Oh my god, hold back the tears, Lin.Fucking Sara.
How could you walk away from this?
I blink hard. I will not cry in front of this child. I will not fall apart right now.
I cup his small face in both hands and look him dead in the eyes.
“What? I am one thousand percent your mommy, kiddo. And don’t you ever forget it.”
His whole face splits open into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on him. He throws his arms around my neck and squeezes with every ounce of his strength.
I hold on just as tight.
I give him a kiss on the cheek, and then I leave.
I have spent years dismantling men who thought themselves untouchable. I have stared down mob lawyers and sat across from killers and never once let my hands shake. I have builtcases brick by brick against people the system refused to touch, and I have won.
Yet… nothing, not one moment in any of it, prepared me for a five-year-old boy asking me to be his mother.
I head into my closet to get dressed and then leave the house with my guards in tow. When we arrive on the estate, I’m immediately shown up to the second-floor bedroom.
There are men milling about the compound in various states of disarray. I try not to let the sight of their blood, cuts, and scrapes dampen my spirit. I don’t see any member of the family until I’m pushing the door open.
When I do, it reveals all the brothers in various spots around the room. And then there’s Valentina seated at his bedside. Matteo’s on the bed, shirtless, with his middle bandaged. And he’s awake, his back against the headboard. My entire world narrows down to him and only him.
I don’t stop for a second before climbing into the bed as well. He’s ready to hold me as soon as I wrap my arms around him.
“Don’t ever do that again,” I say against his chest.
“Sorry I worried you, baby,” he murmurs softly.
I fight the tears welling up in my eyes, pulling away so I can look at him clearly.
“What happened?”
“I got stabbed.”
My lips tilt down in a frown. The indifference in his tone rubs me the wrong way.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snap, smacking the side of his chest.
He huffs out a breath, bending over slightly. “Considering I had to get at least a pint of blood donated to me last night, I’d say you should treat me like precious cargo.”
“The blood was from me,” a voice speaks up, and I finally consider the other people in the room.
It’s Raffaele, and I feel a slight chill as I watch him twirling a knife in his hands. He looks up at me with a grin that makes me feel even more threatened. I scoot closer to Matteo.
“You donated?” I ask.
“Gave that asshole my precious blood and he didn’t even say thank you.”
“To be fair, it’s kind of his blood too,” I point out. “You’re brothers, right?”
Matteo chuckles at my side. “That’s what I said.”
Raffaele snarls, “Aren’t the two of you perfect for each other?”
I smile at that, still feeling a little unsettled in his presence.
