I read the message from Marchetti: Have you done it? Is he out of the way? I’m ready to get her back.
I show it to the detective and then my own phone goes off. It’s from my security team. Shit. “Wow, that’s all the evidence I need to make an arrest on your father,” the detective says.
The bastard isn’t my father. “Hold on. First, he’s not my father. Second, he’s going to my house to try to steal my mother back.”
“We can get to her first,” he says.
“No, you can’t. He’s waiting. This is from my security team.” I show them footage the team just sent me. The fuck is waiting for her outside of his car, staring at one of my guards from across the road to the gate entrance. “Is there a way to get her out safely?” I ask.
“Not without drawing attention.”
Nodding, I say, “He’s not above killing them all. I have a plan.” I grab Rafael’s phone and type. The bastard’s not going to be a problem anymore. He has that bitch as well. I’m going to go get her. Wait for me. We’ll break the sad news to them together.
“Wow, you’re a lot more devious than they give you credit for.”
“They killed my real father, sent me to prison, and stole the bride who should have been mine. There’s no limit to my revenge.”
Suddenly he stiffens by my side. “So you plan on taking their place?”
I look at him and scoff, clearly insulted. “Their empire can rot in hell. I want nothing to do with it, and you can tell your friends that too. I don’t want any part of the mafia, but I won’t hesitate to protect what’s mine.”
“Understood. Now, I’m going to arrest him if you want to follow.”
“He probably has men outside the building out of the camera frames.”
“Okay. We’ll play this right.”
Chapter Twenty
Giada
As soon as Santino’s gone for the day, I get in the shower and get dressed. Without him here, there’s no reason to lie in bed. Once I’m ready with a hint of makeup on my face, I walk downstairs the back way to the kitchen.
“Good morning, Giada,” Santino’s mom says.
“Good morning, Rita, Mom.” She’s not my mom by blood, but she’s the only mother to show me the love a mother should have.
“Did you sleep well?” Mom asks with a smirk on her face.
“It was a wonderful night, even if I hardly slept.” I giggle. A new life has been breathed into me. I can’t believe all that’s changed in the past twenty-four hours. There are plenty of changes since Santino first walked into my life, and I hope more to come.
“I bet you’re hungry.” Rita slides over a full breakfast.
“Thanks. I am.” I hop on a stool and ask, “How are you ladies this morning?”
“I’m trying to keep this woman over here from losing her mind. I told her that Santino’s not going to let her husband get her, but she’s worried.”
“I’m not scared for myself but for Santino. He’s strong, but they are ruthless. Nothing is going to stop them from going at him, even if I went back to Rafael.” She’s exactly right. There’s no doubt about that when it comes to those bastards. I hate them to no end and want both of them dead.
“He’s well protected. I wish I could tell you that it’s going to be okay. Me more than anyone wants him to come home safe.” I press my hand to my stomach, feeling nauseous at the idea that he could die.
“I know. We need to pray that he’ll be safe. The detective on my first husband’s case wanted to do a formal interview with me, but I’m guessing that he hasn’t gotten into contact with Santino yet.” I’ve learned so much more about her past over the past week than I did the entire time I knew her. It’s way more tragic than mine. At least mine started off brutally awful, but her happiness came and went and she suffered the last thirty years.
“Hopefully, you two can fill this house with laughter and joy and a bunch of grandbabies for me to love.”
“I’m sure Santino’s going to try.” I smile, finally taking my first bite of the eggs.
“I’m thinking that there are four extra bedrooms upstairs perfect for babies. You might need a bigger house.”
“How many babies do you expect us to have?” I bite a piece of bacon. God, I love bacon.
“Is six too greedy?”
I nearly spit it out at her. “Yes.”
She waves my answer off, shaking her head. “Well, at least I didn’t say a full dozen.” She grins, taking a sip of her coffee. There’s nothing to do but shake my head. I’ll be happy with any babies we have together. It’s more than I could have ever hoped for.
“Yeah, well, we’ll see. I don’t know about the football team you want, but I’m just happy to have a chance at even one little Santino.” Tears well up in her eyes and I feel awful for her, but she stands up and wraps her arms around me. “Thank you for giving him the chance to prove his love.”
“He’s my hero.” Even if he’s a bossy ass sometimes.
“We need to start picking out baby furniture,” she squeals, jumping up and down.
“We don’t even know if I’m pregnant or can ever get pregnant.”
“I just have a feeling. Finish your food and we can start looking at some online stores.” She walks out of the kitchen and into the main sitting area. Several guards are around the house and in almost every room. We don’t have a lot of privacy, but they all seem like pretty cool people.
Rita’s breakfast is fabulous, but I’m so full that I get up and empty my plate.
“Thank you for breakfast. It was incredible, as always.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” After putting my plate in the sink, she wraps her arms around me. “He’s
