Page 29 of Single Mom’s Mafia Daddies (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection #22)

ALESSIO

O nce I overcame the absurdity of Matteo challenging me, I realized he had a point. I’d let my fear show when we left the safe house and retreated there. I’d given in to my need to protect instead of pushing for a war that might end all of us.

The Verduccis were willing to sacrifice themselves to destroy my lineage. I was not prepared to do the same. I had too much to lose. Lila and Leo meant too much to me to continue to risk their lives.

My office in the main estate still smelled of paint.

The mahogany desk was something my father would have loved, and I thought of him every time I walked past it.

My pacing stride carried me back and forth from the desk to the balcony.

I stopped to peer through the glass. The pool stretched out below me, the blue water calm and welcoming.

The short fence that separated the pool from the garden sparkled in the moonlight, the white paint standing out in crisp lines and curved shadows.

The garden itself was a labor of love I’d spent months putting together.

Others maintained it for me, but I’d designed it and helped plant the roses when I arrived.

This entire place was built with the intention of bringing my home in Italy to life here in the States.

I’d designed it to awe my enemies and strike fear in them when they discovered I had the power to create through limitless money and intelligence.

My recent actions threatened to dismantle my power and cast it aside as though it had never existed.

I gripped the edges of the open doorway and leaned into the breeze that ruffled my hair.

Lila knocked on the door. I recognized the quick rat-a-tat from our college days, and a smile threatened to break free. I stuffed it down where it belonged. “Come in.”

The knob turned, and I tensed briefly before schooling my features. This was a meeting not unlike what I endured every week with the CEOs of my companies.

“You wanted to see me.” Lila crossed to stand in front of the desk. Gone was the laughter and smiles I’d seen in the pool earlier. This woman wore her defenses with a dark look intense enough to send lesser men scurrying.

I held out my hand in an invitation for her to join me at the balcony.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” A hint of a smile appeared. “I might push you over.”

“You’re not mad enough to commit murder.

” I waved one hand. “Please, join me. I’d rather stand in the open air.

” It was a small concession to keep some of the familiarity between us.

And I worried how I’d react if she challenged me with the desk between us.

I had a tendency to use the desk in more interesting ways when it came to Lila, and I couldn’t afford the distraction.

“I don’t know.” She avoided my hand, stepping around me and stopping at the balcony’s brick railing. “I’m pretty mad.”

“Leo can return to school as long as he has a bodyguard.”

The slew of curses came as no surprise. Her face darkened with the force of her rage. “That’s ridiculous. You can’t expect the school to accommodate a bodyguard in the classroom.”

“It’s that or he’s homeschooled.” Backing down wasn’t in my nature. I’d compromised enough to offer this solution. I refused to go further. “He should get a say in this.”

“He’s six.” Lila spat the words with bullet precision. “He’s going to think it’s cool.”

“He’s older than I was when my father forced me to decide whether the nanny lived or died when he found her stealing from us.” I stopped the memory with a sharp shake of my head. “This isn’t ideal for either of us, but it’s the best I can do.”

“It’s a shitty choice.”

“Agreed.”

She seemed ready to say something else, but my quick agreement caught her off guard. Her lips closed, her nostrils flaring with every breath as she debated within herself. Her fingers hooked into the grout between the bricks and picked at the material with a savageness I respected. “I’ll ask Leo.”

“He’s on his way. Renzo is bringing him up.” I checked my watch. “I asked him to join us.” Renzo and I had a lot to discuss. I’d already accepted his apology for the man who’d betrayed us, a man Renzo had vetted and trusted but had been swayed by the Verducci’s promise of more money.

“Did she live?” Lila stopped picking at the bricks and turned her back to me.

“Yes.” It was the truth, even if she refused to believe me. “I am a monster, Lila, but I’m not your monster.”

“I’m trying to understand what you are, but you make it pretty damned difficult when you refuse to tell me what this is all about.” The scowl was back on her face, pinching her pretty nose and brows.

The door slammed open, Leo racing inside and cutting Lila off before she pushed for more details.

The boy scanned the room with Renzo’s quick efficiency, making me wonder what else he’d picked up in his short time with us.

With a calmness Lila only gave her son, she gave Leo the choice of going back to school with a bodyguard or homeschooling. Leo jumped at the chance.

“Seriously? I can have my own bodyguard? Can it be Renzo?” He patted Renzo’s pocket with a look of adoration as he peered up at the big man.

“We’ll talk about it,” Renzo promised.

Lila relaxed slightly and made her way toward the door, stopping to grab Leo’s hand on her way. The two of them left with Lila ignoring me the entire way.

“You can’t go with him,” I reminded Renzo. “We need you here. After Justin…” I let the thought trail off.

Renzo stiffened until every part of him turned savage. “Of course.”

Any other time, I might hesitate to manipulate Renzo with guilt, but I needed to keep him here no matter what.

If things went south, there was no better man to turn them around than Renzo.

He might be the best man to guard Leo, but he’d also find the best he knew to cover my son.

Hell, I’d go to school with him if I thought it would be our best strategy.

“How long do we have before the Verduccis come for us again?” I sat at my desk, steepling my hands.

“Impossible to say.” His words were short, clipped, and angry. “It’s time to focus on our enemies rather than emotions.” It sounded almost like he was trying to convince himself as well as me.

I understood. We’d been running high in protective mode to cover Lila and Leo. We’d gone on the defensive and given the Verduccis too much power.

“What would you have me do?” I’d learned to listen to Renzo. His instincts were unmatched, and the rare moment of frankness that always came alongside his commands proved he intended to be heard.

The door behind Renzo opened and Matteo ducked into the room. “You didn’t tell her.” He stalked to the desk and pointed at the door he’d stormed through. “She’s still in the fucking dark about this bullshit.”

“She knows there’s a bounty on Leo’s head. Thanks to you.” I’d almost punched his fucking lights out when he told me. “That’s enough.”

“No.” Matteo shook his head. “She needs to know all of it. She can’t protect herself if she doesn’t know what’s coming.”

“Nothing is coming.” I was my father’s son in many ways, and it was time Matteo remembered.

I stood up, back straight to show off my full height and weight.

“We are the nightmares that slink through the dark and command respect from our enemies. The Verduccis have forgotten that. And you have forgotten who you’re talking to. ”

“I remember.” He strode around the desk to me without an ounce of fear. “I know exactly who you are. And right now, you’re a motherfucking coward who’s using Lila as a pawn in your war.”

I shoved him back when he stepped too close. “Watch what you say to me.”

“Fuck you.” His fist grabbed my collar. “You’re lying to her and treating her like a possession you can move around without any thought to her feelings.” He spat on the floor near my feet. “And you say you love her.”

“I do.” I ripped away and followed with a right hook that Matteo blocked.

Renzo stepped between us. “Now is not the time for fighting among ourselves. If we fall apart, the Verduccis will pick us off one by one.”

Matteo almost came at me again. Our tempers flared, the accusations flying from his tense posture and the fire in his eyes.

“Renzo’s right. Now’s not the time.” He held up a warning finger.

“But I’ll tell you this, I don’t give a damn about your companies, your money, or any of the operations we’ve been a part of if it gets Lila or Leo hurt. Can you say the same?”

“I’d rather die than see one of them hurt.” The mere mention of it pained me, a savage twist wrenching my heart.

“Then fucking act like it.” Matteo held nothing back.

I’d never seen him like this over a woman. It surprised me despite how he’d been with Lila these last few weeks. “I’m doing my best.”

“Are you?” Matteo scoffed. “From where I’m standing, you’re pissing into the wind. And if you don’t step up, you’re going to lose her. For good.”

Renzo remained between us, and Matteo shot a parting look at him before he stomped from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Matteo’s parting words shook me to my core, and I struggled to get my thoughts in order to continue planning with Renzo. But there was no need.

He patted my shoulder with one meaty hand. “We’ll discuss strategy later.” He left silently, the click of the door closing haunting me.

I remained motionless until the emptiness of the room echoed in my ears. The slow, methodical breathes as I tried to orient myself lasted a lifetime. As I sank into the chair, I removed the picture of Lila and Leo I’d carried in my wallet since Matteo snapped it during his recon mission.

I stroked my thumb over their faces. Matteo made a strange sort of sense. I’d rather ignore his accusations and concentrate on eradicating the threat coming for us. What good did that do if I lost Lila in the process?

“Not this time.”

I refused to lose her again. No matter what else it cost me, Lila and Leo were my priorities from this moment forward. Even if I continued to hide the truth about the syndicate from her, I’d find a way to protect her.

Once we’d taken care of the threats, I’d sit her down and tell her the truth about me and my family. Maybe by then her feelings for us would be strong enough to withstand the storm of learning I ran a large portion of the mafia.