Page 72 of Hush 3: Hidden Family

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You are angrier than usual. Nothing that you are doing is about Julissa. You can talk about it with me, or you can continue to sulk like a bratty child.”

“What have I done any of this for? You have married and now we are exposed. It is all falling apart.”

“You have done this for Don Trovati and Symphony. You have done this to be the don,” Uri says back.

“I don’t care about being don. It was never about that,” I bite out.

“You still aren’t making sense. I’ve been married for almost two years. Why are you so angry now? Why are you taking up with a woman you know isn’t for you?”

“Because I need this pain to stop. I feel as if I hurt the one person I love and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know what I did wrong,” I yell.

“Now we are getting somewhere. This is about Sim. You think you have hurt her, but know your actions are sure to hurt her. Do you hear how that sounds?”

“I do, Uri.Fanculo, I do, but how do I make this right?”

“Don’t drag that woman into things. You are playing with her life.”

“When I’m with her, it’s the only time I feel sane other than when I’m hunting and hitting for the families. What do you want me to do? I’m losing myself,” I bark back.

“You continue to work. I have a series of hits you can handle for me. I will handle the rest. You wanted us to have a seat at the Alliance table. Now we make it work for us.”

CHAPTER 36

The Other Woman

Valentina

Five months later …

I kiss the top of Vita's head before I place her into her crib. Then, I turn with my hand on my growing bump. DJ is looking back at me with a smile, the corners of her lips turned up.

In the last few months, I’ve come to really like her. I was taken by surprise when Felix Black asked me to do him a favor and hire her without letting her know he was involved. When she showed up at the interview, I knew I would like her before Uri began to question her.

She’s been taking such good care of my little Vita. It doesn’t hurt that I know she can protect them both if needed. We have worked out and trained together almost every day since she’s been here.

Uri mentioned something about Brooklyn O’Brien claiming her, but I still don’t know why Felix asked me for the favor. Theone thing I do know is she’s my family now. I have her back, and she has mine.

“Do you really think you will find something? Uri is crazy about you. I can’t see him cheating on you,” DJ says as she eyes me warily.

“I don’t know what I will find, but his behavior has been off. What are these trips to Boston and why have they become so frequent?”

She looks behind her, then drops her voice. “He is the don now. His responsibilities have changed. Could it have something to do with the family?”

I think her words over. DJ knows more about us than most of the other staff. I believe she understands us and who we are on a more personal level.

I shake my head. “No, this has nothing to do with his promotion. If he were going back and forth between Italy and Chicago, I might believe that was it, but Boston?”

“I don’t blame you for following your gut. You go on. Vita will be fine here with me. Don’t go busting any windows,” she says, her Irish accent slipping just a little.

I wink at her and laugh. “I promise not to take any pages out of your book. I only want to know what’s going on.”

“Safe travels, love. You make sure to give him a good shag in apology,” she snickers.

“Yeah, sure,” I grumble and leave.

I have a flight to catch. I will suck the life out of Uri’s dick if I’m wrong. However, I have this feeling there’s another woman behind these trips.

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