Page 155 of Vows of a Mobster

My father’s frail hand came to my shoulder. “You will find it. If you need to, take extra time and extra men. Don’t jump into retaliation till you are certain. Mateo is a hard opponent to beat, and he built an empire with vast resources.”

“If his men attacked, I fully intend to go to war,” I told him, without hesitation. It would mean I chose my family over Marissa, and it didn’t sit well with me, but there was no choice in the matter. She knew how it worked. She would choose her family too. Maybe I could kidnap her and make her my captive bride. I scoffed at that notion. Marissa would cut off my balls while I slept.

“Your mother is concerned about the child,” my father changed the subject. I tensed but hid it. This subject I didn’t expect.

“What child?” I asked, to ensure I wasn’t jumping to conclusions.

“Little sick girl. Child of Mateo’s young wife.” Fuck, I didn’t need this right now!

“Why is she concerned about the child?”

I had finally connected the dots… Brianna searching out the Sullivan family, Marissa asking me to get tested as a donor. The moment little Emma ran to her mother at the restaurant, and I saw those insert tubes on her little hand, I knew it. She was Kyle’s little girl. Brianna had no clue who Kyle was and his connection to our family. Blood was everything in our world. Kyle’s mother was my mother’s sister. His father was my dad’s youngest brother. I was hoping to delay my parent’s conclusion about the little girl till I was able to secure an arrangement with the Italians. Family was everything and they’d burn cities to ensure the girl was under our protection.

“Declan,” my father’s voice held an edge to it, a clear warning. “Blood is everything. I won’t ask questions about how it happened. But I want you to handle it. She belongs with her own people, her own family.”

And what the fuck was Brianna to her,I had to bite my tongue not to spit the question out. From the looks of it, Brianna did a great job caring for that little girl. And what did he expect me to do with the mother? She was Mateo’s wife now. Bringing her under our roof was out of the question. Mateo would destroy every single Irishman in this state… hell, in this country... for his wife.

“See to it, my son.” My father patted my back and left the room.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.

Fifty-Five

Mateo

Ihaven’t seen Brianna nor Emma awake since we came back from our one-night honeymoon. I’d check on Emma on my way to bed, sound asleep with her curly blonde hair framing her face. She slept in the same exact position as her mother, on her side with her chubby hands holding one of her stuffed animals. Except, Brianna held on to me. I was happy to see Emma adjusting well, loving the fact our house buzzed with life from the moment Brianna stepped foot into it. Except I was missing it all, because I had to deal with this shitstorm.

“How many men are dead?” I growled.

“Three.” Antonio’s face was grim. Things were escalating. The moment Brianna and I docked our boat at the house, shit had fit the fan. Antonio was waiting for us, hiding his fury behind his neutral mask. Even Brianna picked up on it. She asked him if Emma and the girls were okay. Upon his nod, she placed a kiss on my cheek and left us to our business.

“Get me their names. I want to talk to their families and ensure they are taken care of.”

I was pissed off. I wanted to enjoy my wife, my new family, and grow my bond with Brianna and our daughter. How in the fuck was I supposed to do that if I only saw them when they slept?

“Mateo, everything is pointing to the Irish attacking,” Antonio gritted through his teeth.

I knew that. Everyone could see it. That was the problem. It was too obvious. Like they purposely wanted to start a war. It was too simple.

“Get Declan to meet with us within the hour,” I ordered Antonio. He left immediately to make the call.

My insides were gnawing at me. Today was Emma’s treatment and I wanted to be there for my wife. I should be there for her. Instead, I was working at preventing this full-blown war between the Irish and us. I had never resented my position as much as I did lately.

My uncle’s words echoed in my head.

This is for life, Mateo.

Famiglia comes first.

We fight, bleed, and kill.

For Familigia.

I gave famiglia over twenty years of my life. Now I wanted nothing more than to fight, bleed, and kill for my own family… my wife and my children. I wanted to live my life and watch my children grow up.

I was younger than Giovanni was now when I took over. Unfortunately, Giovanni didn’t want this position. Neither did his brothers. If I was to relinquish this position, it would have to go outside our family. My uncle and father must be rolling in their grave for me to even consider it.

The door to my office opened and Antonio was back.