Lips pressed together, he kept his answer honest. “I don’t know.”
With his attention locked on his phone, my husband tapped the screen and pulled up Benito’s contact—the most seniormember of the estate’s security team. While waiting for the call to connect, he engaged the speaker function, and endless ringing filled the room.
My heart thrashed against my ribcage. The longer the call went unanswered, the more panicked I became, realizing that we were snowed-in sitting ducks. If Dario’s contingent had somehow managed to beat the elements, this was the perfect time to attack.
“Sir?”
Relief crashed into me so hard that my knees threatened to buckle when Benito’s strong voice came through the speaker.
Gio didn’t mince words. “What are we dealing with?”
“Transformer blew. The whole neighborhood is out,” Benito relayed the situation.
“Is there an estimate as to when we can expect the power to be restored? There’s a newborn in the house, and we need heat.”
“Uh, congratulations, sir.” The security guard cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, at this time, the power company is doing everything they can, but they’re stretched thin with downed powerlines causing outages across the city. It could be a while before they make it out this way.”
“Keep me updated.” Gio hung up without another word.
Staring up at him, I swallowed thickly. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to grab firewood and start a fire in the living room. You’re going to go upstairs and get Luca. Bundle him up with all the blankets you can find, put a hat on his head, and bring him down here. Okay?”
I gave a jerky nod. “Okay.”
“We have enough non-perishables in the pantry to last long enough for the power to come back on or the roads to be cleared, whichever happens first.” He shook his head with a wry laugh.“Kid’s gonna have one hell of a story about the week he was born.”
“I’m gonna need a vacation after all of this.” I groaned.
Gio tugged me toward the doorway where we’d split up to divide and conquer. “Fuck, after this, Matteo will be lucky I don’t leave him in charge again and disappear for good this time.”
He was joking, trying to lighten the heavy mood; he would never walk away from his position of power—not permanently, anyway. But that didn’t stop me from wishing for the impossible, for a life free of the constant danger, one where Gio could submit to love.
“Meet me in the living room.”
After a hand squeeze of reassurance, we broke apart. He whistled for Cosmo to follow him outside, and I hustled as quickly as my current condition would allow up the stairs, using my own cell phone’s flashlight to guide the way. Ducking into the primary suite to pull on a few extra layers of clothing for myself, I then resumed my mission to retrieve and bundle up my baby boy.
A smile tugged onto my lips as I stepped into the nursery.
Within days of his arrival, Luca had become my bright spot in the darkness. Every time I held him, my heart swelled to the point of bursting with a type of love I’d never known. It was unconditional; there was nothing he could do—even taking over as Don of this family—that could ever diminish it. And God help those gunning for us, because I was willing to kill to protect him.
“Hello, my sweet boy,” I cooed, alerting him to my presence as I moved closer to the crib.
Only to find it empty.
My free hand roved over every inch of the flat sheets, and I called out his name, “Luca?” as if a newborn baby could answer.
With panic clawing a path up my throat, I rushed to the open doorway. “GI—”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
A smooth voice interrupted my cry for help, and I spun around with a blood-curdling scream, dropping my phone.
Whoever lurked in a dark corner of the room tsked. “Very disappointing, Rory. Though I can’t say I’m surprised, given that your reputation for defiance precedes you.”
Trembling from head to toe, I dared to ask, “Wh-who are you? And what have you done with my baby?”
His dark chuckle sent a chill down my spine. “Forgive me for not offering my congratulations earlier. He truly is a handsome young man, though my opinion may be biased, seeing as genetically, I’m his uncle.”
