Page 73 of Owned by the Italian Mafia Boss
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m not here to make an appointment.”
The tool in his hand crashes down when he hears my voice, and he rolls out from under the car. He stands, wiping his greasy hands on a stained rag. There’s a black smudge on his cheek, and his overalls need washing. Dad has never been good at taking care of himself.
Tears spring to my eyes as I take a step forward. “Hey, Dad.”
“Lilah? Is that really you?” He drops the cloth from his hand and rushes forward, nearly tripping over his feet.
I step to the side so he can see me. “Hey, Dad.”
“Lilah.” He runs to me, slamming against me so hard my breath is knocked from my lungs. He holds onto me tight, and I do the same, missing how he smells of coffee. I inhale him and cry, sobbing against his chest.
“I’ve missed you,” I whisper.
“I’ve missed you too. Let me look at you.” He grabs me by the shoulders and leans away, smiling. “You look beautiful, Lilah. You look good. He’s been good to you, then?” His eyes are red-rimmed, and he wipes a tear away.
“Yes,” I reply, holding my hand for Carmine to take. “He’s been very good to me, Dad. We’re married.”
“Married?” He narrows his eyes at Carmine, putting the pieces together. “Lilah…”
“Don’t, Dad. Just don’t. Not this time. I’m happy; that’s all you need to concern yourself with.” I place my hand on my flat stomach. “And you’re going to be a grandfather.”
“What did he do to you? Did he force himself on you? Did he hurt you?” he shouts, and Matias has a gun pointed at my dad’s head in the next instance. My Dad freezes.
“Careful,” Carmine tsks. “We wouldn’t want things to get out of hand here.” Carmine’s arm wraps around my waist.
“Please, put the gun away from my dad, or I swear, Carmine, you’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”
Carmine gestures for Matias to listen, and his brother does, tucking it into his waistband. Ari closes the bay doors to give us privacy.
“You married him, and you’re pregnant? God, Lilah. Why would you do that to yourself? Why would you put yourself in that position?”
I take a step forward, scoffing at his words. “Iput myself in that position? You really think my first thought was, hey, I’m going to find the mafia boss, marry him, and have his baby?” I chuckle. “Do you want to know who put me in that position? You.” I stab my finger against his chest. “I saved you. Again. I agreed to marry him and give him an heir, to save you. Luckily, I fell in love with him. and what we have is more than a transaction. This is my life. So, I guess I should thank you because I’m happy. I'm happy for the first time in a very long time.”
“I’ve been watching you, Mr. Reynolds. I’ve been making sure you haven’t done any dirty dealings again,” Carmine says, which has me holding my breath. I didn’t know he was keeping an eye on my father. “You’ve been doing well. You’ve paid down some of your credit card debt, fixed your house, and your business is doing better. It seems you’re getting back on your feet. If you keep at it, I’ll allow you and Delilah to have more time together.”
There’s a moment of rage, just a moment, that builds inside me. I almost want to ask just who the hell does he think he is deciding how much time I can spend with my own father. Then I remember Carmine is the boss. There are rules to consider, things we agreed upon in the contract.
I know Carmine wants to be the number one man in my life, and he is very protective. At the end of the day, I know putting trust in my father not to hurt me again is a big deal. He doesn’t want me to clean up any more messes my dad creates.
And I would.
Carmine knows it.
He’s protecting me from myself and the absolute disappointment of my father failing me again.
“Who are you to say when I can see my daughter?”
Carmine blows out a slow breath, and his fingers curl against my hip.
“Dad—” I whisper in a warning.
“I think I’m the man to whom you owed a shit ton of money, money you couldn’t pay up. I think you’re the man who lets his daughter pick up too much slack. You never took care of Delilah. She’s mine now. Mine. Do you get that? She’s my wife. The mother of my child. My entire fucking world, and what was she to you? A person to clean up your messes. Do not fuck with me again, Mr. Reynolds, or the slack I’ve given you, will burn.”
“Say your goodbyes, Delilah. We need to go.”
I hug my dad and sigh, wishing things could be different, but I can’t fall back into the mindset of always needing to take care of my dad. He’s a grown man. It shouldn’t have to be this way. “I love you. I’ll call you later, okay?”
He squeezes me tight. “I love you too. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry I can’t be better.”
