Page 6 of Labria

“You haven’t been in any danger in months. You are not a target. Our child will not be a target. Please, stop birth control so we can have a child.”

“Why are you always trying to give me a baby?” I moved from the spot I was planted in to walk toward the bed.

“I told you ten thousand times before. I have to be married. You know that. I’m not having any kids out of wedlock.”

“Marriage is not that important.”

“Since when?” I jabbed my hand in the air. “It’s important to me.” I tapped my chest with my palm. “I thought it was important to you.”

“I want a baby with you.”

“A baby with no marriage? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“No, you’re putting words in my mouth.”

“If you’re worried about your money. I can sign a prenup. I have money. It doesn’t compare you want you have, but I’m marrying for love. I thought that’s what we have. Now I have a job. So I’m not trying to get your money.”

“This is not about money. This is not about a prenup. I don’t care about you getting my money.”

“So, what is it? I don’t understand.”

“We don’t have time to plan a wedding this quickly. Things are extremely busy for you and me. It’s going to take a baby nine months to get here. That gives us time.”

“I’m still going to be a single mother. You are never around. You’re always traveling somewhere for your brother.”

“I’m trying to learn the business, you know that. I don’t have any experience being in underboss. I have to be out there in the forefront for now. Just until people get to know who I am and what I stand for.”

“You forget this all was supposed to be temporary. I’m not stupid. I know you liked it here with these people.”

“They are my family.”

I wanted to yell, since when, but I was getting used to holding my tongue. “I thought I was your family.”

“You are. I love you. We can talk about this when I return. Isn’t your sister flying into town tomorrow?”

“Yes, you know that already. You still haven’t met her. I met every single person in your family, even all these Bregoli’s, but you still haven’t met anybody in my family.”

“You know that was not intentional.”

My sister was leaving her family and flying here to Vegas to spend the weekend with me. The plan was clear. She was supposed to meet Lord. She had already met Nicco.

Now I was going to look stupid again. She was coming in and Lord was leaving out. This BMF family always took precedent over everything. Just when I thought things were going well, something like this would happen. Something seemed to drive us further apart.

“Bria, I will make this up to you. I’m going to meet your sister and her husband one day soon. We have the rest of our lives to be together. The day will come.”

Did we? Did we have the rest of our lives? I couldn’t be as confident as he could be.

I left him alone to finish packing his suitcase. I didn’t want to look at him. I also didn’t want to see him pack to leave me because his brother commanded it.

Chapter Three

LORDES

Ihad to clear my mind before the jet landed at Midway. I didn’t expect to have an argument with Bria when we had been getting along so well lately. I couldn’t please her and everything I did or in this case didn’t do irritated her.

I needed to get into my tough guy persona in order to do my underboss job. If Bria would just get pregnant, we could move to the next stage in our relationship. The bickering no longer mattered to me. I wanted a child, boy or girl. It didn’t matter to me. My Gram really wanted a great-grandchild. I was going to do whatever I had to do to get her pregnant. Once she was with child, there was nothing she could do to get rid of me.

I touched down in Chicago and I had an immediate meeting with the boss of the Chicago Chinatown Triads. Lou Wu, was the leader of the Chicago Triads he was acting as the boss although his father was still living. He gave his business to his youngest son. I was so lawful that I didn’t know all these crime organizations existed in my hometown.

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