Page 67 of Arranged

While the view of New York City was beautiful, the stark setting wasn’t anything like either Gabriel or I were used to. My son missed his swing and I missed my practice. I’d come to realize I’d taken for granted being able to walk out on my deck whenever I’d wanted, enjoying the fresh air and blue skies while drinking coffee.

Or a glass of wine.

I missed the sounds of nature. Being cooped up with guards at the door with no ability to open a window had felt more like a prison than anything else. Granted, Alejandro had done everything in his power to make us feel at home, including filling the room provided for my son with toys and books.

But it just wasn’t the same.

Even New York pizza and Chinese takeout hadn’t appeased either one of us. “But this is fun, right? A new adventure.” How many times had I said something like that? Too many. This wasn’t an adventure. This was a nightmare.

He shrugged and lowered his juice box, the tears remaining.

At least after returning from our nonexistent honeymoon and taking up residence at the condo, my husband hadn’t attempted to force me into a passionate moment. It was funny how being threatened dulled the senses.

I thought once again about the couple who’d been murdered in our place and rubbed my arms. They’d lost their lives to protect ours. It was still unfathomable to me what lengths some asshole would go to in order to gain territory or power.

Another reason I hated this world.

“Well, we’ll be able to go home soon.” The worst thing I’d done was lie to my son. We’d never be allowed to return to my beautiful house or my practice. The ache for my loss continued to grow.

“Can I have a puppy when we do?”

“A puppy?” I swept him off his feet, spinning him around. In doing so, he almost dropped the half full juice box. My latest evil thought included wondering how Alejandro would react to having a purple stain on his lush white rug. What mafia man condoned white carpet?

“Yes! And I’ll name him Moose. No, Bwazer!”

At that very moment, I wanted nothing more than to head to one of the local shelters and select his new best friend. Another pang of guilt and anger slammed into my heart. “Well, then I guess we’ll have to see what the birthday fairy can do.”

“Realwy?” At least his little eyes were now lit with excitement.

“Yes, realwy. Now, why don’t you go and finish watching your favorite movie? Maybe we’ll make some popcorn tonight. Would you like that?”

Gabriel wrinkled his nose. “O-tay.” Which translated into ‘not really.’ I was losing all my tips and tricks on keeping him entertained. He needed fresh air and sunshine.

Damn this life.

Damn my father.

And damn Alejandro.

He’d spouted off his desire for us to work together, but he’d left me entirely alone. I wanted to scratch out the man’s eyes.

I let Gabriel down, watching as he scampered off to his beautiful but cold room. Love added the warmth. Yes, I loved my son dearly, but I couldn’t be the mother I wanted to be. Not here.

When he was out of sight, another wave of sadness and loneliness became overwhelming. I wasn’t a woman to fall into dramatics, but I was now the one ready to burst into tears.

I yanked out my phone and walked toward the ridiculously large window fronting the city.

“Lupini Pediatric Clinic. How can I help you?”

Hearing Zoe’s voice was heartwarming, yet fed the despair. “How are things at my clinic?” I laughed in an attempt to try to disguise the tone of my voice. I knew it was hollow, devoid of any real emotion. I’d told myself the best thing to do was to shut down.

“Dr. Lupini! Oh, my God. I saw your beautiful pictures on Instagram. You were insanely gorgeous and you looked so happy.” Zoe was far too excited. Her using my professional name meant there were patients nearby. A good sign.

At least I’m managed to fool the social media crowd how happy I was. Maybe that meant our enemies sensed we were in love.

Our enemies.

What the hell did I know about the latest, greatest mob?

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