Page 83 of Hostile Secret
“Why… is she bad, Yanni?” Leo lifts his face to look at me.
“Not at all, buddy.” My heart pangs. “She’s part of the family, but she belongs in here.”
“Why? She can share my room.”
Something moves through me, warm enough to comfort me and slow enough to scare me. Meeting Leo has changed everything. He’s adorable, but Giovanni didn’t volunteer this information. He would never trust me to keep such a monumental secret. And that truth hurts like hell.
“I like my own space, Leo.” I offer a quick-thinking response to save any complicated conversations at this time of night. “Daenis keeps me company.”
Leo’s forehead creases and Giovanni’s intense gaze burns into me. “She doesn’t have a mommy or a daddy. Can we keep her?”
Giovanni pivots on his heels and carries Leo into the dark passageway beyond the wood paneled door. Without looking back, he shuts me in again, leaving me all alone.
* * *
I’m dressed in my uniform and sitting in my usual seat in the dining room—thirty minutes early.
After Giovanni had left me alone, I tossed and turned in bed for the rest of the night. This morning I want to know what Gio’s connection to Leo is and why the child’s such a big secret.
Watermelon juice rolls down my chin after biting into a big wedge, at the same time as Giovanni stalks into the room. He’s wearing a loose navy t-shirt, matching jersey shorts, and a pair of high fashion designer sneakers. Noticing me straight away, he combs his fingers through his hair and sits at the head of the table—the king of his stately home.
“India.” He eyes me over his espresso cup.
“Giovanni.” I counter, dabbing my mouth and chin with a napkin.
There are a few minutes of silence where I give him the opportunity to mention Leo. However, he stubbornly watches me with his enchanting green eyes as if he’s daring me to ask a question so he can shut the topic down.
“So…” I begin. “You have a kid.”
Slowly, he pushes back into his seat, making the legs judder and rises to his full height. I suck in sharply when he starts to walk the length of the table, stopping when I can smell his intoxicating fresh scent.
Reaching behind his lower back, he grabs his revolver and sets it on the table next to a jug of orange juice.
“Stand up.” He orders, low and incredibly sexy, even though I doubt that’s his intention. Nevertheless, my spine tingles when I’m before him.
“You were never meant to meet Leo.” He folds his arms and straightens his back. “It seems like fate had other ideas. Now that you have, it changes things. When I said you had immunity, that was before you saw what you saw.”
I sigh heavily. “Really, Giovanni?” My hands shelve on my hips, and I glare up at him.
“You’re unbelievable. Am I not a woman who knows Souza secrets and intel that could ruin your family? Are you seriously suggesting I’d want to be an informant or even reduce myself to becoming a spineless little rat? I’d appreciate more respect than this.”
He doesn’t reply. In fact, he just stares at me while I huff. “For some reason, the boy obviously adores you. Why would I want to risk his safety… and who the hell would I tell, anyway? Although, I don’t know why you haven’t said anything to Dré. He’s your twin.”
“My father would have killed Leo.”
“Why?”
Giovanni swallows, his fists twitching at his hips. “He sent me on a job a couple of years ago. A few scumbags in Mexico contaminated our product, which lowered the street value. Papá gave me the order to eliminate everyone involved.” He scratches the dark hairs on his jaw. His closeness emanates palpable power and dominance. I unintentionally sway toward him and clear my throat when he continues to talk.
“The night before, I did a recon of the stash house and saw a woman kneeling on the porch. Her body was hunched over something I couldn’t make out. In the seconds it took me to use my binoculars, the asshole put a bullet in her head. When she toppled sideways, I saw the kid. He was only a toddler then—with a gun pointed at him too. I couldn’t save his mother, but I took the kid and murdered every fucker there. For all I know, his father could have been one of them. Fuck if I was going to let some low life kill an innocent little boy.”
Finally breathing after hearing his story, I swallow the lump in my throat and do my best to play it cool. I’m falling for this man. “And Lola?” I blush, embarrassed by my husky tone.
He shrugs. “I poached her from my father’s plantation to help me care for him. I’ve known her for years. She understands my lifestyle and knows her life depends on loyalty.”
“So, Leo is your responsibility now?”
“He’s my son. I paid off a few people in the right places to secure adoption papers for him last year… worth every dollar.”
