Page 20 of Mafia Doctor's Secret Baby

“I think that’s the right choice,” she tells me. “But he knows where you live now, right? You think he might come down here again…?”

“He could,” I admit. “But that doesn’t mean I have to let him in. I doubt he wants to deal with the cops if he can avoid it, so if I just threaten him with that, he’ll get the picture. He’ll leave us alone.”

“I hope so,” she mutters. “He could have the cops in his pocket, for all we know…”

I didn’t even think of that. A shudder runs down my spine, and I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment. Fuck. What if this is worse than I can make sense of right now? What if this is more than I can deal with? What if something happens to Polly because of how stupid I’ve been…?

“Hey,” Cara says, drawing me out of the reverie I’ve been lost in. “You can’t blame yourself. You didn’t know. When you got involved with him, you had no idea, and I know you would never have done this if you did.”

“Right,” I agree, but I can tell it’s not going to be that easy. I might feel as though I have walked into the middle of the worst kind of mess, but I just need to keep my head on straight and pray that this doesn’t turn into more than I can handle.

Or more than I can protect my precious baby girl against.

8

LUCA

I tryto focus on the papers in front of me, but if I’m being honest, my head is anywhere other than on what I need to do right now.

I drum my fingers on the desk, wondering how obvious it will be if I get up and head out of here for a drink. Or three. I feel as though I need to speak with Emil again—I need to spend some time with him and figure out how I should handle everything with Polly and Katie.

Knowing that they’re so close, and knowing that I have no choice but to keep my distance, is killing me. I’ve never even thought about having a family before this—the notion of it never really appealed to me, even if I knew one day I would have to settle down and begin a new generation of our family. But this…this is the last way I expected it to happen.

With someone who has nothing to do with this world. Someone who, I’m sure, would never have slept with me if she knew the truth of who I was and what I did. I can only imagine she would have turned her back on me and stalked off without anotherword if I hadn’t been hiding behind that mask, if I’d been honest about who I was.

But now she’s a part of it, whether she likes it or not. And so is her daughter. That’s the hardest part for me, knowing that I’ve pulled a little girl into the midst of this whole mess. I’ve helped deliver so many babies in the time I’ve been at the hospital, and to see that innocence, that sweetness, and know that I might have marred it with my family name…shit, it’s more than I can make sense of.

I’ve been considering reaching out to my father to let him know what’s going on, but I can already guess how badly he’d take it. There’s enough going on in our world now as it is, without having to worry about a kid he has no time to account for. He’s a man dedicated to his family, though, so I know he would insist that I do everything I can to make sure she’s okay. Though I have no idea what that looks like with everything I have going on in my life.

I rise to my feet. I can’t deal with his today. I’m not going to get anywhere sifting through these notes and just hoping for the best. I need to go for a run, lift some weights, get a sweat on—I need to get her out of my head.

And I need to forget about the encounter we had in my office just the other day.

It’s been difficult, being at work after what we shared together. Everywhere I look in here, I feel as though I’m faced with the memory of her—the way she looked while she was moving against me, the way her face lit up when she reached her release. All of it has burned itself onto my brain, and I don’t know what, if anything, is going to be enough to shake it loose.

I’ve been with plenty of women before, of course I have. My brother wasn’t lying when he said I have one hell of a reputation. Knowing my luck, this is far from the first baby I’ve brought into the world. But despite that, none of the women I’ve been with stack up against her. Perhaps it’s because I know I can’t have her. Maybe it’s as simple as that—or maybe there’s a connection between us that runs so deep my mind doesn’t know how to process it.

I head out to my car, and I’m about to slip inside when I hear a voice calling my name.

“Hey! Luca!”

I glance around—and much to my surprise, I see the very woman who has been on my mind all day stalking toward me. Her face is twisted up, and she looks pissed—whatever she has come here for, it’s not a friendly chat.

“What is it?” I ask, peering around as she approaches. I don’t like the thought of doing this in public. It seems…dangerous. If someone spots us together, then they might target her, figuring that she’s something special and important to me. Which she is, even if she’s looking at me like she wants to bite my head off right now.

“I need to talk to you,” she snarls, standing in front of me, her arms crossed over her chest as she glares at me. I almost laugh—she’s doing her best to seem imposing, but she’s anything but.

“About what?” I reply, pushing aside that instinct and looking at her expectantly.

“About…about who you really are.”

I cock an eyebrow, instantly on the defensive.

“And who am I, really? I’m sure I’d like to know.”

“You’re…you’re in some mafia!”

She hisses that part as though she can barely believe it’s true—as soon as she says it out loud, a rush runs down my spine.Shit.This is the last thing I need right now. I don’t want anyone knowing the truth of why I’m here, or the life I’ve left behind to slip into this new role—and here she is, standing in front of me, calling me out like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

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