Page 23 of Single Mom's Mafia Daddies

The Verduccis knew all about family. They had the largest of all the syndicates. Vincenzo Verducci and his younger brother Luca were ruthless, vengeful, and absolute assholes. They protected each other, even though I suspected tension between them since Vincenzo ruled over Luca. Neither would hesitate to kill Leo.

They’d have to kill me first.

I grabbed her wrist when she started to walk away. “This isn’t just my mess anymore, Lila. Whether you like it or not, you’re part of this now.”

Movement from my peripheral tugged me around. Leo ran over to Renzo and held up a toy truck. “Watch, Renzo.”

To my utter shock, Renzo followed Leo to the sandbox and knelt to dig alongside the boy. Matteo elbowed me, his head dipping slightly, and I read the intent in his eyes. Our enemies would have to kill all of us to get to Leo and Lila.

The Verduccis would learn what family meant, even if I had to teach them in blood.

12

MATTEO

I’d never been on babysitting duty before, but if Alessio needed me to watch over Lila and Leo, I wasn’t about to say no.

I took my time following Lila outside into the sprawling back lawn. Two acres of green grass stretched in a perfect square, only interrupted with a secondary building and entertainment we’d set up for Leo. The limestone wall wrapped around the entire thing, cameras covering the area and feeding information back to my computers. Renzo’s men stayed out of sight, but I knew they were around, both inside and outside the fence.

Alessio’s vision of a safe house complicated matters, but we’d learned to adapt to his needs. And it was paying off this time.

“Is Renzo coming with us?” Leo circled around my legs, almost tripping me with his soccer ball.

“Not this time.” I let the regret show on my face, and Leo sighed before kicking hard and chasing after the ball.

Renzo and Alessio had holed up in the office to discuss strategy. My input wasn’tasneeded since I mainly worked with tech security, and I could adjust it to our needs after they hashed out a plan if I was needed elsewhere during a meeting.

Like for babysitting.

“Sorry about this morning.” I stuffed my hands into my jeans pockets and bounced on my toes to loosen up the bunched muscles. “Alessio gets a little overzealous when he’s worried.”

It worked for him in most situations and was why I’d suggested he tell Lila the truth. He’d come close when we met on the veranda but held back the truth at the last minute. It wasn’t my place to tell Lila, even though I wanted to badly enough the words burned in my throat.

She made a scoffing sound that pinched her lips together. “That’s one word for it, I guess.”

“What would you call it?” I held out a hand to help her through an uneven patch of grass. This spot would need to be fixed.

She raised one brow and marched past me, her voice floating over her shoulder. “Being a dick.”

Laughter burst out of me in a rolling wave that shook my entire body. “Yeah, that too.”

I could try to explain why Alessio did what he did. Again, not my place. I shook my hair from my eyes and squinted into the afternoon sunlight dappling the grass and giving the house an ethereal glow.

Leo bounded ahead of us. I’d expected him to fall asleep after his morning in the sandbox with Renzo, but he’d continued to run around the house asking a million questions, his energy never running out. Even now he kicked his ball to the edge of the yard before turning and coming back, his legs churning and arms pumping. “He’s something else.”

Lila stopped and turned enough to show her profile. “He’s the only thing that matters to me.”

I understood that. The loss of her shop had been a devastating blow, but it could be rebuilt. Alessio would seeto that. Family, however, could never be replaced. “Do your parents know about the shop?”

She stiffened slightly, her hands curling into claws before she flexed and relaxed her fingers. “How do you know about my parents?”

“You’re practically a celebrity, Lila. Information about you is all over the internet. I learned your entire history in a five-minute internet search.” The other stuff had taken longer, but I’d never met a firewall I couldn’t break down. “Speaking of, that dress you wore to the premier last month…” I whistled long and low. “You’re a gorgeous woman, and you slayed in that dress.”

Her cheeks pinked, her lips curving into an easy smile. “I designed it myself.”

“I thought so.” I raised a hand over my eyes and scanned the lawn. Leo kicked the ball against the wall, and when it sailed over his head, he chased it toward us.

Lila chuckled. “He loves having so much room to run.”