With a heavy heart, I go back down.Martha looks at me from the corner of her eye, a question in her gaze – Did I take the test?I nod slowly and she takes my hands in hers.“Well?” she asks eagerly.I can't contain a weak chuckle.For some reason, I want to share the news with someone and Martha is the only one I can share it with.She doesn't even know Anthony and my real names and she's harmless.Perhaps she can help me in this journey too, “It's positive, Martha. I'm pregnant!”Martha gasps with excitement. “Oh my goodness! Are you sure? Are you really pregnant?”I nod again, tears forming in my eyes as Martha pulls me into her arms for an embrace.“Oh honey, this is such wonderful news! Do you want to tell Anthony right now?""No, Martha," I say, quicker than I intended to."I want to tell him later, on a special date. Would you mind keeping this to yourself?"I nod again, tears forming in my eyes as Martha pulls me into her arms for an embrace.“Oh honey, this is such wonderful ne
AnthonyThe tires of John's black sedan crunch on loose gravel as he pulls into the town square."This is as far as I go," he says."Good luck. You'll find a mechanic for your car here, and whatever else you need. If you get stranded again, you know where to find Martha and I.""Oh thank you, John," says Diana, giving him a warm embrace."You're the best," I say, as I help Diana out of the door.Without another word, I slam the door shut and John peels away, leaving us stranded beneath the blinding afternoon sun.I shade my eyes and scan the sleepy storefronts encircling the square, palms sweating.We're sitting ducks out here.Damon could be anywhere, waiting to put a bullet in our brains.Diana's fingers curl around my bicep, her nails biting in. "What do we do?"I fish the burner phone from my pocket, punching in the memorized number with shaky fingers.There's only one person I can call, who also happens to be the last person I wanted to call.I explain this to Diana."It's my you
DianaI breathe in the crisp mountain air, filling my lungs with its fresh scent of pine and freedom.We made it.The safehouse.A winding gravel road cuts through dense forest, leading up to a sprawling timber log cabin.No other buildings are in sight, just trees as far as the eye can see, their branches reaching up to the pale blue sky.“We’re almost there.” Anthony’s hand tightens around mine, his knuckles whitening.“Thank god,” I whisper. “We’re safe now.”Anthony pulls up outside the cabin, the tires crunching on the gravel.He kills the engine and silence blankets the forest. My heart races."What if this is a trap?" I ask."No, Frankie would never betray me. We can trust him," said Anthony.“We should get inside.” His voice is husky.I grin. “Lead the way.”We exit the car, the sun warm on my face, and make our way up the creaking porch steps.Anthony unlocks the front door and we step over the threshold.The cabin is spacious yet cozy, filled with rustic timber furniture and a
A warm contentment settles over me, making me realize how deep my feelings for Anthony truly run.When the hearty stew of chopped vegetables, canned beans, and diced meat simmers on the stove, filling the air with delicious aroma, Anthony passes me a plate with appetizers.“For you,signorina” he says softly, gazing into my eyes.“For forgiving me for bringing you into this mess."“Not that I had a choice” I tell him, watching his expression fall.Shit, I tell myself. I really shouldn't be so brutally honest all the time."But if it had to be with anyone, I'm glad it's with you."He smiles. I guess, honestly isn't always so bad.We move to the cozy living room, curling up on the plush sofa with bowls of steaming stew.“So tell me,” Anthony says, “what's your favorite movie of all time? I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe we can watch one tomorrow?"I laugh. “Really? That's your attempt at small talk?”“Hey, I'm trying here,” he protests with a grin.“What, you don't want to get
AnthonyThe next morning, Diana and I wake up and clean the house, putting away our things in cupboards and setting base until god knows when.We play some board games, eat lunch separately since Diana was hungrier before I was and wanted to nap in the afternoon.She's complaining of fatigue and I'm worried.If something happens, how do I arrange for a doctor without giving my location away?I pray for the best.That evening, we pick vegetables from the garden, and prepare for dinner.Since there isn't much to do around here, and we can't really leave, we're reduced to entertaining each other.Not that I mind.We cook for activity and at dinner, I sit across from Diana at the grand dining table, adorned in silver and crystal.The candlelight flickers across her face, shadows dancing in her eyes.She is radiant.Diana offers to help clear the table but I dismiss her with a wave of my hand.She is under my protection now, and it is my duty to care for her.To keep her safe."You don't n
I scoop her up into my arms, carrying her to the huge kingsize bed in my room.She leaves a trail of wet kisses against my throat as I gently lay her down.The soft sheets slide across my still-damp skin and Diana shivers beneath me as I press my body against hers, trapping her between my arms.I bury my face in the crook of her neck, breathing in the sweet scent of jasmine and lake water."Do you have any idea how exquisite you are?" I whisper huskily into her ear, making her giggle.The sound warms my heart and I kiss around to the other side of her neck slowly, drinking in every second with this enchanting woman by my side.Diana meets each of my passionate kisses with equal vigor and soon we are wrapped up tightly together, lost in a passionate embrace that neither one us has any intention of breaking away from anytime soon.I'm drowning in her, willingly lost in the taste and feel and scent of her.The rest of the world falls away until there's nothing left but this moment, and t
DianaThe morning light filters through the curtains, stirring me from sleep.Anthony's arm is draped heavily over my waist, his breath warm against my neck.Memories of last night come flooding back - our frantic lovemaking, the release of tension that's been building between us.I want to relish in the delight of those memories, but it's clouded by the fear of the future.I shouldn't have let things go so far.I shift carefully, not wanting to disturb him.He looks so peaceful like this, his usual worry lines smoothed away.My heart aches, knowing the danger we're in.A hitman is after us, and we have no idea who we can trust.Me... pregnant.Anthony stirs, nuzzling into my hair."Morning," he murmurs."Hey." I roll over to face him.His eyes are still bleary with sleep, but he smiles softly.Suddenly, I feel sick.I groan, and lie back down."You okay?" he asks."Just nauseous," I say.I know what it is.Morning sickness.But he doesn't."Wait here. I'll make you breakfast."He kisses
AnthonyI pace the length of Frankie's study, head pounding.No matter how many times I review the case files, I can't figure out who's feeding information to Damon Atwell.After a long day in front of the laptop, the walls of the study close in.Diana's in the bedroom when I walk in, her hair falling over the back of an old t-shirt.The sight of her calms my frayed nerves.She smiles, dimples peeking out, and pats the spot beside her.I sit, wrapping an arm around her waist and burying my face in her neck. Her scent envelops me, vanilla and jasmine, as her fingers comb through my hair."Rough day?" Her voice vibrates against my cheek.I grunt. "Dead end after dead end. Someone has to be tipping Atwell off, but I can't figure out who or why.""We'll get him." Her confidence in me never wavers."In the meantime, I picked up some DVDs. Want to watch something mindless?"A movie sounds perfect. I pull back to study the selections—all favorites of mine—and smile. "You're too good to me.""
AlexanderA year have passed since the end of the war between my family and the Saconne family. Everyone was at peace. The Romano family was prospering with the added territory of the Saconnes we had divided amongst the other three great families.We were in good times now. Aryana had given birth to our son and he was adorable. He had my gray eyes, which I had also gotten from my father and Aryana’s golden-brown hair. I can still remember the day she went into labor. I had been so afraid and uncertain of what to do. Give me a gun or a knife, and I could kill anyone you wanted to, but give me a pregnant Aryana who was in labor? I was lost.I could still remember the emotions that threatened to overflow when an exhausted but overjoyed Aryana placed our son in my arms for the first time. Despite how wrinkly skin, he was beautiful.After recuperating, Aryana completed her master’s degree in Psychology. It had been a little bit difficult to see her stress over completing projects before de
“I was unconscious for two weeks?” Alexander was astonished, but I ignored his question because I just needed to tell him about my feelings in case this was all temporary.“And seeing how you would never wake up, I was lonely and scared, and I thought about all the times we had spent together, and I realized that I had fallen in love with you, but I didn’t know why I couldn’t say it, and then I regretted it and-,”Dry lips blocked the rest of my words from coming out. I didn’t hesitate to kiss back. It was amazing! I didn’t care that his lips were parched or that he hadn’t brushed his teeth in two weeks. I only watched him kissing me back, something he could do because he was awake!We slowly drifted apart.“Hi,” I whispered, afraid I would start rambling again.“Hi.” He said back to me. We stared deeply at each other, cataloging our features as if afraid we would forget with time.“I missed you.”“I missed you too.”I smiled widely, the first smile I had given in two weeks, and leane
AryanaTwo weeks.Two weeks had passed since Tony and Marcelo returned with an unconscious Alexander, covered in his blood. It’s been two weeks since Alexander promised me everything would be all right, since he promised he would come back. Technically, he didn’t lie. He did come back. Just not the way I had expected. It’s been two weeks since I last heard his voice, Since Alexander was last conscious.I missed him. I missed his voice. I missed his smiles and his grins. I missed seeing his gray eyes. I forgot how warm his embrace was. I missed the feeling of his lips on my body. I missed everything.To think that his last words to me had been to reassure and comfort me, and I couldn’t even tell him that I loved him. That was right. In watching over his prone body for the past two weeks, I came to the realization that I did, in fact, love Alexander. I couldn’t believe it had taken him falling into a coma for me to realize my feelings.How had I been so blind? Why had I continued to dou
Having found out the truth, there was no point in delaying matters. The only reason why Tom had been so successful in beating us down was because of Alfonso. Without Alfonso, what power did Tom have? Tom was already in a tight corner, and seeing how desperate he was to have sent Alfonso to kidnap Aryana, I could sense the end of this pointless war coming to a head.“I should kill you for your betrayal and send you on your way to meet my father, where you will spend your afterlife begging him for forgiveness, but I won’t. Not yet. What you’re going to do now is, you are going to tell Tom that you have Aryana, and he should meet you where we tell you to say. Do you understand?”The resignation was written all over Alfonso’s face. He knew he was done for. He had sealed his fate the day he decided to betray my family.“Are you sure it’ll be fine?” Aryana pulled me aside and asked. “What if he-”“Nothing will happen, I promise you.” I comforted her. “This will be the end, and we’ll finally
AlexanderWhy? I couldn’t believe it. I almost hadn’t wanted to believe it when Felice had taunted the knowledge in my face while kneeling on my feet moments before his death. Seeing my enemy at my feet greatly irritated me, laughing like a mad person instead of cowering and begging like I had wanted him to.Nonetheless, the information struck me like a bolt of lightning. A traitor in our midst had supplied the Saconnes with information about our trade routes so they would know where to hit. The traitor was also responsible for reporting my father’s location. Because of him, my father died. I was filled with rage. We had welcomed that traitor into our midst and had treated him like our family, and he repaid us like this?What pained me the most was who the most likely suspect could be. Marcelo and Tony had discussed this when I told them. We went over different possibilities and clues we could have missed.For the traitor to be reporting my father’s whereabouts meant he was high up in
My eyes widened in surprise.Elio Saconne was one of the brothers of Tom Saconne, the Don of the Saconne family. Marcelo had explained a little about the dynamics of the mafia families. Tom Saconne was the oldest of three brothers. After him were his two younger brothers, Elio and Felice Saconne. Despite how impulsive Tom appeared, it was a known fact that he doted on his brothers though I had doubts on whether he actually doted on them or if it was simply that he let them do whatever they wanted, precisely because he didn’t care about them.Alexander killing Elio meant a ray of sunshine for the Romano family as the war finally turned in their favor. It also told that Alexander was proving himself to his family members. Killing Elio was equivalent to cutting off a limb of the Saconnes. It was good news. I allowed myself to drag my eyes over Alexander and observe his features, spotting no happiness or pride in his feat. It had been quite a long time since I last saw him.I barely see A
AryanaWatching how the men under the Romano family cheered for Alexander settled the unease that had appeared ever since Marcelo told me what was happening. I was aware that this didn’t mean that they had forgiven Alexander. It meant that they would give him a chance to prove himself. I wondered if we hadn’t slept together or if I had allowed him to go back to grab a condom from his car back then, would this have happened? There would have been no need for Alexander to go into hiding. He would have stayed here with his family. His father probably wouldn’t have died, and these men wouldn’t have doubted Alexander’s loyalty to his family.I wished they wouldn’t be harsh on Alexander as it hadn’t been his fault. It wasn’t as if he had wanted to leave. He had argued with his father, but in the end, he’d had no choice but to obey his father’s orders. But I knew that wasn’t how the mafia operated.I watched in curiosity as they went on to perform the ceremony that would mark Alexander as th
“How are your injuries? I heard they’re better.” I changed the topic. I didn’t want to immerse myself in my longing for my father.“It’s getting better. You need not worry.” He patted my shoulder.“I know you need time to think about handling what will happen in a few minutes. I’m sure Tony told you about the displeasure of our men.”My eyebrows slightly furrowed at the words ‘our men,’ but he continued speaking before I could contemplate it. I decided that it must have been a blunder. After all, he was an old family member who served on my father’s side. It must have been a blunder.“I only came to tell you that I am here. I watched you grow from a baby to the man you are. You have my support.”I smiled, thankful for his support. He again gripped my shoulder, momentarily tightening his hold on me before letting go with another smile, exiting the study, and leaving me back to my thoughts.I let my mind wander as the time the men under the Romano banner would arrive slowly grew closer.
AlexanderReturning to Manhattan filled me with so many emotions. Memories of my father slammed strain me with so much force that I stopped in my tracks, earning glances from Tony, Marcello, and Aryana. I waved their concern away and stepped into the building that once housed my father, and meters in arms had arrived this morning to drive Aryana and me back to Manhattan. The ride back had been tense and quiet. The atmosphere between Aryana and me was strained. Since I told her I loved her last night and she didn’t reply, we didn’t know how to act in each other's presence. Even though I said she didn’t need to say it back, it didn’t mean I hadn’t been hurt. I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t say it back.Didn’t she love me? Had I read her emotions wrong? It was clear that she had feelings for me. Was it that her feelings for me were not as deep as mine, or was it too early for her? I scoffed bitterly to myself. It didn’t matter what. I couldn’t force her to return her feelings for