Page 8 of Once A Crime Lord

“I’ve survived much worse.”

She bit her lip. “If you can’t find him, maybe—”

His expression tightened. “Don’t, Lyla.”

“It’s been four months. Maybe you killed him already and don’t know it,” she said even though she didn’t believe it.

“He’ll surface. He always does.”

Guilt and worry dogged her every waking moment. She had become a paranoid recluse, only leaving the house to go to doctor’s appointments. Thank God Carmen was here. Carmen didn’t ask if she could move in. After Nora was born, she arrived with two suitcases and claimed a room. Surprisingly, Gavin didn’t make a fuss about it. Carmen made her house arrest bearable.

“I know what I’m doing, Lyla. Don’t worry about me.”

“How can I not worry about you?” she snapped.

“I was raised in the underworld. I’m getting close.”

She tightened her hold on Nora. “You are?”

“I’m making people nervous. That’s good.” His eyes glittered. “I’m going to get him.”

“I just want this to be over.” It had been over two years since the attack that claimed Manny’s life and left her scarred.

“It will be.” He sucked on her neck. “Coming home to you keeps me human.”

She elbowed him. “Sex isn’t the answer to everything!”

“Yes, it is. It reminds me how much I have to lose, and that isn’t fucking happening.”

She waved a hand in his face before dropping her eyes to Nora. “Watch your language.”

He grinned. “She’s four months old.”

“So?”

He shook his head. “I’m heading into the office. Janice and Alice have been asking about you and the baby. Do you want to come?”

Effectively distracted by the offer, she felt her heart soar with excitement even as her belly iced with fear. “Is it safe to go out?”

“You’re in my casino. Your security detail will be with you, and you won’t be left alone.”

She hesitated only a moment before she said, “I’d like that.”

“We’ll leave in two hours,” he said and headed for the bathroom.

Even while she felt safe in Gavin’s fortress, she was beginning to feel the first stages of cabin fever. Before, she went out three to four times a week. Now, she left the house once a month. She and Carmen kept busy by training four times a week with a self-defense/mixed martial arts instructor. And Blade made sure to keep their tactical skills up to par by taking them regularly to the gun range on property. Carmen, who had been raised with an enforcer father and married into the Pyre clan, understood the measures that needed to be taken for their protection.

She texted Carmen who responded immediately, saying she was down for the ‘excursion.’ She scanned her messages and saw a text from her mother:Please call. Really need to talk to you. She ignored the text. The last time she spoke to her mother was the day Nora was born. Her mother asked for money, of course. Traumatized by the attack at the field and Nora’s birth, she hung up on her mother and ignored all messages since then. Her father, a gambling addict, had fucked up again. It was nothing new, and she was tired of cleaning up his shit.

Just as Nora finished eating, Gavin emerged from the shower. He took Nora so she could get ready. This felt so normal and domesticated. She had an extra spring in her step as she applied makeup for the first time in months and donned a navy-blue wrap dress. She added a white scarf to cover her scarred chest and as a cover in case she had to nurse. She draped a coat over her arm and added stiletto boots.

She found Carmen in the nursery packing a bulging baby bag.

Carmen gave her a lascivious grin. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

She smiled. “A little.”

Carmen no longer looked like the Playboy bunny she had been when her husband Vinny was alive. The crying spells had waned in the passing years and Carmen seemed to be adjusting to her new lot in life. She took out her breast implants, dyed her hair black, and still managed to hook every man within a ten-foot radius. After wearing sweatpants for four months, it was a shock to see Carmen looking like her old self. Today’s ensemble was a nude skirt that hugged every curve of her body from waist to ankle and a white lace blouse. Carmen completed the look with white heels and large diamond stud earrings. The look was deceivingly demure, but an outright challenge to any man.

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