Page 104 of Beauty and the Daddy

My trap for Declan just became a noose around my own neck.

"How fast is it spreading?"

"Phones are lighting up all over the city. Someone's making calls. Big ones."

Declan. It has to be. He took the bait, and now he's mobilizing.

"Lock it down," I order. "Every property. Every business. Every man."

"Sir?"

"Full internal lockdown, Vito." My voice finds the register that moves men. "No one leaves. No one talks. Until we find every traitor and threat."

24

BELLE

Ishatter in the bathroom like cheap glass—ugly, loud, complete. Tears carve hot tracks down my cheeks, my chest blotchy with shame, nose running like a broken faucet. The kind of crying that steals your breath and leaves you hollow.

I slide down the cold tile wall until I'm crumpled on the floor, remembering the exact moment Luca's face cracked open when he saw that pregnancy test. Like I'd reached into his chest and twisted his heart until it bled.

He looked like I'd taken his heart and put it through a meat grinder.

"You're such a colossal idiot, Belle," I whisper, swiping at my tears with the back of my hand.

I had a plan. I was going to tell him when the time felt right, but I waited too long. Instead, I let him find out by knocking over a pee stick.

Real classy.

I've royally screwed up. Luca's the father, for God's sake. I don't even want to imagine how bad he must be hurting right now. Somewhere at the back of my head, fear leaks through. What if I caused irreparable damage? One we can't come back from?

"I'm sorry, little one," I cry, touching my stomach. "Mommy really made a mess of things."

Just then, somewhere in the house, hell breaks loose. Doors slam, boots thud, radios crackle. Voices sharpen. "Lock it down." "South wing secure." "No one in or out." It sounds like a movie, except it's my life and I'm sitting here with mascara running down my cheeks.

Something's happening—something bigger than my personal drama. I stand, swipe cold water over my face and pad back to my bedroom, wanting to know what's happening.

The bedroom door slams open. I startle and look to see it's one of Luca's men.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"The house is on lockdown. Stay in your room."

Then he's gone, closing the door behind him. Something tells me this lockdown's not by chance. Just an hour ago, Luca was livid, telling me he has to protect another person now. Our baby.

This lockdown's here to stay, because Luca knows I'm pregnant and I didn't give him time to soften the edges of the news.

Great. Just great.

Funny how life circles back. When I first came here, I was Luca's payment, my father's debt wiped clean with me as collateral. Ihated every second of being trapped by him. Now I want to stay, and that's what's causing all the trouble.

My door opens again without a knock. Luca fills the frame, all hard edges and barely contained fury. His hair's damp with sweat, his knuckles raw. He's been hitting something, or someone.

"You stay in this room," he orders. "Don't leave. Don't open the door. Not for anyone except me or Sofia."

I open my mouth to argue with him to calm down, but the look in his eyes stops me cold. This isn't angry Luca. This is scared Luca.

"What's happening?" I try again.