Page 41 of Surprise Twins for the Mafia Heir

“I need you to promise me you’ll let me take her to the city to get help if things get bad,” I urge. I was strongly against a natural birth but Rosa insisted we do things the traditional way. Marisol eyes me with suspicion.

“You know you shouldn’t go into the city,” she warns with a small, wrinkled finger pointed at me. I lean against the wall, remembering what my grandfather saw last week. As Rosa prepped for her birth, he went to the city to chat to anotherdoctor and saw one of my dad’s men. He came racing home to tell me that danger was on the horizon, and he called up all the security to prepare for a potential attack. As much as I want to forget about it, this is the worst time to have anxieties sitting on my shoulders.

“How did they know to come here of all states?” I ask.

Marisol sighs. “They’re like bloodhounds. It’s in their DNA to hunt their prey.” Marisol knows better than anyone what this business means. She lost both her sons to the violence.

“All I know is we have to get these babies delivered,” Marisol continues. “After that, you can worry about the bloodhounds.” I reluctantly accept Marisol’s requests to stay behind. But only for ten minutes. Soon, Rosa lets out a blood-curdling scream that sends me running into the room. I’m horrified to see blood-soaked sheets and Rosa’s face is white as snow.

“What the hell is going on?” I roar.

Marisol looks at me with horror. “One of the babes is breach!”

“Get the truck started. We’re taking her to the hospital,” I demand. I rush over and grab Rosa, wrapping her in the sheets. She feels frail in my arms as I run out to the truck and hold her in the back seat.

“Vinny…please save the babies,” Rosa whispers. Marisol jumps in the driver’s seat and immediately speeds down the dirt path.

“You’re gonna make it, babe! Stay with me,” I softly urge. I rock her and dab the sweat from her head, praying we make it in time. Thankfully, the city is only fifteen minutes away. I run into the lobby with Rosa bleeding in my arms.

“I need a doctor!” I scream. The nurses rush towards us and place Rosa on a stretcher. I run beside them, my heart racing so fast, I swear everyone can hear it. The staff works quickly toget her prepped for surgery. The last I see of her is when she is getting an IV placed in her arm.

“You’ll have to wait outside,” a nurse tells me before closing the door in my face. Marisol holds me back as I sit on the bench outside. Eventually, my grandfather shows up.

“Hijo,”he whispers, patting me on the shoulder. “May God have mercy on them all.”

All I can think about is the last conversation I had with Rosa. The plans we made to be family and raise our kids differently. The passion I feel for her burns just as brightly. But the possibility of her not making it makes it hard to breathe.

How would I go through life without her? What if the babies don’t make it? The horror of it all makes a lump form in my throat. I can barely stand it.

“I won’t live without her,” I whisper as tears fall down my face. “There’s no point.”

“You still have babies,” Marisol reminds me. “You still have children to raise.”

The tears burn my eyes. “Not without her.”

My grandfather holds me tighter. “He’s in love, Marisol. A man can’t live properly without his wife. I would know.” Everything becomes silent around me. I can’t focus on anything until I know that Rosa is okay. After an excruciating two hours, the doctor resurfaces.

“Are you the husband?” he asks.

I jump to my feet, the dread weighing on me. “Is she dead?”

The doctor shakes his head. “No, no, no. She…survived. Lost a lot of blood but she and your two boys are fine.”

I nearly faint. “Two boys?”

The doctor reaches out and pats me on the side of the shoulder. “Your family is fine. She just needs lots of rest.”

“Can I see her?” I ask. The doctor nods and I run into the room. Rosa is still asleep and our two boys are swaddled in blueblankets next to the bed. I feel my legs buckle at the sight of them. My grandfather and Marisol are right behind me.

“Two healthy boys,” my grandfather whispers. “You are the luckiest man alive.”

I lean and kiss the top of their heads, then move to sit by Rosa. I hold her hand and brush her sweaty hair away from her forehead.

“I have my wife, too,” I add tearfully. “I can’t believe it.”

“We’ll leave you two to it,” Marisol says as she guides my dad out of the room.

I continue to brush Rosa’s hair back until her eyes slowly open. “Babe?”

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