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CHAPTER THREE

ROYCE

My breath catches in my throat when I see my own eyes staring back at me.

She has a baby.

My baby.

When the baby grins, the ground beneath me gives way. Those are my dimples popping out in her cheeks as she babbles words I don’t understand to Gia.

My plans go up in flames. Kidnapping. Revenge. Gone in an instant.

This changes everything.

It would be impossible for her to look so much like me and not be mine—especially when she looks like she would be about a year and a half old.

Could Gia have been pregnant?

Though I don’t think she would’ve been pregnant without telling me, she proved that I didn’t truly know what she would or wouldn’t do. The lies she told and the secrets she hid are more than enough to convince me that I never really knew her. Not the way I should have, at least.

The realization that I have a child I knew nothing about hits like a ton of bricks, creating a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I want to tear the baby from Gia’s arms and protect her at all costs. Gia can burn in hell for what she’s done here.

Although, maybe there’s a way to use this to my advantage.

Gia’s arms wrap tighter around the child like she’s scared that I’m going to take her away. She clears her throat. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Her voice is as silky and smooth as it’s always been. A siren song that lures me in. Except this time, I don’t want to hear her sing for me. I want to wrap my hands around her throat and end the power she thinks she has.

“I was going to drag you down to my car, but apparently, it looks like we have other things to discuss.” I lean against the wall, gaze raking up and down her body as heat flares through mine.

Gia’s eyes narrow, anger flashing in them as her full lips press into a thin line. She puts one hand on her hip, her curves more pronounced than they used to be but still just as tempting.

Maybe I could kidnap her and seduce her.

Then break her heart like she destroyed mine.

Killing her would come last. I could have my fill of Gia first.

She would only try to twist it to her advantage, though. She’s always been cunning like that, looking for weaknesses and trying to exploit them. I should’ve seen that side of her long before I did.

The baby has the same deep sun-kissed tone to her skin that Gia does. She has a wild head of dark hair where Gia’s is straight, but there’s no denying that the baby is half mine and half hers.

Gia’s mouth opens and snaps shut. Her chest hitches and she takes a step back, her eyes dropping to the ground. When they meet mine again, fear and interest are battling there.

I stalk toward her, careful not to bash my knee on the long and low maple table. Tension coils through my body like a snake but I keep it restrained. I’m not ready to strike. Yet. “Whose baby is that?”

Gia holds the child closer, the corner of her mouth twitching when the baby laughs and squirms. “None of your business. Get the hell out of my apartment.”

“Not going to happen,” I say through gritted teeth. “Whose fucking baby is that, Gia?”

If she tries to hide the shiver that runs through her body when I say her name, she does a terrible job at it.

She stands taller, her soft jaw setting in a hard line. “I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing, coming in here and demanding answers about my life, but you’re going to get the hell out now.”

Chuckling, I move closer to her, my grin widening when she takes a step back. She’s scared of me. Though she might be trying to hide it, I can see the fear on her face. As she holds the baby tighter, she tries to mask it and fails.

I pause, enjoying the way her body tenses like she’s waiting for the lunge. “And why would I do that?”

“You tripped a silent alarm when you came in.”

I advance on her again, grinning when she looks around like she’s searching for an escape. She thinks she’s going to die. And maybe she is. While the baby changes things, Gia is still a liar at heart. A woman who seeks to manipulate and destroy.

Two can play at that game.

“Oh, Gia.” I stop and lean against the doorframe, trapping her in the hallway.

The only way out of the building is to wriggle around me, and we both know she’s not going to be able to do that.

Certainly not with a baby in her arms.

I cross one leg over the other, facing her. “Now, are you going to tell me whose baby that is, or are you going to stand there with your mouth open, just waiting for me to give you something to fill it with?”

“You’re an asshole.” Her words spew like venom, but there’s a rosy flush to her cheeks that tells me exactly where her mind just went. Her legs press tighter together, the crackle of electricity filling the air. “Noah is going to be here soon, and when he gets here, you’re going to be dead.”

“It’s cute that you think I didn’t do my research before coming here, Gia. Did you honestly think I was going to allow you the chance to slip through my fingers?”

“I don’t know what you want with me.”

“Nothing.” My laugh is hollow as I look at the baby again, the corner of my mouth twitching when she waves at me. “Whose child is that?”

Gia glowers at me like she would love nothing more than to strangle me right now. She always did like to try and take control in the bedroom. “I don’t know why the hell it matters to you since you were the one who walked out two years ago.”

My temper flares but I hold back the desire to get my hand around that pretty little throat and show her who’s running the show. Our daughter has to be traumatized enough, having a mother like her. I don’t need to make that worse.

Though the baby will be a good bribe.

I can see from the look in Gia’s eyes that she’s willing to do anything for the baby. I can use that to my advantage.

“Because I asked you. You can either tell me, or I can run a paternity test.” And if I have to do the second, her punishment is going to be so much worse.

What I’m torn between is if it’s going to be in the bedroom or out of it. There’s something appealing about tying her down and having her submit to me. Listening to her beg for me, only to deny her everything she’s ever wanted the same way she’s denied me.

“You may as well run the test since we both know you don’t trust me.”

I scoff, pushing off the wall and stepping closer to her again. “And I wonder why that is, don’t you? I wonder if the woman I was in love with—the one I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with—lying to me about who she was had anything to do with that.”

“My name really is Gia Esposito.”

I take a deep breath, holding back from spilling every horrible thought I’ve had since the night I found out the truth.

Gia knew who I was the entire time. She knew what her family had done to mine and what mine had done to hers. She knew everything about me and in the end, I didn’t even know who the hell raised her.

She had secrets stacked on top of secrets—ones that I hadn’t even been able to guess at—and yet she’s standing here and acting like the victim.

She sighs, shifting the baby to the other hip. “She’s your daughter.”

The world falls away from beneath my feet as I take a step closer, one hand reaching out. Just one touch. That’s all I’m going to allow myself of the woman I used to love.

One touch is all it would take to have her melting for me again.

Her gaze locks on my hand, her breathing becoming erratic. Her eyes widen as she shakes her head. I advance on her, reaching forward to take her by the chin just as she yanks herself and the baby out of the way.

Gia walks backward as far as she can, hitting the wall and glaring at me. “No. You don’t get to touch her.”

“She’s my daughter.”

“A father would have to be there, and you weren’t.”

“I didn’t know she was alive! I didn’t even know you were pregnant!”

Gia smooths her hand over the baby’s hair. “You didn’t deserve to know. Not after the way things ended between us. You told me that you never wanted to see me again, so I decided to honor that wish.”

“No. You decided to take away the baby because you knew when I eventually found out, it would hurt me.”

“You left,” she says, her voice wavering, though the look she gives me is hardened with hate.

Or maybe it’s a desire she’s fighting as she squeezes her legs closer together.

“You lied to me for a year. You knew everything there was to know about me, and you still thought it would be better to not tell me who you were. You could’ve helped my family and yet you chose to stand by and watch as your bastard of a brother hid from us. You kept your mouth shut until you knew that he was resurfacing and you couldn’t hide it anymore.” I take a step back, but my gaze is still glued to my daughter. “And the worst part is that if you had told me who your brother was when we first got together, I would have overlooked it.”

“No. You wouldn’t have.” Gia looks up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath as the baby wiggles in her arms. “Bianca is better off without you in her life. She’s spent a year and a half without you. She doesn’t have to know what it’s like to have you and then to watch you walk away.”

Scoffing, I pace into the kitchen, rummaging through her cupboards until I find a bottle of whiskey and a glass. I pour two fingers, downing it in one go.

This woman is going to be the death of me in one way or another.

Gia storms into the living room, setting Bianca down on the plush pink rug. “Look, whatever it is you came for, it’s not going to happen. You’re not kidnapping me, and you’re certainly not going to do whatever you planned to do after you kidnapped me.”

“You still don’t understand what’s happening here, do you?” I smirk, putting the bottle back in the cupboard. “You’re going to come with me whether you like it or not. You don’t get a choice. And you get to thank your brother for allowing you to be collateral damage.”

“You’re really going to kidnap the mother of your child?”

Fuming, I lean closer to her, grabbing her chin in my hand and holding her in place. My fingers dig into the sides of her cheeks, making her wince, though lust flashes through her eyes at the same time. “You can’t have it both ways, Gia. Either she is my child and that means something, or I’m nothing to her. You don’t get to throw around my family like a weapon, even if that’s what yours likes to do.”

Her chest rises and falls rapidly. Each upward swell of her full breasts reminds me of how good they looked when she used to ride me. “Noah is on his way over.”

“I disabled your alarm system before I entered.” I let go of her chin and step around her, intent on getting a better look at Bianca.

Gia sweeps in and scoops Bianca up, cradling her close. “If you’ve been watching me for so long, then how the hell didn’t you know I have a daughter?”

“Because unlike you, I have an honest job to do during the day. I come over at night. Just in time to see you strip naked before you crawl into bed. The other people who have been tracking your routine apparently didn’t see our daughter as an important factor. Not to worry, though. They’ll be dealt with.”

She swallows hard. “Look, just let us go. I’ll pack a bag, and me and Bianca will leave. You’ll never have to see us again.”

“You’re not going to be leaving here without me. You may as well just do what I say instead of making this worse for yourself.”

“I don’t even know what you want with me in the first place.”

My jaw flexes, pulse pounding. “You’re honestly going to stand in front of me and tell me that you don’t know what your monster of a brother has done to my family?”

Her dark eyelashes flutter, sweeping low as she looks down like she’s taking a moment to gather her thoughts.

When she looks up at me, my heart goes crashing through my chest.

She sighs. “The war between our families has been going on for years. It has nothing to do with either of us when you really think about it.”

“I have thought about it, and when I think about us, all I realize is that you put fuel on a fire and now you’re desperately trying to put it out before it consumes you whole.” I shake my head, hoping that it will clear the jumble of thoughts running through my mind right now.

She shifts her weight from one side to the other as Bianca grabs the collar of Gia’s shirt, pulling it down lower. “Royce, you can let me go.”

It’s the first time in twenty-five months that I’ve heard my name fall from her lips and where once it used to feel sweet, now it just feels like a curse.

I could make her beg for me. I could have her saying my name over and over again until she finally thinks that I’m a blessing. Or I could show her who I really am. The monster that lurks beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed on the world.

She thinks she knows the truth, but she couldn’t be more wrong.

Standing here now, it’s hard to believe that I had a ring in my pocket, waiting for the right moment to propose to her, only to realize that I had never really known her at all.

I was kinder than I should have been back then. Aiden would have told me that much if he had known about her.

It’s time to stop playing nice guy and get down to business.

“Look, I’ve been nice. I’ve been patient. I’m tired of it. You’re either going to cooperate with me, or I’m going to force you out of this apartment and into my car. I would rather our daughter doesn’t spend the night crying.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” There’s an excited note to her voice beneath the defiance. It’s just a hint, but it’s there.

“I’ve had you tied up before, Gia. I have no problem with doing it again, but this time you’re not going to get to ride my face until you come.”

Her jaw drops, face turning a bright shade of red. “I can’t believe you just said that to me.”

“You never had a problem with my mouth before.” I smirk, reaching behind me for the gun tucked into my waistband. “If I were you, I would stop having a problem with it now since we’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

I pull out the gun and flick off the safety, aiming it at her but keeping clear of Bianca.

Even though I would never be able to bring myself to shoot Gia, she doesn’t need to know that.

Right now, she needs to think there isn’t any room for argument.

She needs to cooperate with me.

“You can either come with me, or Aiden is going to come for you, and when he does, this situation is going to become ten times worse.”

The cold metal gleams in my hand as I stalk forward like a wolf hunting his prey. Gia’s wide eyes lock on me but all I see in them is betrayal.

She took two years from me. She took milestones. Laughter. Seeing my child grow.

Now, she’s going to know what it is to lose her own life. I’m taking it—claiming it as my own—and she didn’t even see it coming.