Page 35 of Pregnant By the Mafia Boss

I shake my head. “I don’t want to learn to shoot.”

“Tough shit. Come on.”

He walks out, leaving me holding the gun. I try to picture myself shooting someone. I can’t do it.

I go outside and find him waiting for me by the car, lit only by the moonlight. “Get in,” he says.

“Where are we going?” I ask as I climb in beside him.

“Don’t want the noise to wake up Phoebe.”

We drive for a while. I look at him and try to imagine a happy family life with him.

All I can picture is our child being swallowed up by a life of crime. I find myself crying. I do my best to keep quiet, but he notices, of course.

“Something wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

He brings the car to a halt on the side of the road. “It’s about the baby, isn’t it?”

“How could you tell?”

“Because you found out your dad wanted you to be part of the high council. Your mom wanted you out of that life, abandoned you to keep you safe. You think the same thing might happen to our child.”

“You’re like Sherlock fucking Holmes or something. Get out of my head.”

He manages a slight smile. “I’m not a good person, Keira. But you make me want to be a better man because that’s what you deserve.”

He sweeps his hand through his hair, and for a moment, he looks tortured. I wonder if he’s as afraid as I am.

“You’ve changed me,” he continues. “For better or worse. When I go to Rome, there’s a chance I might not come back. There’s a file in the mansion, locked in the safe. The code is your birthday in reverse. It’s got details of all my finances. Life insurance, everything.”

“Don’t talk this way, Salvatore.”

“You can make sure our child has a good life. A happy life.” He pauses like he’s catching his breath.

When he looks at me, I see the shine of tears in his eyes. “You give them a good childhood, you hear me?”

I reach out and touch his shoulder. “You act like you’re already dead.”

“I was. Been dead inside since our father whipped the life out of me. But then there was you.”

He smiles tenderly. “You brought me back to life. I never believed anyone could warm my soul, but you did it. So I’m going to repay the favor. I’m going to kill your father’s killer for you, even if it’s a suicide mission.”

“You were wrong, you know.”

He frowns. “About what?”

“A hero is someone who makes sacrifices for some greater cause. For someone else.”

I move his hand to my stomach. “That’s what you’re doing, and I love you for it.”

“You love me?”

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