Page 83 of Vows of a Mobster

“Hell, yes,” she immediately jumped on it.

“How fast can you get here?” I asked her.

“Well, we have to get ready, eat something, pack stuff for Emma for the day,” she made me smile. She’d be a good mom one day. “About three hours?”

“Darn, can you make it two?” I asked her. “I want to see my baby.”

“Aww, I want to see you too,” she teased back.

“I meant the little baby.” We chuckled. “Can you bring over my laptop please?”

“Sure, but why?”

“Well, it would seem I’m out of my job,” I tried to keep my voice level. The job wasn’t even that great. But the fact that he pulled me out of it without a concern for anything or anyone, except his desire for me fucking stung. “He just wants me to wait for him here when he-”

The meaning of it lingered in the air and unspoken words. So did my hurt and I knew Daphne picked up on it.

“Don’t fall for him, Brie,” her whisper was a warning. I knew it was.

I cleared my throat. “I won’t. Now, you girls hurry up.”

We exchanged a few more words and ended the call.

After a quick shower, I dressed in shorts paired with a pink blouse and a pair of white converse. I strolled around the large estate, from room to empty room. It had been a long time since I felt this kind of loneliness. Even when my mother kicked me out while I was pregnant, I had my grandmother to run to. Now, I felt alone. Marissa and Daphne were always there for me but there was always this sense of belonging to different worlds. If Mateo decided to sever all the connections between us, they wouldn’t have a choice but to follow his demand. That’s how this world worked. I heard plenty of stories from them to know they wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.

It would upset Emma not to have them in her life. It will hurt both of us not to have them as part of our lives. It made this situation ever more blank.

I have to be strong for Emma.

Nothing and nobody mattered as much as she did. I’ve killed for her and I’d do it again if anyone threatened her.

Maybe I had the thing for bad boys? Kyle was… gosh, saying he was a mistake was putting it mildly. It was almost a fatal mistake.

But he was a criminal and bad news all the way around. According to Marissa, he had some connections to this world too. That should have been a good lesson not to get close to this world or the people in it.

Now, here we were. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

And I knew better. Except that I had never felt this attraction.

As soon as I heard the car, I ran outside. It was Marissa in her BMW with Daphne and Emma in the car seat.

I started jumping from excitement. “Yay, you got here even faster.”

“Of course,” Marissa smiled but acted all nonchalant. “When my girl calls, I run.”

I ran to her back seat and unbuckled Emma out of her seat.

“Hello, princess,” I murmured into her hair as I lifted her up. Her chubby arms wrapped around me. “I missed you.”

She giggled in my arms as I showered kisses all over her face. “Down,” she ordered and I lowered her. Her eyes were darting everywhere, ready to explore.

“What?” Daphne exclaimed. “You won’t kiss me like you did Emma?”

“She doesn’t like us as much,” Marissa cackled. “Okay, lady. Where do we hang out?”

“Please don’t say bedroom,” Daphne added teasing. “I don’t want to even imagine what happened there.”

“Then stop talking about it,” I retorted dryly. “There is a big living room inside or we can hang outside. I haven’t had a chance to explore the grounds yet.”