Page 65 of Pregnant Bratva Wife
“Now we’re stronger than ever. Caspian handles the big picture. I manage enforcement and security. Giovanni deals with international connections. Dante runs the streets. Achille handles weapons and tech. Luca is our diplomat—he smooths things over when relationships get tense.”
Autumn nodded, processing. “And the Espositos? The ones who tried to take me?”
“Our main rivals. They’ve been trying to move in on our territory for years.” I hesitated, then added, “The man you saw me with at the warehouse was Vincent Esposito, right-hand man to their leader.”
She flinched slightly at the memory but didn’t look away. “What were you trying to get from him?”
“Information. The Espositos have been targeting our shipments and businesses. We needed to know how they know when to attack.”
For some reason, I didn’t go into detail about when they kidnapped Elena and Gastone. I didn’t want to scare her. I wanted to be honest, but also protect her in a way.
“Did you find out?”
“Not yet. But we will.” I leaned forward. “Autumn, I know what you saw was ugly. I won’t pretend it wasn’t. But everything I do is to protect my family.”
She hesitated for a while, then whispered. “Family is important, isn’t it?”
And with those five words, I felt as though we were making progress. We sat in silence for a while. If she had more questions, she didn’t ask.
“What about you?” I asked, leaning forward. For some reason, I wanted to know what made Autumn, Autumn. How could a woman who had faced all those hardships remain so strong in her ideals?
“My turn to share?” She looked up in surprise.
“If you want.”
She took a sip of her beer before speaking. “My father left when I was twelve. Just walked out one day and never came back. Megan was only seven.” Her voice hardened. “Our mother started drinking heavily after that. She’d disappear for days sometimes, gambling away whatever money she had.”
“So you took care of Megan.”
Autumn nodded. “Someone had to. I dropped out of college when Mom’s health started failing, took whatever jobs I could get. Waitressing mostly.”
“That’s where the loan sharks came in?” I asked gently.
“Mom ran up huge gambling debts before she died. They started coming after me, threatening Megan.” She looked up at me, eyes clear and direct. “That’s why I agreed to marry you. For her.”
“I know.”
She twisted her napkin. “Thank you for that. For helping with her tuition. She called me the other day, told me she’d donated most of the money you sent because she thought it was a bank error.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Honest to a fault. Must run in the family.”
“I didn’t tell her the truth about us.” Autumn’s voice dropped. “I said we fell in love quickly. That you’re a businessman.”
“That’s not entirely a lie.” I held her gaze. “I do own legitimate businesses.”
“Front companies?”
“Some. Others are actually profitable on their own.”
She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. “This is surreal. I’m having tacos with a mob boss and discussing his portfolio diversification.”
“Not a boss. That’s Caspian. I’m just the muscle.”
She snorted. “Just the muscle. Right.” Her eyes traveled over my shoulders and arms in a way that made my skin heat. “Speaking of which, how’d you get so... you know.”
“So what?” I asked, enjoying her discomfort.
“You know.” She gestured vaguely at my body. “Built.”
