I nod, accepting that makes the most sense. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be with Ares right now.
“Oh, God,” I blurt as it dawns on me. “We have to go.”
“Go where?” she asks.
“Angelo has an entire army on the island,” I tell her. “He’s with Ares right now, trying to renegotiate the treaty.”
“Oh fuck.” Her eyes widen. “We really have to go.”
When we arriveat the Stavros compound, I’m expecting an argument from the guards. But as soon as Mariella demands to be let in, they grant her request. I give her a sidelong glance, butshe shakes her head. Now isn’t the time to get into her history with Ares.
The head guard leads us straight to Ares’s den, and when he opens the door, both he and Angelo swing their gazes to us. An air of tension fills the room, and in the interest of preventing a war, I just go ahead and blurt it right out.
“I’m pregnant.”
Ares smirks and plucks a signed piece of paper from his desk. “Well, that’s unfortunate timing.”
“Angelo.” Mariella glances between the two of them. “What did you do?”
He doesn’t hear her, because he’s looking at me. After the initial shock wears off, he rises to his feet and pulls me against him.
“You’re pregnant?” he repeats.
I nod through my tears, and he searches my eyes, holding back his own emotion.
“It’s okay.” I force the words from my raw throat. “We’re having a baby. We can be excited.”
He kisses me right there in front of his enemy, as if nothing else exists beyond this moment. That is, until Ares opens his big mouth again.
“As happy as I am for the two of you, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that our deal still stands.”
“What did you do?” Mariella pins Ares with a glare.
“I agreed to amend the treaty,” Ares says, as if it were a philanthropic gesture.
“And what did you offer in return?” Mariella turns to Angelo.
“We’ll keep that between us,” Ares supplies.
“You’re an asshole,” she bites out.
He shrugs, letting the insult bounce right off him. “You had the opportunity to tell your brother before he came here. Youchose not to. I’m an opportunist, Mariella. You should know that by now.”
“Mariella?” Angelo glances at her in question.
“He had the chart notes from the doctors Matteo paid off,” Mariella tells us. “He knew all along.”
“I like to keep myself apprised of the goings-on around this island,” Ares says. “Don’t act like you aren’t keeping tabs on my family as well.”
“How did you find out?” I scowl at him.
“I had Matteo followed, and I paid off the same dirty doctors he did. Simple.”
“Vaffanculo,” Angelo mutters.
“You can escort my guests out now,” Ares tells his guards. “Thank you for the visit. It’s been a pleasure as always.”
Angelo shoves the guard who tries to touch him and presses a hand to my lower back as he guides me from the room.
