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CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Mya

It had been two months, and I was finally getting used to moving from place to place every month or so. It was Dario’s way to make sure Ivan didn’t find us.

I wasn’t even sure Ivan was looking for us. Dario wasn’t either, but he didn’t want to let his guard down.

Ivan had killed Nico without a second thought, and he’d killed Matteo too. It was clear that he was trying to clear the playing field completely.

Even though Dario no longer wanted to be the head of his crime family, that didn’t mean that Ivan didn’t see him as a threat.

It was scary, but also expected. It was the world Dario had been born into.

Since the incident, he and Luis had done some digging. They found out that Ivan’s mother had an affair with Dario’s father. And that’s how she got pregnant with Ivan.

Being married at the time, she kept it a secret until Ivan found out when she confessed on her deathbed.

Ivan had grown up resenting his mother’s husband, who had always hated him. When he found out the truth, he came up with a plan to position himself to take what he felt was rightfully his.

Weaseling his way into Dario’s inner circle and learning more about the business and his brothers had been easy for him. It had all been perfect.

He’d hoped the brothers would eventually kill each other, leaving the empire to him. Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened.

He hadn’t counted on Matteo getting Nico out of prison. My presence had thrown a wrench into his plans, so he’d helped Matteo spread the rumors that Dario was no longer in control of his people.

He’d played both Matteo and Dario, feeding off their hatred for each other. And he had caused further confusion by trying to get me to hate Dario. He was the one who left the letter from Jason for me to find.

And now, according to Luis, Ivan had disappeared into the wind. No one knew where Ivan was.

I hoped he would stay hidden, but there was no guarantee that he would. It was scary to think that at any time, he might come back, but I knew we would be hard to find.

Dario was methodical and thorough in his approach to hiding us.

We had to trust each other to survive, and I found that I had learned to trust Dario completely.

It felt weird to say that, but I did. Now that I knew the truth behind Jason’s death, it was as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Every day seemed brighter. The unknown wasn’t so scary.

The baby was getting bigger, and I was due anytime now. I didn’t move around as much, because it was getting harder for me to walk.

The sciatica in my right leg was killing me, but besides that, I was happy.

I was happy waking up every morning next to a man that loved me. It felt weird still to think that way. I had been shocked when he said it.

He hadn’t said it again, and hadn’t pressured me to say it back, but sometimes I found myself staring at him when he wasn’t looking, wondering what it would feel like to not be so guarded.

I wondered what it would feel like to love him like he claimed to love me.

He was the brave one. I wasn’t too sure I could be as vulnerable.

I felt like I had more to lose, which was silly, but that’s how I felt.

It was morning, and I stretched as I sat up. He was next to me, reading a book.

I was surprised to see him in bed. He was a morning person, always up and about before I even had my daily orange juice.

“How are you feeling today?” he asked, not looking at me.

“Tired. Fat. Really fat.”

He smiled at me, putting the book down. “You’re not fat. You’re pregnant.”

“Same thing.”

He laughed. It was rare, and I always looked forward to it happening again. It made me feel warm inside.

“You know, if you want, there’s a play at the park today. We can go watch it. You could get some fresh air.”

“I would like that.”

He stared at me, and I stared back at him. He leaned down and kissed my nose, making me giggle.

And then he touched my chin, tilted it up, and kissed my mouth. I thought he was going to stop at one kiss, but then he kissed me again, playfully this time.

I pulled away, and he kissed me yet again. This time, I giggled as he pulled me into his arms and nuzzled my neck, placing kisses there too.

Where had this playful side of Dario come from? I didn’t know, but I liked it. I guess not being tied to his family, and his empire meant that there was a new facet of himself that he could explore.

And I was curious to explore it with him.

We would learn about each other together. It was appealing in more ways than I could ever imagine, but yet, I found myself unable to tell him that.

I still was trying to reconcile my feelings for him. But for now, my plan was to enjoy his kisses, the occasional back massage, and the endearing way he would lay his ear against my stomach to feel the baby squirm and roll.

Sometimes, when he thought I was asleep, he would talk to my belly, and the baby would react by waking me up, moving to the sound of Dario’s voice.

I still felt a little jealous of the relationship they already had. I’d never known my father, but this child surely already loved her dad.

A daddy’s girl even in the womb.

It was sweet and made me cry on my especially emotional days.

I didn’t tell Dario, but I was thankful for this special time and the peace. Yes, we were hiding out, but the peace he brought me just by being present wasn’t something I took lightly. I was falling hard for this man.

“Okay, okay, you can stop cuddling me now,” I said.

“Are you sure?” He nuzzled my neck some more, and I felt his hand creep under my shirt and graze the nipple of my bare breast.

I gasped and slapped his hand away. “None of that,” I teased, blushing.

He ignored me and rolled me over until I was sitting on top of him. I could feel him hard against my leg, and shook my finger at him.

“No way.”

“You sure?”

I opened my mouth to answer him when I heard a car approaching. It paused in front of the house.

“Are you expecting someone?”

But I knew from the look on his face that he wasn’t. Playfulness gone, he rolled from under me, picked me up, and carried me across the room. He shoved me into a closet, not without first saying, “Don’t come out until I say so. And take one of my guns.”

Before I could protest, he disappeared. I had thought this part of our life was over, but I guess it wouldn’t really be over until Ivan was dead.

I just wanted to live peacefully, without the threat of constant death. Was that too much to ask?

I felt a little pain in my lower stomach and rubbed the area. A few more minutes went by, and the pain happened again. Braxton-hicks?

I groaned. Of course, my body would rebel at a time like this.

It was probably just a delivery guy , I said to myself, but my racing pulse told me that my body didn’t believe what my mind was telling it. I’d been in fight or flight mode too often to just relax.

I heard voices nearing the bedroom and reached for one of Dario’s guns, which were already loaded. And then I heard Dario whisper my name and pull the closet door open.

“Let’s go,” he whispered. “Fast.”

“He found us?”

The grim look on his face said yes. And then someone else entered our room. It was Joseph.

“Take Mya out through the garage and to the boat down below.”

We were staying at a house on a canal in South Florida. It was beautiful and perfect…for escaping.

“Let’s go, Mya.”

“But what about you?” I instantly was worried.

“I’ll be right behind you, I promise. Go.”

I did as I was told, following Joseph out through the garage and down the stairs that led to the boat off of the canal.

I had never gotten on it while we were staying here, because now every slight movement made me seasick. Now I wasn’t thinking about my queasy stomach at all, or the contractions that seemed to be getting stronger and coming faster.

“Oh God,” I mumbled, “Please, not now.”

I placed my hands over my stomach and said repeatedly in my head, “Not now. Not now…please not now.”

And where was Dario?

“Joseph,” I said, “I’m worried. I don’t see him.”

“Get down,” Joseph said quietly, pulling his gun out as we heard footsteps approaching. To my relief, it was Dario.

He climbed on board and said to Joseph. “Now.”

I expected Joseph to pull away, but instead, he reached for something that resembled a remote control.

At that very moment, Ivan and two others came out, their guns pointed at us.

And then, just like that, the house exploded behind them. I screamed and covered my ears. And felt the gentle motion of the boat as Joseph started sailing away.

“I’m sorry for the noise,” Dario said, “I had to make sure there were no survivors. I’m done with running.”

I looked behind me at the ball of flames and smoke where the house had once stood. The blast was so strong shards of the house were floating in the water.

Before I could feel anything remotely like relief, a contraction hit me, the force of it making me bend over and gasp.

“Are you okay?”

I tried to breathe through the pain, and then finally, when I could, I said, “It’s the baby. It’s coming. Fast.”