Page 93 of Mafia King's Surprise Baby

Sending me to Roosevelt Island was a diversion. The guy we stuffed in the trunk, he had no gun on him. This man, he’s expendable in their plot. He would shiv me, one of us would kill him as we’d be armed, and it’d be a done deal. In the meantime, Bianca was alone with our boy at the house, and getting rid of my security men was just a blip on their radar because they don’t hesitate to kill. She was the target all along.

Whoever did this, they didn’t plan on their man making it out alive and certainly not to end up at my mercy. Some things are clicking. That pale skin and dark hair, it’s a trait of the Balkan population, just like we Italians have the Mediterranean tannedskin and darker features.

Balkan, as in Albanian.

The Albanians are behind this, and I’m pretty sure it’s the Accountant’s family behind it all. Their council wouldn’t dare go against the Mafia so soon after the peace treaty has been signed.

This is the work of Jasir Abrashi.

As fury explodes in my blood that starts rushing through me again, I vow to put an end to this.

That fucker is a dead man!

Chapter 27

Bianca

They stuffed me in the trunk of a car!

I can’t believe this, though why am I surprised? These men, they have no moral, no conscience. I saw them down the guard patrolling Mattia’s property on the deck outside the living room. The shots didn’t even ring—I just saw him go down. Thankfully, he didn’t land in the pool, which would’ve caused a splash that would’ve alerted my son something was up.

He didn’t see a man fall dead right before his eyes, but he did see his mother being taken.

My heart clenches as tears burn my eyes and flow freely down my cheeks.

Something about this early evening didn’t feel right. I could sense something in the air, like the wind itself was whispering insidious and malicious barbs at me despite the breeze being gentle and balmy outside.

Enzo was playing with his dinosaur figures on the rug whilePaw Patrolplayed on the big screen in the background. I remember thinking we just might escape the obsession so many kids develop for this show, and after being ensconced inPeppa Pigmania for years now, I’d breathed a sigh of relief.

Then something had triggered me to look out. I always kept aneye on the patrols. Dino was a good man, albeit taciturn. I knew he’d protect us with his life, and that’s what mattered. He grew up around Leo and was one of the first soldiers to swearOmertàto him. We usually exchanged a nod before he went on his way.

Except tonight, the second he turned onto the deck, someone got him from behind.

Everything inside me recoiled at the same time I knew I had to protect Enzo. I saw myself falling back and crouching over him, pulling him into my arms. He protested, his small whine turning to a sob when the screams of hoarse-sounding men resonated around us and a group of armed thugs stormed into the house.

They came from all sides. It was futile trying to resist, but that’s what I did. I kicked and screamed, clutched my boy to me. Someone clenched my shoulders hard, the hurt rippling through me as I tried to hold on. My arms were peeled away from him. Suddenly, he was there on the floor amid his toys while I was being pulled back.

In all the cacophony, I heard him calling out for me, every iteration of “Maman!” tearing something inside. The men were speaking a strange language I didn’t recognize, flutters of English coming through at times.

“Leave the kid,” one of them said. “We were told to bring her, not the trash.”

I wanted to rip their innards out for speaking of my boy like that, but their words also comforted me, in a way. They wanted me, not him. He would be safe.

That still didn’t mean I wouldn’t defend him with everything I had. I kicked and struggled, though I stopped screaming—theinterior was soundproof, anyway, and I didn’t want the sound of my screams to be what my son recalled of this moment. For him, I had to stay strong and fight.

My wrists were bound, someone clenching my legs tight so I couldn’t wiggle. They dragged me out this way. Once outside, I did let a scream rip, but it was cut short when a black hood was pulled over my face, muffling any sound I was making. There’s no way the neighbors would have heard me and called my brother to tell him something was off at his place and his sister was screaming. Damn those big lots and gardens in the free-standing houses in this area.

Next thing I know, I’ve been thrown into the trunk of a car, the lid snapping shut and closing me off in darkness. My heart rate accelerated even more, worry for my son making me go mad with all sorts of thoughts running in my head.

Who were those people?

What did they want?

At least they’d not touched my boy, but the guards, they were dead. They didn’t hesitate to down anyone standing in their way. If Hana had been here… Horror made me gasp. I prayed she wouldn’t come back before they’d carted me away.

But we did make it out of the yard rather quickly. Just the one car, I can hear. I can’t bear to imagine they’ve left people behind. I don’t think they’re stupid—Mattia will be back to his house tonight, and Leo will probably be with him. They’d be sitting ducks if they camped around, as Leo and my brother would kill them on sight.

No, it’s me they wanted, and this forces me to wonder why. Whathave I done to warrant this? Who has it in for me? It can’t be someone gunning for Leo. Anyone trying to get a Mafia boss, let alone a Don, through his woman is reckless at best and a moron at worst. Leo already has a reputation as someone not to mess with.

---