“Yes. You—you sound calm about it?”
Daisy shrugged. “I was in the army, so I’ve also killed.”
“That was during a war.”
“And this isn’t?”
It was a war of sorts, Carla realized. She knew from Grace that Leon and other leaders of organized crime, like Matteo, Gregori Markovic, and Nikolai Volkov, were trying to clean up the streets of the worst of the illegal activities taking place in their cities, and recently run by the Romanians and the other vicious crime organizations springing up around the world.
At the time Grace had talked to her about those things Carla hadn’t dreamed for a moment that conversation would become important to her personally.
“You’re right, it is a war.” Carla nodded. “But how do you live with the constant worry for Nikolai?” She looked at the two blond-haired children. “Have children with him.”
Daisy stood up to hand the baby boy over to Carla. “Because you love him and don’t want to live without him,” she stated simply.
In the same way that Carla had realized this past two hours, she didn’t want to live without Leon.
She looked down at the baby in her arms and found herself the recipient of a gummy smile from a baby boy who, no matter what happened in Daisy’s future, would forever be a part of herself and Nikolai.
Something eased and calmed inside Carla at her realization and acceptance of that indisputable truth.
Yes, being with a man like Leon was a risk. But being without him, through choice, because she was too much of a coward to live with the constant danger his life brought with him, would be so much worse.
“You get it now.” Daisy nodded her approval.
“I do.”
“Good. Because I think our men are home.” She turned expectantly toward the door.
The last thing Leon expected to see when he entered the Volkovs’ sitting room was Carla holding a baby in her arms as if born to it.
He quirked one eyebrow. “Was I gone that long?” he teased.
“Leon!” Carla’s relieved cry unsettled the baby in her arms, and she quickly passed him back to his mother before running to Leon.
At the last moment, she threw herself at him, Leon giving a loud oomph as he gathered her up into his arms so that she could wrap her legs about his waist.
“Thank God you’re safe and here.” She kissed his lips. Then she kissed him again. And again.
“I think we drove the Volkovs out of their own sitting room,” Leon murmured a long time later as he sat on a plush sofa, his arms about Carla as she sat on his thighs, her head against his shoulder.
The two of them had been so intent on each other, on reassuring themselves they were both still alive, they hadn’t even noticed the Volkov family leaving the room.
Carla lifted her head to look at him. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you?”
“I’m a bit battered and bruised, but otherwise fine.” He breathed out heavily. “I was very relieved to see Padraic is still alive.”
She nodded. “He was marvelous once I realized you’d been taken, and kept me calm and focused. Although, I think his ribs might be broken from being shot.”
“Already taken care of,” Leon reassured.
“You called Matteo’s doctor back again, didn’t you?” she said knowingly.
He shrugged. “Several of my men need medical attention, and the man needs to do something to earn the hefty retainer Matteo pays him.”
Carla gave a husky laugh. “Hard-ass!”
“I’m a hard-ass?” he mocked. “Padraic is singing your praises, and my other men tell me you almost verbally ripped your ex-boyfriend a new one when you arrived at the warehouse. That you actually did hit Russo.”
Her cheeks colored. “He was being rude.”
Leon chuckled. “My men respect you. My allies respect you. My daughter respects you. I love you. How do you feel about becoming the wife of the capo dei capi?”
She looked stunned for a few seconds before recovering her usual feistiness. “Would that make me the she-boss of all bosses?”
Leon couldn’t help but laugh at the resilience of his warrior queen. After the past few hours of death and destruction, it was a relief to do so.
Roberto and Sebastian Russo were both dead, their men along with them, and they were currently being disposed of in a manner that wouldn’t alert the authorities to the massacre that had taken place on their territory.
Somehow, Benny Calabro had lived, and he was one of the men the doctor was now attending.
Leon had decided, under the circumstances, he should perhaps leave Calabro’s future for Carla to decide. He had a feeling she would be happier if they allowed Benny to live and perhaps even be forced to work for the Russians, as Nikolai had suggested as an alternative. Apparently, they’d taken several such men into their organization. Nikolai soon had them appreciating where their loyalty lay.
Yes, Leon had no doubt that his beautiful Carla would definitely see that as poetic justice.
Once the smoke had cleared and Leon was free and able to check on his own men, he had heard nothing but their praise, along with Nikolai’s, for Carla and the way she had handled herself at the warehouse. She was, as they also told him Don Sebastian had grudgingly said, a degna donna.
But she was Leon’s “worthy woman,” and he wanted to leave her in absolutely no doubt about that.
“Marry me, Carla,” he pressed urgently. “I know we haven’t been together long, but it has been the longest forty-eight hours of my life. And I love you as I have never loved another. Please say you’ll be my bella degna donna for all time?”
“Yes.” Carla, quickly over the surprise of his proposal, felt absolutely no hesitation in giving him that answer.
Yes, they’d known each only other a short time. And yes, no doubt there would be times when she would worry for Leon’s life.
But, like Leon, she knew that when something was right, it was right.
And she and Leon together were absolutely perfect.
Their
