by Bethany-Kris
She might have thought so.
Gian needed to be sure.
“Officer, could you have this woman checked—”
“Gian, stop it!”
He ignored Cara, and nodded toward her when the officer grinned. “I mean, if you wouldn’t mind. I’m not going anywhere, really.”
“I’ll escort her over, Mr. Guzzi.”
“You ass,” Cara muttered under her breath to Gian.
“Just get checked, love. And the baby—his heartbeat and whatnot. I’ll still be here, where the hell am I going to go?”
Cara’s narrowed gaze didn’t relent, but the officer was quick to urge her toward a waiting ambulance, fifty feet down the street. Gian took the second he had alone to breathe, and get whatever story he needed to tell straight in his brain. Not that it was going to help him on the legal side of things.
All too soon, the officer was back, without Cara.
“Well, Mr. Guzzi, it’s time to head down to the station.”
Gian looked in the direction Cara had gone. “Could I at least wait for an update on her?”
“She seems fine, and the EMT got an earful when he was a little rough-handed checking the baby.”
“Oh, is that so?”
He couldn’t even try to hide his rage, or the way his tone edged dangerously.
The cop eyed Gian, amused. “You killed one man tonight. Isn’t that enough?”
“Not when it comes to her.”
“Let’s go, Guzzi.”
Gian rested his head against the cinderblock wall of the jail cell, thankful he was alone for the moment. He’d been shoved into the cell with a half of a dozen other detainees, but throughout the evening and into the morning, the others had been moved elsewhere, or released once they’d slept their drunken stupors away.
He reached for his pocket to pull out his phone, and cursed under his breath, realizing he didn’t have it on him. Everything—from his phone to his keys, and the bit of change alongside his wallet—had been taken from him.
This was not where Gian wanted to be.
Not again.
“You’re looking mighty comfortable.”
Gian didn’t bother to even turn his head at the new—yet familiar—voice. The RCMP detective that had become a second shadow of sorts for him loomed just beyond the bars.
Seeley looked at a file in his other hand. “Quite the mess you’ve found yourself in again, Gian.”
“Oui.”
“Why on earth would you think it was a good idea to go in guns blazing, when you damn well know you’re not to have any weapons, legal or otherwise?”
Gian shrugged. “I wasn’t thinking.”
That much was the truth. He had gotten that call from Cara, decided to head over, and shit had gone south from there.
“The cops said you refused to give a statement,” the detective noted.
“I want my lawyer there when I do.”
“It’s the weekend. You know these jails don’t bring in lawyers and have all that nonsense done on the weekends.”
“Then my statement can wait.”
“Make it easy on them, give them the statement,” Seeley said. “What’s it going to hurt? We already know what happened, just repeat it for them.”
“When my lawyer shows up,” Gian replied.
Seeley grunted under his breath. “You’ve got these damn Mounties split down the middle, Guzzi. Half of them think they should release you for what you did, and the other half thinks you’re nothing more than a—”
“Criminal, I know. That half is right.”
“At least you’re aware.”
“Is Domenic being held in another cell because we’re brothers?” Gian asked, getting tired of the same old conversation that would go nowhere. He’d also been wondering about his younger brother, and how Dom had faired through the weekend. “I mean, I get why you wouldn’t want us together. It would be a shame if we concocted some kind of story to get me out of here, right?”
Seeley’s face turned to stone. “Domenic wasn’t arrested.”
“Oh?”
Gian didn’t hide his surprise.
“No need to, as his weapon was registered and legal. He also didn’t shoot anybody, and he was helping in the main entrance with victims. He was brought in for a secondary, more thorough statement this morning, though.”
Something in the lilt of the detective’s tone caught Gian’s attention.
“Was he now?” Gian sat a little straighter on the bench. “Do tell.”
“Where did you get your gun from?”
Gian said nothing.
“How long have you had it?” Seeley questioned.
Gian stayed quiet.
There had to be a reason for these questions, after all.
Frustrated, the detective pushed away from the bars with a scowl. “You’ve got everybody fooled, Guzzi, but not me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You owe your brother—big time.”
Gian hid his inner confusion well. “We do look out for one another when we can.”
“Seems this is no different. Domenic took the rap on your gun. Said the illegal weapon was his, in his vehicle, and that you had grabbed it when you two arrived. There’s no way to prove otherwise, especially considering he too had a gun on him, though his was legal and registered. Your charges have been dropped, except for the discharging a weapon, but—”
Gian released a dark laugh. “It’ll be thrown out in court, given the circumstances.”
Seeley’s face reddened. “Likely.”
“When am I getting out?”
That was all Gian cared about.
He had a pregnant Cara to get back to.
Life was waiting.
He didn’t have time for this shit.
Seeley perked a bit at the question, happier than before. “We’re a bit short staffed this weekend, and nobody seems to be around to properly discharge you. Shame. Monday, likely.”
Gian resisted the urge to flip the man his middle finger. Instead, he rested back on the bench, much more comfortable than before. “Merci, Seeley. See you next time, we both know there’s going to be one. Oh, and do see if someone will bring me something decent to eat. I have restaurants that will deliver.”
“Good to see you’re smiling,” Stephan said as Gian approached his waiting underboss.
Gian stuffed his hands in his slacks pockets, enjoying the sunshine. “Why wouldn’t I be? It’s Monday, it’s a beautiful day, and I am not in a jail cell.”
“Lucky, boss.”
“Very. Where’s my brother?”
Stephan shrugged. “Dom said he had some shit to catch up on. I didn’t mind coming down to pick you up and take you home.”
Gian kept his features blank, but disappointment filled him. He hadn’t been able to have a conversation with his brother while in the jail, and knowing that Dom was taking a charge on possession of an illegal weapon for him, he owed him thanks. He’d hoped to do that first thing, and then get on with his day.
“Your vehicle is still in impound,” Stephan said.
“I’ll worry about it tomorrow.”
“Maybe not even then.”
Gian cocked a brow. “And why not?”
“You have bigger problems to worry about at the moment, boss.”
He wasn’t so sure of that.
“Bigger than Cara being two weeks away from delivering my first-born son? Bigger than convincing her she needs to move into the penthouse, so I can take care of her? Bigger than barely escaping more jail time? Tell me what’s bigger than those things at this very moment, Stephan.”
The underboss shot a look down the street, as though he was expecting someone to be watching them. No one was, or so it seemed. Gian wouldn’t put it past their shadows, though.
“You made another show, boss.”
Gian tipped his head to the side. “Excusez-moi?”
“We’re all walking a fine line out here on the streets, trying t
o keep our noses clean, stay quiet and out of sight of the cops, not to mention away from that fucking prick Gabriel. And then there you go, making a show of yourself and all of us again. All because of your mistress, boss. I’m not saying this to be disrespectful,” Stephan added quickly, likely seeing the rage growing on Gian’s features. “I’m saying it because someone’s got to be the one to warn you and nobody else is stepping up right now. As it is, we’ve been battling the cops and Gabriel’s men, not to mention tip-toeing around one another, thinking there’s somebody among us that’s feeding info to the police.”
“I hear you.”
“Do you?” Stephan asked. “Are you listening now, Gian?”
Gian bristled. “Try that again.”
“Boss, are you listening now?”
“I didn’t intend to make a scene,” Gian said quietly. “Not with this or with Cara. I reacted. Like any man would have done.”
“Any man that wasn’t in your position, maybe,” Stephan agreed.
Gian hated how Stephan made damn good points.
“It’ll smooth itself over, surely. Over time.”
“Except it won’t, not really. Let’s not even consider the cops for the moment, just Gabriel. Already, he’s threatened us, he’s taken from us, and he’s pointed the finger at you each and every time as a reason why. Maybe before, the men in the family would overlook it. But the next time, when another Guzzi man shows up dead because of that fucker, they’re not going to be so compliant and forgiving. They’re going to remember your face on the television, and your pregnant mistress as the reason why.”
Gian no longer felt as carefree as he had just a few minutes ago. “I’ll figure it out.”
Something.
He would figure something out.
“But today,” Gian said, “I have a woman to apologize to, so that’s where I need to go.”
Stephan nodded. “The penthouse it is, boss.”
“She didn’t ask to be taken to her place? Cara doesn’t live at the penthouse, and never lets me forget it.”
Yet.
“Well, that’s where she’s been. Chris says she hasn’t left, either. He’s been keeping an eye on her, apparently.”
Well, then … maybe something was finally working to Gian’s favor for once. He would take what he could get.
“Oh, my God. You smell like a jail cell.”
Cara’s words were grumbled against Gian’s lips, but he still heard them perfectly fine. His chuckles did nothing to quell the way Cara’s nose scrunched up as she pulled away from him in the penthouse hallway. He wanted to bring her closer again—fuck the jail cell smell—but she had a point. He needed a shower, a toothbrush, and a clean suit.
“Sorry, mon ange. I’ll get on it.”
Cara smiled in that sweet way of hers, but a wariness still remained in her gaze. “So, about the charges …”
“Everything is fine,” he assured. “Things have been taken care of.”
“How?”
“Carefully.”
That was the best he could offer, given the circumstances.
“Enough about me. How are you feeling? Would you be more comfortable at your place?”
Cara shook her head. “I don’t want to leave.”
“We don’t have to. Not today, anyway.”
“At all,” Cara said, looking up at him to make her point clear. “Maybe I took some time to think about things while I didn’t have you all up in my head voicing an opinion, too. I like the nursery you set up across from the master bedroom.”
“I told you I wanted one here, just in case.”
“It’s … fully stocked and ready. Everything is set up in there. The walls are even painted a pastel blue.”
Gian’s brow furrowed. “Of course, it is. You’re thirty-eight weeks pregnant, bella. I’m not sure when you think it would be appropriate for it to be done, but before the baby arrives is a good time for me.”
“But I kept saying no about living here, Gian.”
“So?”
“You have everything he needs.”
“Why should you travel a bunch of stuff back and forth if you don’t need to?” Gian asked.
“Why don’t you demand things of me? I’m having your child, we’re in … whatever we are, this relationship together. Why don’t you want more? Why don’t you demand more?”
“Because I don’t think you want me to, and I’m not sure it would make a difference if I did demand you do what I wanted,” Gian answered honestly.
Cara just stared at him, barely reacting at all. “And that’s all?”
“I love you, Cara. I will love you whether you live with me or not. I will love you if you’re with me, or not. I will love you even when you don’t love me. So, we don’t get to be entirely normal, and circumstances kind of fucked us up along the way. Who cares? You make me happy; you give me every reason to be happy. Why would I mess that up by demanding that you change what you’re fine with giving me?”
She didn’t answer right away.
Instead, Cara said, “I’d like to stay here.”
“Live here,” Gian clarified.
“I want to be with you, Gian.”
“I think we can make that happen.”
He’d been waiting for this day; hoping for it, really. Living there was one thing. Gian wanted to give Cara something far more permanent where the penthouse was concerned. Something that no one could take from her. He only needed her signature on already finished documents, but that could wait for another day.
The prettiest, widest smile bloomed over Cara’s lips, and Gian couldn’t help himself but take another kiss. Cara relented to his wants, letting him take and take until she was breathless and laughing.
“But you do stink,” she said.
“Showering now, Tesoro.”
Her tinkling laughter followed him down the hallway, but he didn’t mind her teasing. He didn’t waste time showering, because he had something far better waiting for him outside the bathroom. He quickly showered up in the attached master bedroom’s bath, didn’t bother to shave like he should have, and walked out with nothing but a towel in his hand to run through his hair.
He found Cara staring at herself in the large mirror opposite of the bed.
She let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t reach it.”
“Reach what, love?”
“The stupid zipper on this dress. I got it up earlier, and now I can’t get it down.”
Gian held back his laughter. “Why bother with a dress at all? You have those comfy clothes you like.”
“I wanted to wear something other than pants with stretchy panels, Gian.”
“And now you want the dress off?”
“I miss my comfy pants,” she admitted with a pout over her shoulder.
“I’ll help,” Gian told her.
Gian tied the damn towel around his waist, not missing for a second how Cara’s gaze dropped down to his hard erection before it was covered. He couldn’t help it, really. She was near, and as beautiful as ever—more so, carrying his child, if anything—which meant his cock was ready to play and do its thing.
“How can you even want to fuck?” Cara asked.
“You,” he corrected as he came to stand behind her. “I want to fuck you because you’re within touching distance and you’re mia bella cara. If I didn’t want to, then there would be a problem.”
“Gian, right now I have the sex appeal of a slug. You can’t be serious.”
“Do you want to bet?”
“Bet on what?” Cara laughed, letting him pull the zipper on the dress down her back. “That I’m as huge as a house, and not exactly a hot fucking commodity in the sex department?”
“Cara, you are …”
Her gaze found his in the mirror. “What? Very pregnant. Very uncomfortable. Very—”
“Much mine,” Gian interrupted firmly, hoping to quiet whatever nonsense was in her head. He began sliding the dress down her body, taking his time to enjoy baring h
er skin and curves while he did so. “Maybe there’s a bit more of you to enjoy right now, and I think it makes you sexier. Maybe you heat up a little faster when I touch you, and your shivers come from somewhere deeper. I like this,” he said, letting his palm skim over the roundness of her stomach before drifting lower to slip under her lace panties. “I like that this is where I’ve gotten you, and the way you look because of it, pretty and sweet with my child. Why wouldn’t I like every bit of this, Cara? What man wouldn’t be crazy about this?”
Cara’s breath hitched as the dress fell to the floor, and Gian’s fingers glided along the hood of her clit. Jesus, she was hot to the touch and it was glorious.
“A-and after?” Cara asked softly. “After, when I’m not like this or like before, either?”
Gian grinned, leaning in to get a taste of the tender skin behind Cara’s ear. Her responding shiver only made his cock ache even more—got him harder. “So maybe you’ll be plus douce … doux, mon ange. Softer, in spots. Sweeter, in others. Maybe you’ll have some new lines or curves for me to explore and love, but don’t you think you’ve earned those things? Don’t you think this body of yours and what it’s doing, deserves to be adored and loved, no matter if there’s a little more, or it’s a little different?”
“I—”
“Because I think it does,” he interrupted, nipping the spot behind her ear to quiet her. “I think something that’s this beautiful should know, and I intend to make sure that you do, Cara.”
“So, no slug sex appeal?”
“Not even a little bit. That’s nonsense. You’re as beautiful and as sexy as you’ve always been to me, and I don’t see that changing. Not with time or life. Not with more children or age. It just won’t, bella mia. You’re perfect. For me, you’re perfect. And I waited so long for you, Cara, so damn long.”
Cara’s trembling picked up, and her breaths came out in stuttered streams as Gian’s fingers continued their slow and steady pressure on her clit with each stroke. “I’m going to come.”
“Yeah, that’s the point.” His free hand slid under her throat, turning her face just enough that she had to stare at herself in the mirror while the orgasm raced through her body. “And look at how fucking beautiful you are. Like this, with me. Why wouldn’t I want to see this, Cara? Why not?”