Page 45 of Mafia Doctor's Secret Baby

“Of course,” Luca replies, and he sinks down onto the seat beside me, reaching over to brush my hair out of my face as I set about taking care of my little girl. She latches on quickly, and soon, she’s drinking deep, and I watch as her stomach rises and falls with each gulp.

I’m glad it’s just the three of us—though I know I owe my life to Emil too. I don’t know if I really thanked him for it properly yet. I was in shock when they got me out of there, and I could barely nod my greeting to his brother as the car pulled away from the townhouse.

He’s headed back to his apartment so he can get in touch with their father about what happened, let him know that everything is done here in the city. That the man who was giving them reason to stay here in the first place has been taken out. I know it means something is going to change between Luca and me, but, to be honest, I don’t really have it in me to contend with that right now.

Luca watches me as I feed Polly, and when I’m done, he offers to put her to bed.

“I can do that,” I reply, but a yawn nags at my lips even as I speak.

He smiles slightly. “You can, but you don’t have to,” he replies. “I’ve been doing it the last few days with no problem. You get some rest, okay?”

I don’t have it in me to argue with him—he heads to the nursery, and I slump back onto the couch, trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened.

Though I suppose the more pressing question at this point is what isgoingto happen, now that the Maglione threat is dealt with. It seems like the guy who interrogated me earlier was the big boss of the whole operation—he’s been staying out in that townhouse to keep his cover low, and only had a handful of guards there so as not to attract too much attention. The thought of what he might have done to me, how he might have made me pay for the crime of daring to be this man’s lover, scares the hell out of me, but at least I’m not going to have to deal with the reality of it anytime soon.

When Luca returns, there’s a strange expression on his face, one that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen on him before. I tip my head to the side and study him for a moment, trying to get to the bottom of it.

“Are you okay?” I ask him finally, and he glances over at me, as though surprised by the question.

“Of course I am,” he replies at once. “You’re safe, and you’re back with Polly. That’s all I wanted.”

“All you wanted?”

I echo the words after him, maybe because I don’t entirely want to believe them. Because, yes, in theory, I know this means that everything is over—that there’s no reason for him to stick around here, and that he should go back to the city, to his reallife, his real family. And yet, the thought of being apart from him, when I’ve only just found him again, it’s…it doesn’t sit right with me.

He locks eyes with me. “When all of this started,” he reminds me softly, “you told me you didn’t want anything to do with me. With this. And I promised you I would leave the city as soon as everything was over.”

I nod. I remember it well. Back then, I meant every word coming out of my mouth, even if now I see things in an entirely different light.

“And it’s over.” He stares at me, letting those words sink in. “It’s over, Katie. I should go back to my family now. And if that’s what you want, I will.”

He pauses, as though waiting for me to contradict him or argue with him. But, truth be told, I don’t know how to react. Can I ask him to stay? Ask him to leave everything behind and forget the life he has lived to be here with me? From everything he’s said, he’s dedicated to his family, and he wouldn’t want to walk away from them for a woman he’s known for just a few weeks, even if she is the mother of his child.

“I don’t know what I want,” I confess, my voice dropping to a whisper as I say it out loud. I wish I had a better answer for him than this, I really do, but I can’t give him anything concrete right now. My head is a scrambled mess after everything that’s happened, and I’m in no position to be asking anyone to root up their life for me in this moment.

He reaches over and takes my hand, bringing it to his lips where he presses a kiss against my fingers.

“You don’t have to know,” he assures me gently. “I’m not asking you to give me an answer right now, I just…I need you to know where I’m at with all of this.”

I close my eyes for a moment and nod. Exhaustion moves through me, but more than that, a comfort—a peace in knowing that this man has gone so far to make sure I’m safe and sound, back where I belong. I can’t imagine that a life with him would be free from stuff like this, but if he’s willing to take on the man who has been causing his family trouble for years just to get me to safety, then I know I have found someone good.

He moves a little closer to me, putting his arm around my shoulders, and I rest my head on his chest. I know it’s dangerous, being so domestic with him, enjoying his company this much, but right now, I feel like I need all the comfort I can get.

“I was so worried I’d lost you,” he murmurs to me as he moves his hand to my face, drawing my gaze up toward him. I meet his eyes slowly, taking in the look on his face, the sincerity in his words.

“I…I had no idea what they were going to do to me,” I confess. “They were threatening all kinds of shit, I…”

“I know,” he murmurs. “I know the kind of stuff they do. But I would never have let it happen to you.”

“And what about the other women who are part of that right now?” I wonder aloud, my mind suddenly darting back toward the compound in the woods. “What if the guards have just left them out there with no way of getting free…?”

“We’ll send some men down there first thing in the morning,” he promises me. “Anyone who’s left, we’ll get them to safety, make sure they have somewhere warm to sleep and something to eat.”

I nod—that’s something, at least. I can still hear the screams of those other women echoing in my mind, all too vividly. I know it’s going to be a long time before they fade, no matter how much I try.

“Good,” I breathe. “I just—I wish there was more I could do. I feel like I left them all back there?—”

“You had no choice,” he replies hotly. “You know that, don’t you? You should never have been pulled into something like this. I should never have let it get to this point. Shit, if I could?—”

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