Page 36 of Single Mom’s Mafia Daddies (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection #22)

LILA

I had to tell them the truth. It was past time that I came clean. After all our talk about trust, I continued to hide my pregnancy. I wouldn’t be able to do that much longer, and I wanted them to hear it from me.

I waited until after Leo was nearly home from school to hunt down Alessio. I found him in his office, a place he practically lived from daylight until well after dark. He looked up at my approach and a slow smile appeared. It fell quickly once he looked me over. “What’s wrong?”

There was no easy way to admit the truth, no gentle way to lead into it. “I’m pregnant.”

A thick, weighty silence spread through the room.

Alessio stood. His jaw locked tight and he strode past me without a word. The door closed with a soft click that belied his angry steps.

My stomach roiled even though I’d gotten past the worst of the morning sickness.

I collapsed onto the couch where we’d made love yesterday and dropped my head into my hands.

Was this the end of it all? Dread mingled with fear created a potent concoction that almost drove me to my feet and out of the house- prison.

Where would I go? How would I keep Leo safe outside these four walls?

My shop wasn’t ready to re-open, but staying here was too dangerous. We needed another city, maybe another country.

Footsteps approached…more than one set.

The door opened before I had a chance to recover enough to stand. Matteo, Renzo, and Alessio marched in. Renzo’s military precision brought up a ghost of a smile that I tamped down when the intensity of his gaze locked onto me.

“Is it true?” Matteo asked. “Are you pregnant?”

The dread coursing through me rattled my bones, but I strove to keep my voice even. “Do you think I would lie about it?” I almost leaned into the anger and let it consume me, but they had every right to ask questions. “I would offer to show you the pregnancy tests, but they’re in the other house.”

Renzo grinned, the stoic, emotionless facade falling from him like a weight chucked aside. “We’re with you every step of the way. We have been since the beginning, and this pregnancy simply cements the bond and commitment that has already been made.”

“What our suddenly poetic friend is trying to say,” Matteo interrupted, “is that we will love our family—you, Leo, and this baby—with all that we have.”

“Our blood, bones, and souls belong to you, to our family.” Alessio moved first, taking a step toward me. “We belong together, Lila. All of us.”

The hints of jealousy I’d seen in him this last week disappeared.

I leapt to my feet and ran into the middle of them.

My arms hooked around Alessio and Renzo and pulled them close.

Matteo stood directly in front of me, and he brought the circle to completion with his embrace pulling all four of us together.

“Thank you.” I held back the sobs of gratitude. Now wasn’t the time for tears; it was time for rejoicing.

A buzzing sound interrupted the group hug.

Alessio grunted in annoyance and retrieved his cell phone. “Yes?”

“Sir, there’s been a development,” an unfamiliar voice trickled through.

Renzo stiffened and released me. He pressed a finger to the earpiece tucked into his right ear. “Verducci drone at the perimeter. My guys shot it down.” He gave Alessio a crisp nod.

The man on the phone confirmed. “It’s been scanned. No bombs or unusual signatures. Looks like it has a camera, but it wasn’t turned on.” His voice shifted. “There’s something you need to see.”

“Renzo, you and Matteo retrieve the drone. Bring it back here.” Alessio ended the call with a bitter “thank you” to the man on the other end.

“Lila,” Matteo started.

I held up my hand. “Don’t you dare tell me I should leave. I have every right to be here.”

“I was going to ask if you wanted to sit down while you wait. It’ll be a few minutes.” Matteo’s lopsided grin appeared. He winked and held out a hand to Renzo. “Can I hold your hand? I’m scared.”

Renzo smacked Matteo’s hand with a snort. “Hold your own damned hand. I need both of mine.”

“So manly. So irritable.” Matteo locked his hands together at his waist and followed Renzo from the room. “Be right back.” He puckered his lips and made kissing noises.

I ran over and pecked each of them on the cheek. “Be safe.”

“Always.” Renzo’s eyes warmed. “Stay with Alessio.”

“Not a problem.”

Alessio smirked at the snark in my response and guided me to the couch with a hand in the small of my back.

All thoughts of conversation fled under the newest threat. What could I possibly say that might distract us? The sense of impending doom shut down my ability to process anything else.

We sat in silence until Renzo and Matteo reappeared at the door. Renzo held up the drone. “You need to see this.” He dropped it upside down onto Alessio’s desk.

I beat him to the desk, desperate to see how far the Verduccis had gone this time.

Thick scratches marred the drone’s silver exterior. A shocked gasp slipped out, and I covered my mouth to stop the second beat of terror from escaping as I read the chilling words.

“Tomorrow, you lose everything.”

Alessio punched his fist into the desk. “Renzo, double the guards around the estate, then trace this motherfucking drone all the way to its place of origin. I want to know where they are.”

“I’ll put out some feelers.” All of Matteo’s joking collapsed.

I’d never seen him this serious, and it proved more than anything that they were taking every precaution.

He moved to the balcony, closing the door behind him.

He paced with short, furious steps, the phone to his ear and his free hand waving back and forth.

“Lila, Leo’s home.” Alessio tapped his watch.

I had no choice but to leave and go down to greet Leo. He’d want to tell me about his day and ask a million questions. It was my job to make sure he didn’t feel the threats closing in on us.

Matteo re-entered the room as I was closing the office door behind me.

His voice carried through, and I stopped to listen.

“My contacts are reporting unusual activity near the neutral zones between syndicate territories. It’s suggestive of the Verduccis gathering their forces.

Even the Russo syndicate is making moves. ”

The sound of his family name stopped me in my tracks. I’d done my best to piece together a rough family history. All three of these men had such tragedies in their lives it was a wonder they remained sane.

“Can you get through to your family?” Alessio asked.

“They’re not my family,” Matteo growled back. “This is my family.” He inhaled sharply. “I’ll see what I can do. My younger brother might talk to me.”

All the anxiety I’d felt up until this point felt inconsequential as I realized the true depth of the danger waiting for us. The Verduccis were psychopaths. From what I’d gathered, they wouldn’t stop, no matter what it cost them.

I released the door handle and retreated to Leo’s room.

Bruce nodded at me when I rounded the corner. The older man stood guard outside Leo’s door with the same precision I’d come to appreciate in Renzo.

“Any changes?” I asked.

“None. Nothing out of the ordinary.” His voice was kind, his eyes sharp, and Leo adored him.

That was enough to help temper the worry that assaulted me every morning when Leo left for school.

I walked on pins and needles until he came home every day, and even then my heart couldn’t quite rest knowing we had madmen closing in from all sides.

Now they were even coming at us from the sky.

“Thank you.” I entered Leo’s room and composed my face into a smile. “How was school?”

Leo looked up from the tower he’d been building with colored blocks. “Awesome. We got to spend a whole hour outside on the playground.” He knocked the tower down and started over again, this time with a design that resembled the estate.

His room was everything Leo liked all rolled together.

His racecar bed was tucked into the corner with bookshelves overflowing with books running down the wall near the head of his bed.

A giant toy box overflowed with blocks, army men, and trains.

Even the colors were his favorites: blue and purple.

What mattered more than the room was his comfort, and he remained blissfully unaware of the danger brewing around us. I picked up some of his dirty clothes and tossed them into the hamper. The fresh paint smell had dissipated a few days ago, and now it smelled like woods and little boy.

Leo filled me in on all that had happened at school, his excitement helping beat down the fear clawing through me.

I sat on the floor and helped him build with the blocks until he yawned and climbed into bed for a nap.

He picked at the blanket as I tucked it beneath his chin and stared up at me with fear shining in his eyes. “Are the bad guys coming for us again?”

“No, honey.” I hated the lie, and I fought to keep my voice from trembling.

“Everything will be okay.” We would all do our best to make it so.

I worried enough for Leo and myself, he didn’t need the extra strain that came with fearing for his life.

I kissed his forehead and tweaked his nose.

“Matteo’s cooking again tonight. Get some rest so you’ll feel like helping him. ”

“Okay.” He snuggled in and tucked his hands beneath his chin. “Love you.”

“I love you, baby.” So, so much.

With Leo sleeping and Bruce guarding his door, I crept downstairs, making my way to the study where Alessio’s voice drew me in, the savageness of his tone spiking through me. “If we split our resources between here and here, we have a better chance of success.”

“You’re talking about defending the estate and setting a counter-ambush to cripple the Verduccis before they reach the property.” Renzo’s gruff voice joined in.

“You wanted to take the offensive,” Matteo added.

I put my ear to the door to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

“We can use the estate’s extensive defenses to our advantage.” Renzo’s familiar steps moved closer to the door. “The perimeter is a deterrent, but it won’t stop them forever. Put enough men at the walls and cut off all access through the tunnels.”

“Take the fight outside,” Matteo insisted. “We have a deadline. We know they’re coming for us tomorrow. Either we scramble and let them bring the fight here, or we take the fight to them. If our entire force came together, we’d wipe them out.”

“And what about Lila and Leo?” Alessio asked. “We can’t put them in the middle of another fight. Their best chance of survival is right here.” A thud followed, which sounded like Alessio punching the desk. He had a bad habit of that.

Enough of this shit. I shoved the door open.

“I’m sick of staying on the sidelines. This is my fight too.

” All the fear and anger congealed into a bolt of righteous anger I aimed at Alessio.

“You promised us safety, yet you continue to keep me in the dark. And you’re not protecting Leo.

He knows something is coming, and he’s scared to death. ” My voice cracked on the last word.

“We all are.” Renzo spoke quietly, his sincerity a beacon of hope.

Alessio’s jaw tightened in that familiar way. “I promised to protect you, and I will.” He remained firm but kind, pointing at the map on the desk where red, blue, and yellow lines criss-crossed each other. “This is the cost of my world.”

“A whole new world,” Matteo flung his arms out to his sides and spun in a circle. “A brand new place.”

“Not now, Matteo.” I stopped him with an upraised hand. “I appreciate the attempt, but I’m not going to be appeased with a song and dance routine.”

“But I was just getting to the best part.” He pouted all of two seconds before a serious expression took over.

“Why won’t you let me help? I killed a man.” A shudder of regret tapped down my spine. “I’m willing to do it again. I’ve already told you I’m not the damsel who hides and screams in terror. I want to fight. I have the right to protect myself and Leo.”

Matteo straightened from where he’d been slouched in a chair by the windows. The devil-may-care attitude shifted to his real personality, the cloak of humor giving way to seriousness. “She’s right.”

Renzo shifted his weight from his wounded leg.

His arms remained crossed, but his features softened.

“We’ve all underestimated your strength.

What do you think, Alessio?” He retrieved a long, serrated knife from a holster on his thigh.

“We know you can shoot. Can you protect yourself in close quarters?”

I took the knife. The thick grip felt foreign in my hand. “I can learn. Dad taught me self-defense, but not with weapons.”

“I’ll teach you what I can. There’s not much time, but it’s worth learning.” He stood beside me, the two of us squaring up with Alessio.

“I don’t like it.” He sat on the edge of the desk with a sigh. “But I don’t have to like it to agree. You should know how to protect yourself. Just in case.” He drilled me with a look. “And I’ll include you in our defensive planning so you know what to expect.”

“Thank you.”

He held up a finger in warning. “But I draw the line at letting you join the offensive mission outside the walls.”

Good enough. “As long as I’m able to help protect Leo”—I cradled my stomach—“and this baby, I’m okay with staying here.”