Page 26 of Surprise Twins for the Mafia Prince
“Is that unusual?” I ask. I figure that doing some jail time is common among criminals.
“Yes. Our men are supposed to go out of their way to stay out of jail. Shit happens, of course, but in this case, Joey brought trouble on himself. He was picked up last night on an assault charge for beating the hell out of a guy that fucked his wife. Tracked the man down in a bar on the west side.”
“And you don’t approve of that?”
I’ve never been a big fan of violence, even less so after my dad died, but I’m sure that Dario has seen his fair share of it in his life.
I wonder what he truly thinks about it. If this man is going to play an active role in my child’s life, and his actions make me believe that he will, then I need to get to know him better, to understand how he thinks. I never wanted to be a part of the mafia world, but I’m starting to think that I don’t have much of a choice.
“I don’t approve of the public setting. He could’ve gotten to the man at his house, controlled the situation and avoided the cops. He wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“So, violence is fine as long as it doesn’t draw attention?”
Dario shrugs, looking around the diner again before settling his gaze on me. “Attention is dangerous in our world. Joey knows that. He got sloppy.”
“He must love his wife,” I muse, sipping my milkshake. It’s rich and thick, exactly as a milkshake should be. “It was an emotional response to being betrayed. Some people get carried away by passion and do stupid stuff.”
Dario scowls. “The business is more important than that shit, and he needs to remember that. The job is our life. It needs to come first.”
I think about my child, the innocent little life that will depend on me to love and defend it one day.
“Tell me something, Dario. Will you put your criminal empire above our child?”
A muscle in his jaw ticks as he glares at me, but he doesn’t answer. I go back to eating, even though this conversation has stolen my appetite. An uncomfortable silence settles over us, and I suspect that Dario is bothered by my question.
That makes two of us.
I can’t imagine Dario as a father. He’s an Andretti, which makes him dangerous, but even worse than that, he seems so closed off and cold.
Will he be that way when he holds our baby in his arms?
12
DARIO
A sound pullsme from sleep with a gasp. I sit up in bed, my hand automatically going to my nightstand and the gun I keep there. My fingers close around cold metal before my brain even fully registers why. For a few seconds I’m not sure what awoke me, but the sound of Paige’s moaning, followed by the distinctive sound of vomiting, has me out of the bed in seconds, moving across the hall to her room.
I grip the doorknob but curse when I find it locked.
My fist pounds on the door, frustration building as I hear her heaving again.
It sounds like morning sickness has finally hit her, and I want to get inside that room to make sure she’s okay. I have a key to this bedroom, but I’ve never needed to use it before. No one else that has stayed with me has dared to lock me out like this.
“Paige,” I call out, knocking on the door again. “Open up!”
The sounds of her throwing up fade away, and I hear the toilet flushing. Then, there’s running water. I wait a moment, but I’mnot a patient man, so it’s not long before I call out her name again.
“Paige! Open the door!”
I want to get into that room, and I’ll break down the damn door if I have to. That’ll teach her not to lock me out. Nobody keeps me from what I want—especially not in my own home.
Finally, the lock clicks and the door is pulled open.
Paige looks like shit. She’s a beautiful woman, and nothing can change that, but right now, she’s pale and shaky, her straight black hair a mess. Even her hazel eyes are dull when they meet mine.
Seeing her like this carves a crack through all my walls. Grabbing her arm, I lead her to the bed.
“Lie down,” I demand. “I’ll call a doctor.”
