Page 36 of And Twice as Twisted (Agostino Crime Family #4)

APOLLO DELUCA

I belong to no one and he’s mine…

She felt it acceptable to hide this truth, not just from me but from her entire family as well. There wasn’t a single physical trait that belonged to Sienna, except the boy’s smile. The rest of his prominent features were mine without argument.

She still believed she could outrun me—I saw it in her eyes—but I’d never allow it again. Especially now.

The longer she’d been away, the more certain I’d become that she belonged to me. And our son just solidified that fact, regardless of her argument. She acted as though I’d abandoned them, left her to do this on her own. When, in reality, she’d chosen her path. And my choice was taken from me.

I couldn’t fault her though. I wasn’t exactly father material.

Even now, it was difficult to distinguish between this strong sensation of ownership and anything that could be deemed paternal in nature.

Females differed greatly in this aspect.

Before and after giving birth, a woman’s mind changed.

Gray matter decreased in certain parts of the brain, then increased postpartum.

This pollarding of neurons helped refine what society called maternal instincts, specifically the desire to nurture and protect their young.

I watched as Sienna’s eyes continuously followed the boy, our boy, my boy…

And for as livid as I was, I was also momentarily stunned.

Sienna Agostino had always had a penchant for storybook endings and romantic fairy tales.

Something I never saw myself able to give her.

But I did, in my own way. He was her soul mate.

Our son. He would be the man I never could be. And I would be there to ensure as much.

My mind quickly returned to the very first time I took Sienna, and the many times after.

We hadn’t once used protection. The boy was several months old, and even if the eyes didn’t give him away, the timeline certainly would.

There was no doubt in my mind, despite the fact I had no scientific findings to validate my conclusion.

My body was releasing an overwhelming amount of cortisol.

The steroid hormone was stress induced, the same reaction that initiated a person’s fight or flight response.

And where I’d always been one to muscle my way through any number of predicaments, I now found myself frozen.

Unable to properly assess the situation.

While everyone else seemed to move around me as if I didn’t exist.

The staff bustled Nikolai, Alexei, and the Russian girl to their rooms as the rest of the Agostino family crowded around us.

If there was one thing Italians loved, it was the progression of the bloodline.

Their mouths were moving, their limbs animated as they appeared to fawn over the boy—my boy.

But it all sounded like white noise to me.

My throat was closing up, long repressed memories of a childhood I’d left buried with my guardians flashing in my mind, as the room seemed to narrow and go black.

It felt like only minutes had passed—my eyes had just closed—when a heavy boot made contact with my side. I acted on impulse and bent inwards, attempting to shield myself. I refused to give him the satisfaction of making a noise.

I opened my eyes to see Cara had moved farther into the basement, hiding in the darkest corner.

But her light-gray eyes were staring at me—they harbored a brightness that drew too much attention to her.

She needed to close them; she shouldn’t watch.

They filled with unshed tears as she pushed to her feet.

I tried shaking my head, telling her that it wasn’t worth it.

But this time felt different and maybe she felt it too.

He was out for blood. Something snapped inside me when I saw Cara take a hesitant step forward.

I wasn’t worth her protection… wasn’t worth the pain she’d suffer at his hands.

When she ignored my silent pleas, I relented and Michael got exactly what he wanted from me.

“Ow!” I faked a cry, garnering his attention enough to pause his foot midair.

“You little shit.” He smiled down at me, but there was only hatred curling those lips. “Shut the fuck up.”

Time itself stilled. Cara retreated to the shadows as he pulled his foot back again. I watched it coming, staring at the steel toes of his boot still coated in my blood. When the tip made contact with my head, darkness descended immediately and I too was finally at peace.

“Apollo.” Sienna’s soft voice, her touch, brought me back from the abyss. Grounded me in the present and rescued me from a past I couldn’t change. A past I wouldn’t allow to taint my son.

The room had emptied and Sienna was the only one standing in front of me.

She was chewing her bottom lip as she watched and waited, with a mixture of concern…

and fear in her eyes. But not the kind of fear I’d come to recognize in others.

It wasn’t fear for herself. Her well-being. It was fear for me and mine…

The brain was an impeccable organ. Something that sought to both protect its host, while simultaneously causing its inevitable destruction. It could repress memories, just as easily as it would force them to the forefront of the mind to wreak havoc on one’s ability to effectually cogitate.

I shook my head, as though that could somehow reset my cognitive abilities.

The boy. Salvatore.

He had a name. I had to remind myself, to fight that urge to somehow keep him at a distance while also never letting him out of my sight again.

I had to navigate all these conflicting thoughts as rationality seemed to fight against some primal part of me.

I had no natural inclination to be a father, no desire or need to procreate.

It wasn’t who I was. Who I thought I could be.

This, whatever it was, was something else.

Because he was already here and he was mine…

Sienna took my hand and I followed alongside her as she guided me to the backyard. The silence was tangible between us, clinging to the air like unfiltered tobacco until it was evident she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Do you hate me?”

“Yes.” It was the truth. “You’ve always been a pestiferous little girl, nipping at my heels for attention. You should be proud, seeing as you finally got it. In full force.”

She swiped at her tears, her tone now as steeled as her spine.

“I left to protect him from us both. From who we are—who we become—when we’re together.

And to heal so that I could be better.” She didn’t wait for the response I didn’t have as she stalked farther into the garden, putting as much distance between us as she could, but not before she threw one last parting shot over her shoulder.

“And I’d fucking do it again. Anything for my son. ”

She’d protected him. Like no one had done for me.

And I had no doubt this woman would jump in front of a bullet for our boy.

Would watch the world burn to see him rise from the ashes.

It was the purest form of her willingness to self-sacrifice I’d ever witnessed firsthand.

Sienna Agostino had always been destructive in nature.

But this was something different. This was unconditional love, an emotion I never thought I’d recognize, let alone understand.

And, fuck, if that didn’t make the insidious organ inside my chest beat faster. Harder.

After giving Sienna a few moments to come to terms with what was inevitable, I sought her out. We each remained lost to our own thoughts as we wandered Isabella’s gardens. We were together, yet so far apart at the same time.

“Sienna? You okay?” Alexei’s voice filtered through the air, causing my lip to curl in irritation and the muscles in my hands to flex and tense.

Sienna tried to grab my arm, but her brief moment of hesitation was to the Russian’s detriment.

My fist made precise contact with his nasal cavity.

The posterior dilator naris muscle twisted with the severed bone, which allowed for an audible crack, as the lower lateral cartilage took the impact.

I watched as his blood vessels erupted, sidestepping the tidal wave of bodily fluids, as I brushed the red now staining my hand across the front of his jacket.

“ That was warranted.”

He didn’t respond, his silent acceptance melting between us. Sienna tapped me on the shoulder, and I stood frozen to the spot as she cocked back her fist and slammed it into my nose, the force behind the blow enough to induce bleeding without fracturing bone.

“It wasn’t, but that certainly was,” she gloated. “I’m fine, Alexei. Head inside. Bella can patch you up.”

“Right…” The Russian bastard disappeared without another word, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose and his head tilted back to hinder the flow.

I closed the distance between us, tugging Sienna to my chest as drops of red rained down on her flawless skin. “You know, studies show that the propensity for violence is an inherited trait…”

“Then I fear anyone who dares to cross my son’s path.” She ground her teeth with each word, her obstinance taking the reins and refusing to relent.

“Our son,” I corrected her.

“I don’t need you, Apollo.” She leaned forward, pressing her lips to my ear before adding, “The girl I used to be, the girl you thought you knew… she’s gone. Want to know how I know?”

My skin pebbled, my every nerve ending responding to her pheromones as my fingers itched to touch her. She was tempting me, and I forced a nod to keep her from pulling away.

It was the response she wanted.

Sienna smirked, her hand tracing down the length of my torso before suddenly grabbing my dick, her tight grip forcing my jaw to clench.

“She’s gone because I buried the bitch.” Then she placed a chaste kiss to my lips, squeezing once more before letting go, so that she could pivot on her heel and turn her back on me.