Page 89 of Borrowed Bride

“It worked, didn’t it?” he smirks. “I got her number and now look at us.” Leo’s thumb slides over Carmilla’s knuckles and she looks at him with such adoration that I’m convinced it’s genuine. And I know he must feel the same otherwise he wouldn’t have brought her to family dinner.

“So do I need to write?” Fawn pipes up. “Is that how I will find a man?”

“You could always beat someone up and spend six years making them fall in love with you,” Cherry remarks with a sly glance at Tara. “Worked for me.”

“Maybe I’ll try that,” Fawn sighs dramatically, then she leans forward. “Speaking of, can we talk business?”

Marco nods. “So long as it’s good news because this is the first meal and real conversation I’ve had since the twins were born and I don’t want to hear about some asshole getting too big for his boots.”

I laugh with him, diving in to another scoop of pasta and having to wrestle the parmesan away from Tara.

Fawn is making leaps and bounds in charity work, having taken over Marco’s role in protecting women in need. With her skills and her contacts, the Russians haven’t gained another foothold in the city, and she’s been quick to stamp out anyone who sees people as products to be sold. Something that should be obvious to decent people, but it’s alarming how many scummy cockroaches creep up, eager to move people like cattle. It’s clear she enjoys the work, and the Simone and Barrone names are now spoken with heavy respect. Fawn is someone who is safe to reach out to, and everyone knows it.

Tara and Cherry have become an item and are finding new ground and stability within the Mafia. They are doing what they can to keep the drug money clean and ensure that they aren’tkilling the market. Given their history, no one would have been surprised for them to eternally hate one another, but their work with Fawn brought them close. Since then, they’ve been making leaps in the drug trade, and the money pours in.

Leonardo is in an equally big place, with only a few sharks nibbling at the edge of their territories. After the crimes of the Ricci family, Leonardo absorbed a few of the smaller families that were left leaderless after that fiasco. Not everyone is happy about it, but Leo’s done a phenomenal job of ensuring everyone knows who’s boss.

There hasn’t been an explosion in the city since that nightclub so that’s a vast improvement.

“And you?” Tara asks as she eyes Marco and me. “What have you two been up to?”

“Other than juggling twins, changing diapers, bottle feeding every four hours and doing everything to make sure Freya doesn’t feel left out?” I chuckle softly. “Uh…snatching sleep when we can and?—”

Leonardo stands suddenly, his eyes on his phone and then his head snaps to the door just as Anton rushes in.

“Boss,” he says to Marco, then he pauses and glances at Leo. “Other boss.”

“What is it?” Marco’s hand tightens on mine.

“Perimeter breach.”

“Gianna, go to the twins,” Marco orders.

He doesn’t need to tell me twice. As I hurry from the room, Leonardo and Fawn dart out with Anton, followed swiftly by Marco. Tara and Cherry follow me to the twin’s room, where they remain sound asleep; then Cherry slips away to fetch Freya.

“What’s happening?” I whisper, trying to keep my voice down as my heart races so fast in my chest that the taste of copper tangs in the back of my throat.

“I don’t know,” Tara says, clutching my arm. “But we will keep you safe.”

I have no doubt about that, but a cold curl of fear settles in the back of my mind. We’re away from that life, as far as we can get, but Marco is still Marco Barrone, and we’ll never fully beoutof the life.

Given how involved the rest of our family is, I’m not sure I even want to be given how quickly people swarm to protect us.

Cherry appears with Freya in her arms and I immediately cuddle my daughter to me, standing between the two cribs. Whatever is happening outside I know Marco will handle it.

And yet, says a small voice, what if he doesn’t? What if this time will be the last time?

Are we really doing this family a favor by staying on the sidelines? My mind runs with a hundred possibilities, each one worse than the last and my heart continues to race.

“Mommy,” Freya whines. “I’m tired.”

“I know baby,” I soothe her gently, bouncing her on my hip. “We just had a scare, that’s all. Daddy’s gone to check.”

Cherry lingers by the door, keeping her shoulder against it while Tara takes the window and I strain my ears to hear any signs of fighting.

I hear nothing.

The longer the silence drags on, the more anxious I become until finally, Marco comes through the door and makes a beeline for me and Freya.

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