Hugging my arms around my waist, I shook my head. “Not really in the mood anymore.”
“Suit yourself.” Without another glance in my direction, he returned his focus to his computer screen, typing loudly on the attached keyboard.
Effectively dismissed, I backed out of the room. On my trek down the hallway, headed toward the owner’s suite where I spent most of my time, excitement began to creep in.
Tomorrow was full of possibilities. The biggest one being whether I might find an ally in Matteo’s new wife. Since she was an outsider, maybe she would be willing to help me find a way out of this mess without having to give up my son.
It was a long shot, but I was almost out of options, so I had to take it.
Chapter 13
Rory
Ifrownedupatthe mansion set before us as we drove through the front gates. “Is this a different house?”
My memory might be fuzzy after seven years away, but I could have sworn Matteo lived in a chateau-style house with distinctive turrets—something you’d expect to belong to an aristocrat in the French countryside. This structure, however, had a stone façade that gave off a cottage feel. And if I wasn’t mistaken, it was situated right on the lake.
“Mmm.” Gio shifted the SUV into park. “Old place burned down a few years back, from what I’ve been told.”
My eyes grew wide. “Burned down?”
He turned to me with an arched eyebrow. “Have you been away so long that you’ve forgotten how dangerous this life is? How there’s always someone aiming for the target on our backs?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. I just didn’t think—”
“Think what? That there aren’t monsters currently lurking in the shadows, trying to take power for themselves?”
Swallowing thickly, I rasped, “What happened to wives and children being off limits?”
Gio scoffed. “You can’t expect a man who abused his own wife and children to care much about putting anyone else’s in the line of fire. Literally in this case.”
Lips parted in shock at his revelation that the family was currently under attack, I managed to ask, “Who?”
As his head dropped back against the seat, my husband’s eyes slid shut. “Fucking Dario.”
I couldn’t contain my gasp. “Youruncle?”
This was worse than I thought. A rival organization was one thing, but an insurrection from within meant bloodshed. Lots of it. Gio’s head wouldn’t be the one they wanted, and with his brother next in line, it made sense that Dario would come after his family, too. Any and all opposition or claims to the throne had to be eliminated for him to take over—including my baby boy.
Icy tendrils of fear tightened around my heart, and my eyes darted around, searching for assassins hidden in the elaborate landscaping. “M-maybe we shouldn’t be here.”
Gio did the absolute last thing I would have ever expected him to do: he grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “My men are on high alert; every Bellini residence has been heavily fortified. Outside of our estate, this is the safest place in the city. Trust me.”
Wry laughter filled the cabin. If trust had ever existed between us—which I highly doubted—it was irrevocably broken after he’d gotten plastic surgery to trick me into believing he was someone else so he could get me pregnant and drag me back home. How in the hell did he expect me to ever believe another damn word he said, let alone believe that he could keep me safe when therewere dangerous men out there who viewed the innocent life I carried as a threat?
I wasn’t naïve. I’d grown up in organized crime. For the next few months, it would be as simple as: kill the mother, and in turn, kill the heir.
My life was on the line just as much as Gio’s.
Releasing his hold on me, Gio hopped out of the SUV, rounding the hood to help me out. On shaky legs, I walked beside him to the front door, and together we waited for someone to answer after ringing the doorbell.
When the door was pulled open, it was Matteo who stood on the other side, a genuine smile on his face. “Hey! You made it. Come on in.” He stepped aside to grant us entry, then took our coats.
“Where would you like the present?” I held up the brightly colored gift bag in my hand.
“I can take that.” He eased it from my grasp. “Summer’s in the kitchen doing some last-minute prep before the guests arrive. I have to steal Gio away to sign some documents, but I can introduce you first.”
“Sure, sounds great.”
