Page 104 of Vows of a Mobster

“Say another word,” I gritted through my teeth, “brother. And I’ll blow your fucking brains out.”

Marcus and I locked gazes, staring each other down. “She must be a good lay to rattle you like this,” he finally said. “I should give her a try.”

I hit him hard with the handle of my gun and watched him pass out in front of me.

“Over my dead body, brother,” I spat at his unconscious form.

Antonio was already calling security behind me, ordering them to clean him up.

“Mateo, you have to get yourself together,” Antonio said in a low voice. “Don’t let your woman see you wound up like this.”

I turned to face him. In all my almost fifty years, this had never happened to me. I handled business, family, and sex with a level head. Never losing control. She stirred a protective and possessive beast inside me, and there was no turning back. From the moment I first touched her, that beast was craving her, needing her.

“Let’s go,” I told him, and headed towards the elevator. It might be smarter to bring Antonio along.

The second we pulled up at the cottage, I saw my men standing watch. One of them was cleaning something up in front of the house.

“Boss,” Lorenzo greeted me, a frowned look on his face.

“What happened today?” I asked, seething on the inside but seemingly calm on the outside.

“Marissa and Daphne took the little girl to the hospital,” he explained and I tried to keep surprise off my face. “They were there for hours, when they came out, your wo-” he wasn’t sure what to call Brianna. He was right, she was my woman.

“My woman,” I told him.

“Yes, she came out with them. We never saw her enter the building,” he justified. “The little girl was sick so she held her and rode back with your cousin. She asked us to bring her car back.” His eyes went to the spot that was being cleaned up.

“What’s that?” Antonio asked.

“The little girl got sick,” he explained. “They won’t tell me what’s wrong but she is sick. Very sick. Your woman and the girl are in the bathroom. Daphne and Marissa are alternating from crying to just sitting and staring into nothing.”

What the fuck is going on?

“Thank you, Lorenzo,” I told him and proceeded into the house.

I found Marissa in the hallway. The moment she spotted me, she paled.

“Mateo,” her voice was a whisper.

“Want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” I asked her in a low growl. If Brianna’s daughter was sleeping, I didn’t want to wake her up.

Marissa swallowed hard and Daphne showed up behind her, just as pale. There were dry tear marks on both of their faces.

“Mr- Mr. Agosti,” Daphne stuttered. That girl would never call me Mateo. I didn’t give a fuck. I wanted to know why everyone was crying, what was wrong. I would fix it for Brianna.

“Both of you, on the front porch,” I told them. When neither one of them moved, I gritted, “Now!”

They both jumped and scurried past me through the front door. I turned around and caught a picture of the little girl on the boat, smiling wide and a large fish on her fishing rod. It was Brianna. Emma was a mirror image of her mother, just a blonde version of it. There was a man behind her, beaming wide and proud. There was resemblance between the child and the man, although completely different coloring.

I turned to see Antonio watching the same picture. “Who is that?” I asked him.

He frowned. “I remember him,” he muttered. “A cop. The name escapes me.”

There was too much about Brianna I didn’t know and I disliked not knowing. I went onto the front porch to find Marissa and Daphne waiting for me. Antonio was right behind me.

“Who’s the man in the pictures?” I asked Marissa, glaring at her. I was being a jackass, I knew it. It wasn’t her fault. I fell for Brianna and didn’t follow my own rules. I always had a detailed background check done, knew everything about the woman before I’d take her into my bed. But with Brianna I couldn’t follow reason. And taking her to bed wasn’t enough for me. I wanted her in my home, my life, and my bed… forever.

“Brianna’s dad,” Marissa replied.