Page 48 of Mated into the Mob

“Oh, come on. Don’t give me that tired old, ‘You don’t know what my life is like,’ crap.”

We should have had this discussion during the day when we could be on either sides of a room, not with his leg brushing against mine, his hands clutching mine. We should have had it weeks ago, and now I was carrying his baby.

“When shifters came out of the forests, we were treated like the animals inside us by humans, but we had to survive. The world was very different. Chaos reigned, and shifters clung together. We saw a way to not only get through the turmoil but to thrive.”

“But that was then and this is now.”

Flint got out of bed and put on a robe. “Listen to me. We couldn’t afford to stick to the moral high ground, and now this way of life is in our blood. It’s who we are. We were born into this life. Our heritage marked us, for better or worse.”

He explained it was their wolves who gave them an advantage over small-time crooks, saying they chose to be predators not prey. “They are one of the reasons we have been so successful.”

He paced the floor, shoving his hands in the robe’s pockets. “What do you think would happen if I said, ‘Okay, today’s the day we give up everything and you all have to go find another job.’”

“The pack might riot?”

“You think?” His voice was close to shriek level. “They’d come for me and my family. But it’s not just about me. The other shifter families would take everything from us and probably kill us to make sure we didn’t try a comeback.”

“So which comes first? Shifter or mafia?” I asked.

“They’re intertwined. Shifters are who we are. Mafia is what we do.” He bit his bottom lip. “One favor. Please stop using the word mob. We are mafia.”

I hid a smile. My big tough guy with his gun was irritated by three little letters. I gave him a thumbs-up.

I looked around the room, the palatial furnishings provided by criminal activities. He couldn’t stop doing what he was born to do, not that I was sure he wanted to. His role as Alpha and his job were two halves of the whole.

He didn’t have a choice, but I did.

I could leave, love him, and ignore what he did or embrace his lifestyle.

“Swerving off that path we chose would be the end of us.” He slouched into an armchair and lowered his head, his brows knitted together.

I was standing at a fork in my life’s journey. The path on the right might be fraught with danger, while the left would be a life with my baby, but I’d grieve Flint with every breath until my very last. Dad had avoided this question because he never knew my father, not really.

“But what about our little one? Will they follow the same career path as you?”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I can’t answer that, but I will protect our child and you with my life.”

The fight went out of Flint, and I pulled him into bed. I still had so many more questions, but for now, we needed to be together, as a couple, as expectant parents, as mates.

I just hoped he would never take our child to take-your-kid-to-work day.

24

FLINT

“We can postpone.”

Tony was curled up on the sofa asking how many more minutes he could stay there before he had to shower and get ready.

We were going to meet his dad and stepdad, but the dinner had been put off once already, with his father, Evan, canceling at the last minute. I’d also had to swear off once when there was a ruckus on one of our construction sites.

While I had plenty of spies—both in and out of the pack—I had no proof Foley was conspiring with Sewell and other shifters to encroach on our business. I’d kept my silence, not wanting to warn him. But if Emilio got evidence, I would deal with Foley and any others myself.

For the moment, my attention was on my mate and his dad. Tony had related how he often felt like an afterthought growing up. Not that he wasn’t loved, but his dad and stepdad were so wrapped up in themselves, they didn’t have time for him.

That was a huge contrast to my family who were all in one another’s business. They were loud and funny and hugely protective of each other. While I took no shit from my youngerbrothers, if some other kid gave them a hard time, I was in their face.

“I’m so tired, babe. Our little one is sucking all my energy.”

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