Page 108 of Of Desire And Deception

“Mia thinks it’s better for the baby to be around family,” he said. “We’re staying. She might want to visit Calabria every year, though. She and nonna have formed quite a bond. They’re menaces.”

“I know what that’s like,” I laughed. “I married one.”

Niccolò looked at me, his eyes intense. “You look happy.”

“I am,” I answered. “I love her. And fuck knows why, but she loves me back.”

“Kidnapping,” he said sarcastically. “Women love that shit.”

I couldn’t stop the belly laugh, drawing attention from those around us. There were no more fucks to give. My brother was back at my side.

I finished my glass and set it on a side table while we caught up, Romeo and Dante throwing in their own jokes and barbs. It was how we were always meant to be. Together.

A loud boom vibrated the windows, interrupting the revelry, and we all crouched low. Dante's phone rang, and he picked it up, swearing at whatever his man told him.

“Come on.” He motioned us toward the back. “I can’t make this shit up.”

“Where’s my wife?” Niccolò searched the crowd for Mia, but I didn’t see any of the women.

“With the others, the fuckers,” Dante growled, stalking out the back door.

Snowflakes floated down, but I couldn’t feel the cold. I was too worried about Remi. We rushed through the garden, around the pool, and beyond the guest houses where the guards lived. Mia stood at the top of the steps to Olesya’s clinic, bundled in her coat.

Suspicion began to form, and my jaw tightened as I realized the women were involved in whatever had happened. Men in long coats and suits huddled around something at the back edge of the yard, and Bianca and Riona waved their arms, shouting. Olesya stood off to the side, hand covering her face as she shook her head. I couldn’t see Remi.

I broke into a run, passing my brothers and reaching the men. They stood around a massive hole in the ground, and three of them held—

“Get your fucking hands off my wife!” I shouted, reaching for my knife and flipping the blade open. My vision went red as I swiped at the first guard, but a large hand closed around my wrist.

“Cos, stop!” Dante yelled as I whirled, stopping the blade an inch from his neck. “She’s fine. See?”

I yanked the knife away, my chest heaving as I turned to find Remi, unapologetic, with her hands on her hips.

“What the fuck is going on?” I demanded.

“She blew a fucking hole in the yard!” one of the guards exclaimed, waving his arms toward the blackened crater. “Fucking insane!”

I pointed my blade at him. “We’ll chat later. Remi, what’s going on?”

“The cellar,” she said, biting her lip. She stepped close, her chest touching mine.

“What have you done?”

Dante’s jaw dropped, and he looked at me with knowing eyes. Regret. I’d never told him exactly what our father had done, though he’d tried to pull it out of me over the years. It was worth keeping the secret to protect him. I shook my head, silently letting him know it wasn’t his fault.

“I couldn’t let it go.” Remi trembled, her hands cold as she brushed her fingers down my cheek, across my jaw. “I couldn’t bear to think that remnants of your horror and pain still lingered under the earth. So I cleaned it up. With fire.”

“You did that for me?”

She nodded, a bit of her sass returning. “Yes. And I’d do it again a thousand times over.”

I couldn’t breathe. My chest ached, swelling with those damn emotions I could never quite decipher. Gratitude. Love. Awe.

I scooped her up, tossing her over my shoulder, ignoring her squeals of protest. I turned to my brothers. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to have a word with my wife.”

The snow-covered ground rushed by under my feet as I jogged back to the house, slipping past Filippo at the back door and heading straight to Dante’s office. I heard him chuckle as I shut and locked the door. I dropped Remi onto the couch and flipped her bright red dress up, exposing her.

“Fuck, you’re not wearing panties,” I groaned, kissing her mound.

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