“Our world isn’t one for a baby,” I said.
“We turned out okay,” she whined back at me. Her hands lifted to her mouth and she started crying again. “Oh my god. I really thought you’d be happy. I was excited. Yeah, our current circumstances aren’t ideal, but I told myself as long as I had you by my side, I’d be okay.” She started for the door, but I jumped up and grabbed her hand. “Let me go.”
“No.” I turned her back towards me and pulled her into a hug.
Her arms wrapped around me and clenched at my back and I tried to get my mind around the truth. If I took everything out of it. If there was no Angelo, no mafia war, no bad-blood or secret coups, how would I feel about Natalia being pregnant?
“I’m happy,” I said.
She shook her head. “Don’t lie.”
I stepped back and looked down at her. “I’m not lying.” I dropped my head to hers and took a kiss, more passionate this time. “If we were in the situation we’re in. If I was just some guy, and you were just some girl.” I snickered. “Well, I don’t know that you could ever just besomegirl, but if we weren’t who we are. If we were just two people in love and you were pregnant, I’d be over the fucking moon.” I set a hand on her belly. “A little boy or girl. With your eyes and my curly hair. Maybe we’d get lucky and it’d get Alessandra’s voice?”
Natalia laughed. “Romeo’s resilience, Marcello’s fire, Savio’s kindness.”
“Lucia could lend us some heartbreaking beauty, and Chiara’s brains. Antonio’s dimples.”
A tear slipped down Natalia’s cheek. “Gianni’s immortality.”
“Yeah,” I said with a laugh and tears filled my eyes as well. “Yeah. If that was it, god. I’d be a wreck right now just trying to figure out how to be a good dad, but… a baby, intothis?”
Natalia shrugged. “We’ll just have to figure it out.” She put a hand on her stomach. “I’m not giving up my baby any sooner than I’m giving up its father.”
“Are you sure? It’s not going to be easy,” I replied.
“I don’t want it to be easy,” she said.
“Okay. I guess we’re having a baby then.”
She smiled. “Yeah. I guess we are.”
I wouldn’t let Natalia out of my sight after that. Knowing that everyone in the house knew of our relationship already, I felt slightly more emboldened to move around without issue. We went and checked on Savio, who was in rough shape, but not as bad as Natalia expected. Alessandra was right by his side nursing him exactly as Natalia did me, and I could see Savio was diverting all of his strength towards keeping a firm grip on her waist.
Marcello and Romeo were pretty much the same, keeping Chiara and Lucia well within their sights. They both pulled guns instantly when we went by their rooms, but lowered them when they saw us. Lucia was sleeping, which was a relief because she needed it, and I made sure to mention to Romeo that, whatever he had planned, I was in.
He set a gun straight against my skull before I left. “What are your feelings for my little sister?”
“I’m in love with her,” I said. “I’m going to take care of her for the rest of our lives,” and after glancing at her and knowing she felt okay with it, I added, “our baby too.”
Romeo’s eyes widened at her. “You’re pregnant?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Then I got punched in the face, but I supposed I had that coming. “Good,” Romeo replied to me. “See to it that you do.”
Once we’d done our rounds, we retired to my room for the night, locking the door with confidence that no one would come looking that couldn’t see us there, and we settled into the first restful night we’d had since we first met.
That was until we got snatched out of bed. A shroud was pulled over my face before I could get my eyes on Natalia, and my mouth was gagged to keep me from screaming. I flailed about, trying to make contact with anyone, anything, but my hands were restrained behind my back. I was shoved into a car that traveled far enough that I lost track of how long it had been, and then I was dragged out of the car.
All I saw was a body as my cover was pulled off giving me the chance to headbutt the person standing in front of me.
“Fuck!” Marcello yelled as I started to charge forward until a hand grabbed mine.
I flipped around and Natalia was standing there, unharmed. “It’s okay!”
She undid the rope restraining my wrists and pulled the gag out. “What the fuck?”
I scanned the room, and to my surprise, my sisters were there as well, along with Romeo and Savio.
