Page 142 of Secret Baby for the Mafia Don

He protected me.

Protected the baby he doesn’t even want.

"Is he going to be okay?" My voice sounds distant, like it belongs to someone else.

"Marco's survived worse." But his eyes tell a different story.

He's worried too.

"This is my fault. If I hadn't?—"

"Stop." Roman cuts me off. "Frank was the traitor. None of us saw it coming."

I remember Frank's wild accusations, his paranoia. "He kept saying Marco was behind the attacks on my father's business. But that doesn't make sense…"

"Because it wasn't Marco," Roman says grimly.

But I don’t think it was Frank, either. That means there's someone else, someone still out there.

A car's headlights cut through the darkness, approaching fast. Roman tucks me behind him and pulls his gun.

But as the car draws near, I recognize it. “That’s my father.”

Roman stays alert until the car stops and my father emerges from the backseat.

"Gabriella!" He reaches for me, and Roman releases my arm, transferring me to my father's care like a package being handed off.

"She's unharmed," Roman reports. "Marco took a bullet. Frank’s dead. I need to deal?—”

“Yes, yes, go. Anything you need, let me know.” My father guides me to his car, helping me in. He pauses before getting in with me. “I mean it, Roman… Anything Marco needs.”

Roman is already rushing back to Marco but waves his hand to indicate he heard my father.

My father joins me, and as we pull away, the questions start.

"What happened? Why were you with Frank? Is he behind all our troubles?"

The words tumble over each other, and I struggle to keep up. My mind is still with Marco, bleeding on that warehouse floor.

“He said you needed me… then he brought me here instead. Blackwood must have told him about the fake meeting.”

My father’s brow furrows in thought, and I know he’s struggling to put the pieces together.

To be honest, it’s a difficult puzzle even without his condition. “Someone was supposed to be watching the place.”

“Frank killed a man when we got here. Maybe he was watching the place.”

"And Marco?" My father's voice tightens. "Roman said he took a bullet."

I swallow hard. "Frank was going to shoot me. Marco… he stepped in front. I don't understand why he would." I shake my head, my thoughts all a jumble. "He accused me of working with Frank. But then he saved me anyway."

My father's hand covers mine. "He was probably trying to protect you from Frank.”

I stare at him, pieces slowly clicking into place.

Marco made Frank believe I meant nothing to him, even as he positioned himself between me and danger.

Why didn’t I recognize that sooner?