Page 45 of Tesoro: Mayhem Makers

We sway back and forth for several moments. I’d missed her, Andi was a part of me, a deep rooted layer I never want to shed.

“I’m sorry I made you puke.”

“I think it was the smell of the flowers.”

Andi pulls out of our embrace, a quizzical look on her face, “You love flowers.”

“Normally, yes.” I agree, stepping around her and into the bedroom. Growing up, Nona had a small garden in the backyard. She taught me how to grow vegetables, herbs and a few flowers.

“But those,” pointing at the discarded bouquet in the center of a table. “Smell like death.”

Andi walks across the room, picking up the flowers and sniffing the blooms. “They smell fine to me,” she shrugs before opening the door and placing them in the hall. “You know, I had a patient once who couldn't stand the smell of coffee while she was pregnant. Could you imagine?” She laughs, walking across the room before sitting on the corner of the bed.

A wave of panic washes over me. Searching the room, I run to the bedside table where my cell phone was charging.

“What is it?” Andi questions, as I stare at my calendar, lowering myself to the bed beside her..

“I’m late.” My words were barely above a whisper, shock filling my chest as I count the days three more times.

“How late? She questions, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders.

“Four days.”

“Pff, that’s noth?—”

“I’m never late, Andi,” I interrupt, turning my attention to her. “Like ever.”

“You’ve been under a lot of stress. Our fight, the storm, your exam.”

A single tear falls down my cheek as the severity of the situation hits me. Combing through my memory, I know for certain Dante didn’t use a condom. It was hot, and we were laden with passion, clearly too caught up in the moment.

“Kate, is there a chance you could be pregnant?”

Unable to speak, I lower my head as I nod twice.

“Okay, there is a pharmacy on the corner.” Andi stands from the bed, her caring eyes determined. “I'm going to run down and grab a test while you get in the shower.”

Andi didn’t wait for me to reply, instead grabbing her purse and heading out the door. It has to be the stress of the last few weeks, it has to be. Dante made his decision, further confirming it since he hasn’t tried to reach out to me. He is resourceful, evident by the way he removed Angelo from the hospital, and no doubt his involvement with what happened with Chuy and Brady.

If I am carrying his baby, I will be forced to do it alone.

Chapter

Thirty

DANTE

Frankie slides the photograph across the table toward me. “The reason you didn’t see her with that voyeur camera of yours, she was in Italy.”

“Italy?” I echo, spinning the photograph of Kate walking out of the airport in what looked to be Rome.

“You mentioned she had a Nona. It took some digging,” Frankie slides another photo across the table. “Sophia Romano, wife of Constantine Romano. According to court documents, they fostered, and then adopted Kate when the state removed her from her mother. Angela Sorontanio, aka Candy, was essentially sold by her father into prostitution at the age of twelve.”

“Maron,” I swear, my heart shattering for a young Kate. “She told me her mother was an alcoholic who chose the bottle over her.”

Frankie nods, “Her death certificate lists cirrhosis of the liver as the cause of death. Seems she chose the bottle over life.”

“Do we know where in Italy she is?” Mentally calculating how many ways I can cut this afternoon's meeting short in order to get on a plane before sunset.

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