Page 153 of Mafia and Gold Digger

“Not until I hear it from Miss Emerald or Miss Jacquetta. You could be a murderer for all I know.”Oh, lady, if only you knew… She’s getting on my last damn nerve, and I just about resist the urge to snap at her that the guards wouldn’t have let me pass if they didn’t know who I was.

“Look, lady, I get you’re just trying to keep them safe?—"

“It’s okay.” Milena’s voice rings out as she saunters up to the door, eating a granola bar. “He’s Emerald’s fiancé.”

The housekeeper eyes me up and down. “Oh,it’s him.” Great. I wonder what not-so-wonderful things she’s heard about me. The woman sighs as she pulls out her phone from the pocket of her apron. “I need to clear it with Miss Jacquetta since none of the family are home right now.”

I tap my foot impatiently as she dials Jacquetta. “Miss, there’s a grumpy man here who I think is Miss Emerald’s fiancé. He says he’s here to take the kids.” There’s a pause as Jacquetta says something in response. The housekeeper narrows her beady gaze at me. “What is he like? Well, he’s dressed all in black and looks like a serial killer.Oh, and he’scold and emotionless…”

Okay, she’s definitely heard all about me from Emerald and Jacquetta.

She holds out her phone to me. “She wants to talk to you to make sure you’re who you’re claiming to be.”

I snatch the phone from her, barely suppressing my scowl. “Jacquetta, I’m taking the kids home. I don’t even know why Emerald brought the kids here. Their home is with me.”

There’s a long pause. “Okay, Saint. But on the condition that if you need to work, you call me to come over and babysit. Okay?”

“Fine. Have you heard anything from her?”

“No,” Jacquetta responds. “But I’ll keep trying her cell and ask around.”

“Thanks,” I murmur.

“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for her,” Jacquetta grits out.

I bite back a smile. At least someone is loyal to Emerald. “Noted.”

Handing the phone back to the housekeeper, she speaks briefly with Jacquetta before hanging up. “Okay, children,” she announces. “You’re going home.”

Finally. I stop myself from rolling my eyes as I hoist Giulietta into my arms and head back to my car with Jaspar and Milena either side of me.

“I tried to teach them how to play chess,” Jaspar tells me, shaking his head and dusting my arm in green glitter.What the hell did that housekeeper do to my kids? “But I’m not as good at explaining the rules like you.”

I nod, slowly making my way to the car and feeling that pit in my stomach loosen slightly now that I know the kids are safe. One problem down; only about a million more to go.

Carefully, I buckle them into their booster seats, dusting the glitter from my arms. “Why are you two covered in glitter?”

“We did arts and crafts!”

“Oh.”

“Giulietta got it on my picture, so I got it on hers.” Jaspar sticks his tongue out at his sister, and I can’t help my snort. It’s the first drop of amusement I’ve felt in what feels like a long while.

Milena gives the nosy Nancy of a housekeeper a wave before getting in.

As we drive back to my mansion, Jaspar tells me all about their sleepover, including the battle of cowboys and spaceships, complete with sound effects.

My eyes are glued to the road, but every so often, they drift to the backseat. The image of another car seat with a baby keeps popping into my head, and I have to force myself to snap back to reality.

By the time we’ve pulled up to the house, Giulietta’s drifted off, and Milena’s bored expression has changed. “Is…Em going to be okay?”

I stop as we climb the front steps. “Yeah, she’s going be fine, Milena. She just needs some time to unwind. She’s stressed.”

“Is that why she ran out on the wedding? She’s stressed? I’m not a kid. I can handle whatever’s going on.”

I swallow hard and start walking up the steps again, careful not to jostle Giulietta who’s sleeping in my arms. “Nothing’s going on. We’re just working things out. She needs some time, and I’m giving it to her.”

“Whatever.”

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