Page 121 of Beauty and the Daddy

Pride's a luxury I can't afford when the woman I love is this close to slipping away.

Twenty minutes later, I'm with the doctor who makes house calls for men like me.

Discretion costs plenty, but I don't care.

"She needs a proper facility," he mutters, checking her vitals.

"She has one."

My eyes stay locked on Belle's face, pale as winter. "My compound has everything you need. Just keep her comfortable."

The east wing's medical suite is pristine and equipped better than most ERs.

Benefits of paranoia.

"We'll need to monitor both her and the baby through the night." The doctor states the obvious.

Fuck if I let something happen to either of them.

I brush hair from her forehead.

"Take care of her," I tell him.

I step back, let them work, feel my lungs struggling.

Alexei pulls me away.

"It's done," he says.

I know what he means.

Declan's body is gone. The story we'll tell is already being written.

"Double the guard on this room," I order. "No one gets in without my say-so. Not family, not staff, not God himself."

Alexei nods. "Already done. I put our most loyal men on rotation, and the suspects are being interrogated as we speak."

I growl. Tonight, we weed out the traitors.

Declan didn't manage to hack into our cameras without help from the inside.

"Good." I glance at Belle, watching the rise and fall of her chest. "Where is the council?"

"They're already here." Alexei checks his watch. "Word travels fast when the underboss gets his neck snapped by his brother."

I smile. "Then they won't have to wait long."

I turn back to Belle.

The doctor assures me both she and the baby are stable.

The wound is clean, the blood loss stopped. She'll sleep through the night with the sedatives they've given her.

I kiss her forehead, lingering. "I'll be back. Don't go anywhere this time."

Then I walk out, and Luca Moretti the lover vanishes.

Luca Moretti the killer takes his place.