Page 203 of Malicious Claim

Her head snapped toward him. "What's that supposed to mean? I've always been careful!"

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Confession

LEILA’S POV

Pregnant. I was pregnant. One month in. Which meant... this had been brewing quietly while bullets flew and secrets detonated around us.

"A baby," I muttered under my breath, like maybe if I said it softly enough, it wouldn't feel real.

Makros drew closer and bent down to my level. "You're going to keep it. I don't care if the world's burning. We are keeping it."

I laughed dryly, my tone tinged with sarcs. "Right. We'll just feng shui the mafia and keep the baby. Nobody is going to use it as a weakness at all."

Makros placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nobody will dare lay a finger on you or this baby. I swear it with my life."

Yeah, nobody will, except for you. She instinctively touched her still pounding head.

She sat up slowly and he assisted her. "I'm not scared of keeping the baby. But if I'm going to, there are some things I need to tell you."

Makros groaned quietly, sitting up against the headboard. "What things?"

If she thinks this baby will make me let her set rules for me, she must be living in a telenovela fantasy, Makros thought.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Stefanos—"

"Stefanos the father?" He asked sharply.

"God no," I shot back. "What do you take me for?"

His expression darkened. "Okay. So, what's this about?"

I could feel my heart beating faster, too loudly, I thought he might hear it. He was feeling antsy and I thought maybe it's better not to say anything.

But I knew I had to.

"Just listen to me," I said firmly. "Stefanos didn't contact Dimitri, I did. I got in touch with Vincenzo too. Met with the man in a yellow shirt and I killed a man called Dario Conti to prove my allegiance. Makros, I was vengeful."

I shut my eyes expecting him to kill me. One, two, three seconds... I was still breathing and not even a brush of his finger had touched me.

"You killed Dario Conti?" he mused.

That was it? That's the only part that interested him?

I nodded my head. "I killed him. But it was Nicolai who made it possible. I didn't know at first but he told me he's been working against you for... for killing his brother. He's secretly working for Vincenzo. And... he killed Dimitri."

Makros stood upright. "Killed Dimitri?"

"Yes, he did." My voice faltered.

"Why should I believe a word you say?" Makros asked, pacing back and forth with my eyes tracking the movement and my mind anticipating a sudden strike that never came.

"Nicolai did it to protect me from being exposed. He believed we were on the same side that I wanted revenge against you. He thought we could both destroy the Crete family together."

The silence in the room shifted, turning heavy.

And then after a while Makros said, "Alright. I'll have Nicolai on a flight back to the city. You rest properly."