Page 131 of Powerful Deception

Because Gallo covered his trails, he couldn’t locate us or even figure out if we were still alive. He didn’t know what had happened to us until Arianna pulled up to the gate yesterday morning.

We calculated it from the time we left the gala to the gate, me and Arianna were in Gallo’s warehouse for eleven hours.

After telling Bruno all that happened, we dispatched men to the warehouse to burn it to the ground and to make sure all three bodies were accounted for.

Once that was taken care of I rested, and spend time with the kids. Trying my hardest not to think about why Arianna would leave.

“I’ll give you the raise,” I say as I take a seat on the bed, letting out a groan in the process. “Not because you asked, but because you deserved it.”

“Much appreciated.” she says, the hard ass she was a minute ago gone. “Rest for a few more hours.”

I give her a nod as she closes the door and I slowly try to lay back on the bed.

My chest hurts and my ribs are killing me, but I’m alive and at this moment that’s all that matters.

I’m home, with my children, and they don’t have to go through the pain of losing their father a year after losing their mother.

I close my eyes a bit, waiting for sleep to take over. Angel is fast asleep next to me and I hope to follow his lead.

And I’m almost there when I hear the bedroom door creek open. Opening my eyes, I half expected it to be Evelyn coming back to reprimand me for the way I’m laying but it’s Alessandra.

Her little body squeezes in through the small door opening and she just stands there silently asking to come in.

I sit up slightly and wave her in. “Come here, Gioia Mia.”

Alessandra abandons her post at the door and comes into the room, climbing into the bed and settling in between me and her brother.

I brush her hair away as she lays her head against my chest. “Did you have a bad dream?” I ask her.

She nods against my chest, curling into my side a bit more.

I let out a sigh.

Of course, she had a bad dream. This time last year she was doing this with her mother, and then a few hours later she lost her.

“It’s okay, the bad dreams will go away soon.” I say, hoping that I’m not lying to her.

After a few minutes, I think that she has fallen asleep since she doesn’t move and all I can hear is their breathing. I’m about to lay Alessandra’s head on the pillow next to her brother’s, when she says something.

“Ari.” It’s a faint whisper, so faint that I think I imagined it.

“Did you just say something?” I ask her, brushing her bangs away from her eyes.

Alessandra nods.

“Can you repeat it for me?”

The last time she spoke she said papi, and ever since then Arianna and I have been trying to get her to speak more, but she won't budge.

“Ari.” She says, a bit louder this time.

I know if Arianna were here, she would have the biggest smile on her face and plant a boat load of kiss on Alessandra’s cheeks to deal with her excitement.

Sucks she missed it.

“Are you asking where Ari is?” I ask my daughter, hoping she answers with more words.

Unfortunately, Alessandra gives me another nod. I try to think of an answer to tell my four-year-old. I can’t very much tell her that she almost got killed and decided to leave because she might have been scared.

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