Page 19 of Relentless Refuge

Mom’s remark about Marco comforts me. Even she sees that he is doing what he can to help our Family in the wake of my father’s death. In time, my cousins and other extended family will see it too. I don’t know what will cause them to come around, but they will. Even Owen and Chase, who used to pick on me and pull my pigtails as a child. We have too much history and love for each other to let this ruin us. At least I do.

“Thank you, Mom. I think I need to go.” I extract myself from her embrace and nod at one of Marco’s men. “I have a stop to make before we head home.”

Mom’s hand lingers on mine as I take a step away. “Please, come visit me more often. The house is so quiet without your father…” Her eyes sparkle with emotion, and I smile at her.

“I’ll come by tomorrow for lunch, how’s that?” When she blinks out a tear and nods, I slip out, followed by my security detail.

If I really am pregnant, I’m going to need her support and advice more than ever. She may not know thing one about leading a criminal organization, but she knows how to rear children and raise them. That singular thought consumes me the entire way to the pharmacy. I manage to slip in and out to purchase the pregnancy test—stashed in a white paper bag to keep it private from even Marco’s men—and we make it home before Marco has returned from his other business errands.

I lock myself into the bathroom and pull out the box. I’ve never even seen a pregnancy test before other than in commercials. My hands shake as I pull out the airtight foil pack and tear it open. I lay the plastic wand on the counter and read the directions inserted into the package too. It seems simple enough—hold the foam end of the wand under the stream of my urine and then wait three minutes for the test to develop.

It's awkward trying to hold the stick between my legs as I urinate, and I almost drop it into the bowl. But when I’m finished, it lies on the counter staring back at me as I wash my hands and flush the toilet. The stress of it has me feeling like I may vomit, so I sit on the rim of the claw-foot bath and force myself not to look at the test. Instead, I count the tiles onthe floor from wall to wall, then multiply them in my head to determine how many tiles make up the floor.

Minutes pass, I’m not sure how many of them because I’m so lost in my thoughts about a possible pregnancy. What will I have, a boy or a girl? And if it’s a boy, whose heir will he be? Marco will demand he be raised to ascend the Romano throne, but my blood runs thick with my father’s spirit. My son should be the heir to my father’s throne, not Marco’s.

When I can’t take the torture anymore, I stand and walk back to the sink. Two pink lines stretch parallel across the clear readout window. My chest tightens and I rub my face hard. I’m pregnant. I’m carrying a secret that may take me out of the game permanently. Not only will my stomach blossom into a huge obstacle in this business, but when Marco’s enemies learn I’m carrying his heir, I’ll have a target on my back.

“Isabella!” I hear in a booming baritone. Marco is home now, but he is still downstairs.

I snatch the test and all the packaging and shove it all back into the white paper bag before scrunching it up and throwing it in the trash. It’s too obvious. He’ll wonder what it is, so I pull it back out, take some other trash out, then put it back in and cover it. My heart races, and I scurry to the bathroom door to unlock it just as I hear the bedroom door open.

“Isabella, are you in here?” He’s so close and I’m so panicked. How will I tell him this secret? Or should I even tell him?

“In here,” I call. Then I flush the toilet again for good measure and turn on the water to wash my hands.

“I’ve brought dinner—some linguini. I hope you’re hungry.” He stands on the other side of the door, talking through it, and Ilook myself in the eye and will myself not to cry. I’m carrying his baby, and I’m happy about that, but I’m also terrified of what will happen next.

“Sounds delicious. I’ll be right out.” I wash my hands a little longer than I should, but I need to put my poker face on and right now, it seems impossible.

“And after that, I’ll have you for dessert. I bought a little something for us to play with.”

Sex is the last thing on my mind right now, especially sex with toys. But I squeak out, “Bought something?”

“It’s a surprise. I’ll be waiting downstairs. Don’t take too long, now.”

His footsteps move away from the door, and I fold myself over the counter with wet hands and the water running. A baby changes everything. My Family will never let me lead if they find out. I’ll be relegated to my mother’s house where I’m safe and out of the way of danger.

No, I have to keep this a secret until my body makes it obvious that I can’t. And hopefully, by that time, the rift in my family will be healed and their confidence in me will be certain. If not, I’ll lose everything.

15

MARCO

Soft music fills the air. The room is dim, lit by aromatic candles and the scent of whiskey, which swirls in the glass I hold. Isabella rejected the glass I offered her, which is abnormal, but she seems tired. I sit next to her on the couch, one arm draped around her shoulders as she leans into me and rests her hand on my chest. Her hazel eyes stare up at me with desire. The day got away from us, and this is the first time we’ve even sat to talk.

“I believe this arrangement of ours is far superior to the one I had with your father.” I sip the whiskey and kiss her forehead. A soft smile graces her lips, and I think she agrees with me.

“Because you get a beautiful woman on your arm?” Her fingers play at the buttons on my shirt. We’ve had sex a few times, but each of those times, I’ve been the one initiating it, indulging in the finer benefits of this marriage. Tonight, Isabella appears to be interested, and I’m letting her guide the evening.

“I love your confidence, and absolutely, yes. I have the most beautiful woman on my arm, in my home, in my bed.” She snuggles closer to me, pushing her chest against the side of myribcage. I set my whiskey on the end table and push a hair out of her eyes. “But it’s more than that. We’ve merged two Families into one through our union. You know the old proverb,When one is in the bed alone he is cold, but two together stay warm…”

It works in business too. Having partnerships with others, whether they be customers or suppliers or just good business connections, is always better. It’s like building an empire of people all doing their own thing in partnership—cogs in a larger machine that keep it strong and running well.

“I think you mean,If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself?” Her smile grows, and I capture her hand and kiss her knuckles.

“See, beautiful and smart.” I rain more kisses on her hand, and then she weaves her fingers between mine and sighs.

“I’d like to stay warm in bed with you.” Her suggestive tone sends a zing of arousal through my groin, and the animal in me wants to pull her onto my lap and have my way with her. But I restrain myself and let her lead on.

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