamma and papa have to go alone. But when we come back, we can all go somewhere together, how does that sound?"

"But Luisa and Gio are going," Anna whines, crossing her arms. "I wanna go too!"

"Milo," Kiara whispers, nodding at Anna. "Help."

"Anna—" I kneel down in front of my daughter, taking her hands in mine. "We will only be away for three days, principessa," I say. "You will not even notice we are gone. Plus, you love playing with Claudia, right?"

Anna nods, her bottom lip quivering. "Yes."

"Then you should be happy!" I scoop Anna up in my arms, tickling her belly. "Claudia might even give you gelato for dinner!"

"Really?" Anna bursts with excitement as she looks at her mother. "Gelato?"

"Mhmm, sure," Kiara hums, tossing me an icy glare as we head inside. "Whatever you want, baby."

"Yay!" Anna claps her hands as I set her on the floor. "I go color now!"

"We love y—" Kiara begins to say but Anna is already halfway down the hallway. "Wow, I think she just played us."

"Welcome to my life," Claudia laughs, handing Kiara her purse. "Your daughter is cute but very manipulative."

I smile proudly. "That means she will have the brightest of futures."

Kiara rolls her eyes, flicking Sergio's chubby cheeks. "Maybe this one will love us unconditionally." She plants kisses all over his face. Sergio giggles, squirming in her arms. "You love me more than gelato, right? Right?"

"Do not worry, tesoro, at least I love you unconditionally," I smirk as we walk to the front door. "You can find solace in that."

"Very funny," Kiara says, handing me Sergio as she changes into a pair of heels. "Remember, I can teach these children eleven languages, nine of which you will never understand. Don't fuck with me."

I snort, kissing Sergio's soft head. "Are you implying that you will turn my children against me?"

"Words are more dangerous than guns, baby, bear that in mind.” Kiara straps a Beretta into her holster. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go."

"Should I be worried about this trip?" Claudia asks as she takes Sergio. "Luisa did not tell me much."

Kiara smiles. "There's nothing to worry about, Claudia. It's just a friendly trip. That's all."

"Okay," Claudia sighs, opening the front doors for us. "I will see you in a few days."

"Take care of our children," I say, placing my hand on the small of Kiara's back as we head to the idling SUV. "A friendly trip?"

Kiara shrugs, hopping in the backseat. "The less she knows the better. She'll just worry about Luisa the whole time. It's useless to stress about things you have no control over."

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