Page 55 of Secret Baby for the Italian Mafia King

“But I’m his friend,” she reasons.

“Well, fine. This one’s mine, then. But I still need you to take care of him for me.”

Her eyes light up. She holds out an arm, for some reason happy to agree to those terms even when she wouldn’t take it for herself.

“Okay! Mommy, look,” she says, happy to show off the tiger. “Ren’s letting me look after his tiger! Itoldyou he’s nice!”

Nadia goes pink in the face, avoiding my eye as she mutters low, “I never said he wasn’t.”

We both turn back to feign watching the animals and pretend nothing was said at all.

17

Nadia

“I need you to do something for me.”

I turn from the mirror. Jewelry drops onto the marble vanity. My feet throb as I slip out of my shoes. This was one of those rare days where Harper’s energy outlasted mine. Nothing was going to slow her down. But having someone else here to help take the reins…it wasn’t so bad.

“Well, I’m not exactly in a position to refuse.”

“You are when it involves your daughter.”

“…Oh,” I say, second-guessing. “What is it?”

Ren crosses the room, coming to stand beside me. I can’t help but grin a little. “You almost look tired, Ren. Did a day of chasing a six-year-old around her dream trip put some mileage on you? Five more years of that, and we’ll almost be on equal footing.”

It’s a half-hearted tease. Dragging a finger through the water to test the temperature.

He gives me a look, but he doesn’t reciprocate. He takes off his cufflinks.

“I need you to come to a dinner with me. You and Harper both. It’s business.”

“You want Harper at abusinessmeeting?”

I think about checking Ren for a fever.

“I don’t just want her there, I need her there. It’s important.”

I don’t like this. Something about it feels off.

“Why? What kind of business meeting are we talking about?” I ask. “Who’s going to be there?”

“Salvatore Mori and his family.”

Salvatore Mori. Know the name. Never met him. I pull my hair out of its bun, shaking it out into loose, messy curls. “You didn’t answer the whole question. I’m not sitting Harper down at a table where you talk about cutting people’s fingers off or whatever. I pieced together more than my parents realized when I was just a little older than her.”

“…Nothing will be seriously discussed while she’s there.”

“So, then, why do you need her? What’s this about?”

It’s obvious he’s trying to duck answering honestly. As if I won’t find out while we’re sitting down to appetizers.

“…There may be a meeting to discuss your debt with Dellucci. The major families will be there. They’ll have some say as to how this is handled. Mori is more likely to be on my side if he’s met you and Harper. His vote carries a lot of sway, and he’s already reached out once. I’m…reconsidering my approach to this.”

My head spins as Ren drops all of this on me at once.

“What are you talking about? A meeting? When?”

---