“I’ve taken nothing from you,” Alessandro spat. “You have ten seconds to turn around, or I’ll water my lawn with your blood.”
“Nothing? Nothing!” the voice of death rang out.
I blinked. Iknewthat voice.
It was the lack of the characteristic smile that kept me from recognizing it at first.
Inching out of my cousin’s claws, I risked a look around the front bumper. To my horror, Ivan stood beside his truck, staring with a vicious intensity at my cousin’s husband. A black tee hugged his massive frame. Such simple clothing for an act of aggression. He must have caught the movement, because his gaze flicked toward me. I hunkered back with a whimper.
“Explain yourself. You have five seconds before my men open fire,” Mancini clipped out.
“That is my son, and I’ve come to take him home.”
The words hung in the air.
Through the blistering panic, it took a moment for them to register.
My worst nightmare come to life. No,no!It wasn’t possible.
And yet, I knew the truth in an instant. Similarities snapped into place. Details from our interactions danced through my mind with fiendish glee.
Ivan had recognized my son via that birthmark.
“No,” I hissed as I clutched at the tire for support.
I knew when I adopted Brady that this was always a possibility. A foundling didn’t show up at a country church without a terrible backstory placing him there. Hell, the priests had asked me to take him in because I was also a child of the mob.
But I’d kept him hidden, kept him safe!
A violent curse stabbed my heart at my own stupidity. I should have stayed in the country. That was where we were safe.
“You have no proof,” Alessandro argued, recovering from his own shock.
Ivan’s voice was harsh. “I ran the DNA test last night. We just got the results.”
Thump-thump.
Thumpety-thump.
My blood battled through my veins, making it difficult to think or breathe.
“And now, I’m bringing him home,” Ivan continued. “Step aside, don.”
My fingers clawed at my throat as the refusal exploded in my mind, unable to be formed into words. I would grab him. I would run! We could drive away, find somewhere no one knew him.
“He’s my cousin’s child,” Alessandro said coldly. “I cannot allow you to harm a member of my family.”
Another vicious laugh crackled through the soft morning air. “Family? You speak to me of family, don? I don’t know howmyson—my own flesh and blood—found his way into the life of your cousin, but even you can’t deny I have a blood claim on the boy.”
Alessandro growled.
“He’s my heir!” Ivan roared.
Tears blurred my vision.
This couldn’t be happening. We were supposed to be protected here. And yet, if Alessandro honored that pact, if he protected us, his men would die. He could be hurt—
And Penelope.
