“I know you’re awake,” she says. Opening one eye, I look at my friend who is sitting next to me. “I could feel you stiffen as soon as you came to.” She smiles.
Letting out a sigh, I push up into a seated position and lean against the headboard of the bed. Inhaling a deep breath, I let it out with a sigh.
“Are you?” she asks, hesitantly.
“I don’t know. I doubt it, but…”
“But?”
“I threw up the other night when Massimo was bringing me home from the club. I just figured it was nerves, or that I was disgusted with myself because I let Arlo fuck me in the bathroom.”
Chloe’s eyes round and she lets out a giggle. “Seriously?” she breathes.
“Seriously.”
“In the bathroom of the club?”
“That’s not really what’s important here,” I groan.
Her shoulders shake as she laughs. Reaching forward, I shove her shoulder and she grins. “Sorry, I’m just picturing you guys in a stall.”
“He locked the door, it wasn’t in the stall, but that doesn’t matter,” I ramble. “I think I should take a test, because you know what?”
“What?”
“I’m really fucking late,” I confess.
“You’re just realizing this?”
“Shit has been a little fucking crazy,” I snap.
Chloe blinks, then her lips twitch. “Okay then, I’ll send Luca out for a test.”
“Fuck. He can’t tell Arlo.”
“Why not?”
I bite the corner of my lip and shrug a shoulder. I don’t want him to know, yet. I’ll tell him when I know for sure, eventually. Honestly, I want him to want me for me. Not for any other reason.
Now that the veil of intrigue is done, now that the excitement of me being his mistress is over, I wonder if he’ll really still want me.
I’m not slipping back with him that easily, but I need to know that he wants me for me, that he’ll work to get me back—to keep me.
Chloe shakes her head. Her hand reaches out and takes mine. She squeezes me gently, her eyes staring at me, looking almost sad. I hate that. I don’t want any pity. Nothing. All I want is support, nothing more, nothing less.
“He won’t lie to Arlo. I already know that much. But I’ll make sure that he doesn’t offer the information up.” She smiles.
I nod, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. “Why now?” I ask. “Everything is such a fucking mess, why add this too?”
Chloe presses her lips together, then she widens her eyes and I roll my own. She obviously has something to say but is trying to keep it in for my benefit.
“Just tell me,” I sigh.
“Well,” she begins. “I could say that everything happens for a reason and it’s all in God’s timing. I could tell you that if you had made sure he wrapped his shit, it really wouldn’t have happened…”
“Or?”
She grins. “Or I could tell you what I really think.”
“What’s that?”
I watch as she tucks some of her hair behind her ear. “I think that subconsciously both of you knew this was a possibility. He didn’t wrap up and you know you’re terrible about taking your birth control at the exact same time every single day. I think he’ll be happy, because he can feel you slipping through his fingers. You’re scared, but ultimately you love this man and you’re going to have his baby.”
Pinching my eyes closed, I inhale and exhale, trying not to cry. Trying to keep myself in check, and really trying not to fantasize about Arlo holding a dark-haired, blue-eyed baby that looks just like him.
ARLO
My phone rings just as I’m about to talk to Blue, one of Kade’s women from several months ago. She was part of his harem when one of the other women lost her shit and started fucking with the cocaine, our cocaine. Blue was innocent but caught up in it all just for being associated with him, as his.
Tommaso saw her, wanted her, asked for her. Gavino didn’t give a fuck, in fact, I think he was glad to hand her over considering she was innocent in all of it. Nobody wanted to see her life end. Now, she’s going to sing like a bird, that is, if she wants to stay alive—if she wants to prove her loyalty to the famiglia.
“Yeah?” I ask as I answer the call.
It’s Luca.
Had it been anyone else, I would just ignore it, but since he has my woman and he’s supposed to be guarding her, I decide to accept the call.
“She’s okay,” he begins.
My back straightens from the tone in his voice. I can tell that something’s happened and my heart begins to race at the thought of Lenora being hurt somehow. I almost demand that he tell me what’s going on, but thankfully he begins to speak before I have to lose my shit on him.
“Your parents are at the house. Your mom is cooking and everything is fine, except Lenora passed out,” he states as if it’s no big deal.
“I’m sending the doctor by,” I say.
Luca clears his throat. “No, she’s okay, just relax.”
I let out a growl. “The doctor will be there as soon as possible. I will not budge on this.”
Ending the call, I quickly send a text to our doctor who replies immediately and lets me know that he’s on his way to my apartment in the East Village. My heart doesn’t calm down, it continues to pound in my chest as I worry about Lenora. If I lose her, I’ll never recover.
“Arlo?” Gavino calls out.
Shifting my gaze to his, I lift my chin. “Lenora fainted, don’t know why. I sent the doctor over.”
Gavino frowns, then jerks his head toward the closed office door where Blue and her man Tommaso are waiting. Together we make our way into the office. Both Blue and Tommaso turn their heads when the door opens and I can see the fear clearly written on her face as we approach.
“Benicio just sent me surveillance to go over and I’ll be doing that next, but I need to know what you know, Blue,” Gavino says.
I hear her gulp, then she looks from Tommaso to Gavino and nods. “What do you need to know?” she asks, her voice soft and sweet.
“Tell me everything you know about Kade and the Columbians, everything.”
She nods, her brows knotted together. Tommaso reaches for her hand, taking it in his before he speaks.
“Go ahead, Blue. Tell him everything you know.”
The way he says it, it makes me think that he knows something as well. That makes me wonder how loyal he is to the famiglia. He should have come to us with information that involved the famiglia immediately upon learning it.
“I don’t know much,” she begins. “I know that he wasn’t happy with the product that he’d been getting. He said it was subpar. I don’t know much about it because, well, I’ve never done any drugs before.”
I blink at her words. How did she package up dope all day long and never partake? I’m so curious, but I don’t ask her because honestly, I need to get to the bottom of this so that I can go and check on Lenora as soon as possible.
“A man came, he brought drugs and gold. He showed them off and told Kade that in order to have the supply he would have to find buyers for the gold. Kade needed that supply, it was as if he would do anything to have it.
“I don’t know what was so special about it, but he was willing to do anything. He promised he would find buyers. He said he supplied to the Zanetti famiglia and that he could get the gold in under the radar, straight to New York, where he knew there wouldn’t be any issues selling it for top dollar.”
“Fuck,” Gavino hisses.
“So, what did he promise? How does Wynter and the senator fit into this story?” I ask, wondering if her story will corroborate with what Kade told us just an hour ago.
She looks over to Tommaso, then back to Gavino. “Kade promised women. Said that you had more than what you could handle, especially with the Irish trading coming up. He told him he had an in with the man in charge of them, with his wife. Women went missing all the time, it would be no proble
m to smuggle a few from the plane to him.”
“That’s why the senator was more than willing to get Commissioner Robinson on board. He knew it was an easy as fuck way to get the Irish girls,” I say.
“There’s one more thing,” she whispers. “I didn’t know,” she breathes. “I swear that I had no clue who any of these people were or how they were connected. I didn’t think Kade would really go through with any of it,” she rambles.
“What?” Gavino barks harshly.
She jumps in her seat, her eyes swinging over to him. “The Columbian warned Kade that if they were ever found out, that every player in the deal would die by his hand. He seemed overly concerned about someone finding out about any of it, almost like he was doing something equally as wrong as Kade, like he was betraying someone.”
“If you think of anything else, please have Tommaso call us, yeah?” Gavino offers, softening the edge to his voice, only slightly.
Blue nods as she stands to her feet. “Tommaso, stay for a minute,” Gavino requests before he turns toward Blue. “Mia is just outside the door, she’ll get you something if you need it, we’ll only keep Tommaso a moment.”
Blue nods, dipping her chin and hurriedly slipping out of the office door. “I didn’t know when she told me that Kade had been in dealings with the Columbians that it was anything we needed to worry about. He has to buy his supply from somewhere, I had no clue,” he begins.
“Keep her safe, Tommaso,” Gavino begins. “They’ve already killed. What she said helped a lot, but if they know she’s here, that she knows anything, she could be a target.”
Tommaso stands with a nod. “Yes, Boss.” We watch him walk out of the door, then I make my way over and flip the lock before turning to Gavino.
“Kade failed to mention a fuck’ve a lot of information,” I state.
He nods. “This Columbian, whoever he is, he doesn’t want his boss to know what he’s doing. Which can only mean…”
“He’s stealing from him,” I finish Vino’s thought. “Do we know who runs them?”
Vino shakes his head, frowning. “I have no fucking clue. I’ve never needed that knowledge before.”
I open my mouth to say something when there’s a knock on the door. “It’s Benicio,” a voice calls out from the other side.
Unlocking the door, I tug it open, smiling at my friend. It’s been a while since any of us has seen him, he’s been immersed in the Ricci famiglia, their business and as far as I know, old man Ricci’s daughter, Nicola.
“You have footage for me?” Gavino asks without wasting even a moment of time.
Benicio grins. “I do. It’s all set up on my iPad, ready to go.”
He walks around my desk where Gavino is sitting. I do the same and watch as he gets everything ready then presses play.
There’s a man, he has dark hair, black eyes, and deeply tanned skin. He looks directly into the camera and I shiver at the sight of him. I’ve seen evil men before, I’ve seen haunted men, and I’ve seen scared men. This man is more than evil, he’s empty, dead inside—completely void.
“This is the initial meeting. I did some facial recognition and found that he came to visit Kade, four more times since then.”
“Seems we need to make another visit to Kade,” Gavino grunts. “I want him strung up.”
“Full security this time?” I ask.
Vino nods, his eyes focused on the iPad. I can see his mind working. Mine is too. This isn’t right, and not just because Kade lied, but because of this man and his dead eyes looking at the camera.
He’s dragging the famiglia into something that we want no part of. It will not end well for him, but we must do it all the right way. These men are not ones that you want to make enemies of. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that this will be over soon enough.
Chapter Thirty-Four
ELENORA
I stare at the doctor’s back as he walks away from me. Pregnant. It’s confirmed and I’ve never been so nervous or scared in my entire life. I grip the sheets with my fingers as I sit on the edge of the bed, staring but seeing absolutely nothing.
“Lenora,” a voice calls out.
My head jerks and I see that Donata has joined me in the room. She doesn’t look nearly as happy as she did an hour ago when she and Carlo were bickering as they left my room. I feel bad. I don’t want her to be upset, she’s so nice.
“May I?” she asks.
I’m not sure what she wants, but I nod anyway. She sits down next to me, her hand patting my thigh. We don’t say anything for what feels like a lifetime. I wait for her to speak, unsure of what exactly she’s about to say to me.
“When I met Carlo, I wasn’t just some girl he happened to come across and fall in love with,” she begins.
I bite the corner of my lip, waiting for her to say more, welcoming her words as the distraction that I need right now. She looks straight ahead instead of directly at me and I’m thankful for that.
“I was promised to another man. I didn’t like that man, nothing about him, but I’d agreed to marry him because my parents thought it was for the best. It would solidify my father’s place in the famiglia as an Underboss.”
“What happened?” I ask after a moment of stalled silence.
“The son of the Boss happened. Carlo was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. I’d always known of him, but he was a bit older and off to college, out running around with girls, and doing things for his father. But when my engagement party rolled around, he attended as was his duty, and I fell for him immediately.”
“Your engagement party?” I breathe.
She nods, a small smile playing on her lips. “We snuck out, had a moment in the pool house. It was all very sordid. People will say that Carlo wasn’t made into the Boss because he’s weak. Carlo will tell you that it’s because he never wanted it.”
“The truth?” I ask, knowing that there’s more to all of it than what people assume.
A shadow crosses over her face, then it’s quickly wiped away. She turns to me, her eyes sparkling and looking so very much like Arlo’s, except a few shades darker than his light blue ones.
“He gave it up for me. Taking another man’s fiancée, it isn’t done. He defied everything that his family stood for. He did it because he fell for me, had to have me, and took me for himself. I went willingly, of course, but I’ve felt guilty for my entire life, for following my heart and not my head.”
“What are you saying?” I whisper.
She smiles, reaching over to touch my knee, again. “I knew Wynter as well as she would allow me to know her. What I knew of her, I didn’t care for much. But, the thing that stood out the most was that she didn’t love my son.
“I don’t think she even liked him. I know that he didn’t care for her in the slightest. I don’t know her driving force for accepting the proposal, I probably never will, but I do know that his was his head and not his heart.”
“I feel like a terrible person,” I admit.
Donata shakes her head. “Don’t. You fell in love with a man. He lied to you. He will repent for that lie and ask forgiveness because if I know my son, it will eat at him until he does. However, I will say that pushing the disappointment in his actions aside, I am very proud of him. For the first time in his life, he chose to follow his heart instead of his head.”
“At what cost?” I whisper.
“No, Lenora. At what gain? I canceled the famiglia, the cousins. We’ll have a big party when all of this is sorted.”
She doesn’t wait for my response. Instead, she stands and walks out of the room. She leaves me alone with my thoughts. My guilt and my underlying giddy happiness.
Nothing about this situation is ideal but hasn’t that been the case for us from day one, and yet, we still found love in one another. I just hope that it’s real, that all of this is, one hundred percent real.
Unable to move, feeling unbalanced and uneasy, I decide to stay in the bedroom, locked away from the rest of the
people in the house. Pinching my eyes closed, I inhale deeply before I let the breath out in a long exhale.
“You seem uneasy,” Arlo’s voice calls out.
Opening my eyes, my gaze flies over to him. He’s leaning a shoulder against the door, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes focused on me and only me.
“The doctor was here,” he announces. I nod, unsure of how much he knows and what to tell him next. I allow him to take the lead, though, don’t I always? “Did he check you out, tell me what happened.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, keeping my gaze on his. “If I tell you, swear to me that you’ll tell me your true reaction. I don’t want you to hide your feelings from me, ever. Not again. No more deceit, no more lies,” I beg.
Arlo takes a step inside of the room, closing the door behind him, flipping the lock into place. His long legs bring him to me quickly. Without hesitation, he crouches down in front of me. His hands reach for mine, taking my own in his grasp as his blue eyes focus on my own.
“I never lied about my feelings for you, Lenora, not once. If we’re going to make this relationship a happy one, you’re going to have to believe me when I tell you that.”
I nod, wishing that I could believe everything he tells me, but there’s that niggling feeling in the back of my mind that’s still questioning every single thing that spills from his lips. Arlo lifts my hands to his mouth, his lips touching my fingers as his blue gaze stays connected with my own.
“Tell me, tesoro, tell me everything is okay.”
My nostrils flare as I attempt to keep my tears at bay. These fucking tears, they just keep coming, keep forming and I can’t swallow them down, no matter how hard I try. Wetness fills my eyes as I watch him.
“I’m pregnant, Arlo,” I whisper.
He blinks, his lips twitch into a smile before it almost instantly fades. He drops my hands abruptly and stands.
“Whose is it?” he demands.
My body jerks as if he’s delivered a debilitating blow. “Excuse me?” I whisper.
Becoming his Mistress: A Zanetti Famiglia Novel Page 26