Page 70 of Vows of a Mobster

Brianna chuckled. “Well, nice to not meet you, Declan.”

I had no idea what made Declan assume I was her intended, but I was glad Brianna didn’t correct him and that she didn’t give him her name.

“Okay, Mateo,” Declan continued talking, throwing another curious glance, hoping to catch a glimpse of Brianna. “I will see you around.”

“Not likely.” As he walked away with his younger brothers, I motioned for Antonio and my other men to block Brianna from their view as she entered the vehicle.

“Give me the keys to the Jeep.” She dug them out of her purse, along with a barbie, a mini mouse, and another toy I didn’t recognize. She handed the keys to me without another word. I lowered the window and handed it to one of my men and raised the window and divider separating the driver from us.

“What was that about?” she asked curiously.

That was me being so lost in her, I lost sense of my environment. Declan could have shot me in the back, and I wouldn’t have seen it coming, daydreaming about fucking Brianna.

“Nothing,” I answered her curtly.

I could sense her eyes on me, watching me, but she said nothing else about it. Instead, she went back to our discussion from Panera.

“Can we put some ground rules in place?” She tilted her eyes, seeking out my gaze. “So we can both agree what works and doesn’t work for us.”

“What did you have in mind?” She was a mystery. The way she responded to me and stood her ground wasn’t something I was used to by anyone, even less women.

I couldn’t get rid of the tension in my body, the result of a run-in with Declan. Brianna observed me with caution, as if she could sense my mood.

“My life is my business and yours is your business,” she spoke with a fake bravado. “I don’t intend to ask you any questions and you don’t ask me any. This is just till we determine I’m not pregnant, and then we go our own separate ways. Emma is my daughter and my responsibility, nothing to do with any of this.”

I raised my eyebrow. “And what do you intend to do if you are pregnant?”

She paled at my words, and I felt bad for being the cause of it. But not bad enough to let her go.

“The likelihood is slim,” she murmured.

“We shall see,” I ended up saying. Her shoulders slightly sagged, and she turned to gaze out the window of the car.

Twenty-Two

Brianna

Mateo was tense in the car for the entire drive to his house. I wasn’t sure if my little speech accomplished anything. As I set those boundaries between us, my heart pounded wildly, but it was important I set them. It was important that I don’t get too wrapped up in him. For Emma’s sake… and for my sake.

Tension and harshness rolled off him in waves from the moment he heard that man’s voice. Honestly, I couldn’t understand why. The whole encounter with Declan seemed kind of pointless. I wanted to ask him again what was bad about the whole thing, but instead, I remained quiet.

I stared out the window, trying to work out the plan for today and tomorrow. I hoped somehow I’d convince Mateo to let me spend Wednesday with Emma at home.

Two weeks!It couldn’t be that I was due for my period any day now.

I was fairly positive the story Mateo gave Mar was bullshit. He had no intention of having me as his secretary. She was right; he was relentless till he got what he wanted. I debated how long he would want me. Hopefully, only till we figure out that I wasn’t pregnant?

When we got to Mateo’s place, I had to ensure my mouth didn’t drop. The place was massive, surrounded by at least one hundred acres and some of it directly on the ocean. He could have ten large families living on this estate and they’d never run into each other.

The beginning of the property was gated and woods stretched around it affording it a privacy. After several acres of woods, it transitioned into an immaculate lawn.

My phone buzzed, signaling an incoming email, and I quickly reached for my phone.

My heart almost stopped, seeing it was a response from Columbia University. I glanced at Mateo, but he wasn’t paying me any attention so I opened the email and scanned through it.

Oh my God, they actually gave me the name of Kyle’s parents and the last known address.

I took the screenshot and quickly created a folder on my phone so I could easily access it.