Page 97 of Powerful Deception

“Papi.” she says and everything around me just stops.

Did she just…

“What did you say?” I ask my daughter, pulling away from her slightly so I can see her little face.

“Papi.” She repeats, her little brows bunching up a bit in confusion as if she wants to ask me why I’m making her repeat herself.

I give her a smile, and bring her little body back to mind and hold her a bit tighter.

Looking over Alessandra’s shoulder, I catch sight of Arianna looking over at us, a smile on her lips while a tear rolls down her cheek.

I let Alessandra go when she starts to squirm in my arms and as soon as she is preoccupied by her brother, I turn to Arianna.

“She just said papi.” I say, still astonished by what I heard.

She gives me a nod. “She did. I’m sure she will be saying full sentences again in no time.”

“Yeah, maybe she will.” I state, watching her as she watches the kids.

I don’t know if it's the joy of hearing Allie say another word, or it's the joy that this woman brings me and my children, but I grab her chin and bring her face closer to mine and place a chaste kiss on her lips.

When it comes to our relationship, we are not very affectionate towards each other when the kids are around. But I think this is a solid exception.

“What was that for?” Arianna asks, a shy smile forming on her lips.

“If you weren’t here, she would probably still not have said a word. In the time you’ve been here, she’s said two. So thank you. Thank you for being here, and thank you for bringing her out of the shell she was in.”

“I had nothing to do with it. It was all her.”

Arianna leans up to place a kiss on my lips before she pulls back, giving me a smile and heading to where the kids are.

That felt normal.

The kiss, the interaction, it all fell normal and there isn't an ounce of guilt flowing through me.

No guilt as I smile watching her interact with my kids.

I’m breaking the vow to myself to never be involved with someone in this capacity again, and there is no guilt at all.

29

There’s a happiness in my chest that I haven't felt in a very long time.

I’m sure if I thought about it, thought about when was the last time I was this happy, I would be taken back to a time when my dad was still alive.

Years. I haven’t felt this way in years and I don’t want to go away.

I should want it to go away, considering who is the root cause of the smile on my face, but even knowing that I'm sleeping with the devil of Chicago isn't enough to take my joy away.

That's what I realized tonight, when I watched Allie run to her dad and say something for the first time in weeks. And I realized it even more when Dante placed a chaste kiss on my lips as if that was our new normal.

In a way it was.

As I fold some of the kids' laundry, a smile spreads on my face, because I did the right thing by telling Gallo that I was done with our plan.

I’m done trying to be a vigilante and bring down the bad and powerful that Chicago has to offer. It’s not my place.

Do I still think that the person that killed my father has to be brought down? Yes, yes I do, but I will leave that to the cops. I no longer want any part in finding his killer, even if I do still want to torture the bastard in the same matter.

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