Page 46 of Surprise Twins for the Mafia Heir

Nick’s eyes actually flash with emotion. “Kids?”

“Two boys. Haven't you heard since you’ve been tracking me?” I ask. Nick grips the edge of the table.

Joseph shakes his head as he pulls a cigarette out of his pocket. “Too bad those kids won’t have parents.”

Nick drops his head under the table. “You should’ve just done what I told you.”

“Right, and what exactly was that?” I snap. I hear a gun being cocked and Nick reveals a 9-millimeter.

Joseph laughs. “Not yet. Jesus!”

Nick sighs. “Actually, this is exactly the right time.” Before I can duck, Nick fires the gun in the air. Once Joseph jumps up, Nick shoots him.

I wait until the sound quietens down before I crane my neck to get a look at the scene.

“What the hell was that for?” I yell.

Nick jumps over Joseph’s body. “Hurry up, we don’t have much time.”

The restaurant owner comes running from the back. “My guys are here to clean up!”

Nick places a briefcase on the counter. “Thanks, Joe.”

We run out of the back door and into a waiting car. Jodie is in the driver’s seat. “That was quick.”

I don’t utter a word. My head is spinning.

“Here’s the deal, Vinny. Things are back to normal and we’ve got the upper hand,” Jodie says. “We knew you’d be around and thankfully Nick got to you first.”

Nick turns to look at me. “We’re almost there, Vin.”

Eventually, we end up in upstate New York where the trees are huge. A small boathouse becomes our sanctuary. Once I follow Nick and Jodie inside, I realize that this has all been a part of their plan.

“Once Dr. Carmy got killed, we had to get smarter. That meant I had to get in and do the inside work,” Nick explains.

I stand close to the door, still not trusting him. “What do you want, Nick? You could’ve lived in Germany. You could’ve been far from this mess. This isn’t your fight.”

He steps closer. “Thisismy fight. I have lots of reasons to make sure you, Rosa, and the babies are okay.”

Nick twitches as soon as he says Rosa’s name. “Speaking of whom, Rosa is in trouble.”

That’s enough to make me sit down. “What do you mean? She’s supposed to be heading to El Salvador.”

“He’s already over in the next village. He’s going to take her, Vinny,” Nick says slowly. I can’t contain my rage and punch a hole into the wall. Everything I have done has been to get ahead of my father, but he always finds a way to come out on top.

“If he hurts Rosa—” I start to say.

“He won’t. Not with the babies,” Nick tries to encourage me. But I’m not buying it. All I can see is red and I want to end my father with my bare hands. I finally have a family and he can’t stand to just let me go.

“Vinny, I need you to be smart about this. He’s bringing her here…to New York. I don’t know how, but I’m gonna find a way to get them back,” Nick promises. This is the last we speak of it. I have to let my mind forget about what is going to happen. Instead, I drown myself in beer and survive off sleeping meds and pizza. I can’t let myself be present.

I finally get some relief when Nick wakes me up one morning at the crack of dawn. I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping, or how many days have passed. But when I open my eyes and seeNick, I notice he has a wild look in his eyes. He sits beside me on the bed, twiddling his thumbs.

“I’m heading over there and I thought you should know,” he tells me as he forces a smile. I can’t place it, but something is odd about him. I rise up in the bed, trying to wake myself up as much as I possibly can. When I look him in the eyes, I see something that I haven’t seen before. It’s a strange mixture of sadness and excitement. It’s like a kid finally getting the present they want at Christmas.

“Why do I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me?”

Nick sucks in his breath and looks up at the ceiling. “Remember when I used to tell you about the family I had before I went into foster care? How I used to talk about the days when I was scared and had to leave behind a life and a person I really cared about?”

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