Page 32 of Knocked up by the Mafia

When we reach the car, I climb into the back with her while Jarryd and Robbie climb in the front.

“Go! Go! Go!” Jarryd yells at our brother.

He spins his tires as he turns around and speeds the way we came. I hear Jarryd talking on the phone, I assume to Ronan.

“We need guards at the hospital so they don’t attack her there.”

I wish they would try.

I would make sure they couldn’t do it again.\

Chapter 19 - Natalia

Have you ever tried to swim down to the bottom of the deep end of a public pool only to find it’s too deep? You try and swim up, and there’s a moment, maybe two or three feet from the surface, when everything slows down, and you feel like you’re fighting the water. Like it’s trying to drag you drown while you use the last bit of oxygen you’re holding in your lungs.

That is how I feel as I open my eyes. Everything is out of focus, and my first thought is that I’m drowning. Then I take a breath, and I close my eyes again. I don’t know for how long. Time seems to be moving incredibly slowly. Everything hurts, and I want to feel for my baby. I want to know the baby is safe but I can’t lift my arms. The water is dragging me down faster than I can surface.

I open my eyes again, a little more in focus. I swallow and lick my lips. I close my eyes and drift off.

I open them again when I hear hushed voices.

“I don’t care that he saved her. She wouldn't have gotten kidnapped if she hadn’t run after him.”

I try to focus on what they’re saying, but it’s hard. I squint to see who it is that Ivan is speaking to. He looks like Daniel.

No.

If possible, it’s an older version of Daniel with a thicker accent. It must be Ronan.

“Why are you being so stubborn about this?” Ronan asks. “You’re not averse to negotiating with enemies. I know because you negotiated with Alessandro Sorvinho.”

“Exactly. Since we made an alliance with the Italians, everyone thinks we’re a free-for-all. That we’ll barter our people off for power. My power comes from how I oversee my family, not my marriage alliances.”

“They don’t hurt.” Ronan shouldn’t have said that.

Ivan growls, “How do I know you’re not using Natalia? She’s not one for relationships. This obsession she has with your brother is something she’s never done. It’s completely out of character for her. You want to know why I’m being stubborn. It’s because I think you and your brother are using Natalia’s situation with the Sicilians to gain her favor, therefore trying to get me to lower my guard.”

“I’m not that ambitious,” Ronan says with a shake of his head.

“So you say, yet it is coincidentally your brother who is hired to kill my cousin, and it is coincidentally your brother who gets her knocked up. How can your brother be so smart yet not know who Natalia was when he met her in that bar? Hmm?” Ivan steps forward, but Ronan doesn’t back away. “Natalia is not in her right mind to make decisions. She’s never had a proper relationship before, and now that she is pregnant, she feels as though she doesn’t have options. Daniel has convinced her they must be a family, and she’s latched onto that. I am her family, her brother is her family, and we don’t need a bunch of interfering Irish dickheads coming into our lives.”

I’m alert now and frowning. He is making choices for me because he thinks I’m not of sound mind. He couldn’t be further from the truth. Okay, maybe I’m a little more emotional than usual, but I’ve never been more sure of a decision than I am of Daniel.

He loves me.

I know that.

I love him.

I know that.

I shift in the bed, but I shouldn’t have moved because it catches Ivan’s attention. He meets my eyes and then looks at Ronan. “Leave. You can tell your brother she’s fine if he honestly cares, but he’s not to see her.”

“I’ll be in touch again soon to negotiate. Once you’re calm.”

Ronan walks off, and Ivan watches him for a moment before he turns and walks toward me. He approaches my bedside and takes my hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Nat.”

“Because I’m not in my right mind?” I ask with a croaky voice.

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