21. Luca

I"m sitting in a meeting with Bruno and Stefano, who I'd put in charge of managing Sabini's clubs. At the moment, we are in the back room of one of the clubs that is so seedy I think I"m going to have to take a shower when I get home. The good news is that with a little investment, I think we can turn this place into a nicer establishment.

Stefano is explaining that all the staff in this and the other clubs understand that I'm in charge now and are on board to work with us.

"In fact, they're quite eager for new management," Stefano says.

"Good. What about those who aren't on board?" A few of Sabini's men have tried to come after mine. They seem to be fighting each other more than me to take over Sabini's business. But they did nearly kill one of my men, and I won't have that sort of chaos around. Not now with Aria here.

"We're on it," Bruno says.

I don't need the details as I trust him. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I take it out to check if it's Aria.

The name of the head of my home security pops up on the screen. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to take this." I rise, fighting the kernel of concern in my belly. "Pronto."

"I"m letting you know that we had an unwelcome visitor today," he says.

That concern ratchets up. "Is everyone at the house all right?"

"Si, Don Conte."

"Well, who the fuck was it?"

"She said her name was Electra. It was on her ID, and well… we know she is a friend of yours."

What the hell? "And you let her in?"

There is hesitation on the other end of the phone, and I don"t envy him his concern about my wrath because I'm pissed. "We had no reason to believe that she was unwelcome here."

I grind my teeth. I have Aria, a woman I want to make my wife, and they think Electra is welcome at my home? Even if I were a man to cheat, I wouldn't do it in front of Aria.

"When has Electra ever been to my house?" My anger is palpable through the phone.

"We are aware that you're friends and… uh… she had important information for you."

"But I"m not there." I rub my temple. Surely, my head of security is smarter than this.

"Yes, I know. Had I been the one at the gate at the moment, I would have sent her away. But?—"

"Never mind. Is she gone?"

"Yes, sir. We were careful but insistent that she leave."

Careful? What the fuck does that mean? My phone is buzzing, indicating I have another call. I glance quickly at it and realize it"s Roberta. "Make sure she doesn"t come back."

I end the call and pick up Roberta"s. She"s talking a mile a minute.

"Slow down. What happened?" The concern in her voice has me grabbing my jacket and preparing to leave.

"Electra was going through Aria's things."

"What do you mean?" I give a nod to Bruno, who acknowledges it and takes over the meeting while I leave.

"She was in the closet. We didn"t let her in, Don Conte. I don"t know how she got in."

I understand that part of Roberta"s rapid speech is from fear of my wrath. "Is Aria okay?"

"She is shaken. Signora Fontana is here."

Okay, good. All I can see in my mind"s eye is Aria packing a bag and heading back to New York. "Try not to let Aria leave." I'm in my car, glad that I drove and hoping Aria isn't preparing to leave. I can only imagine what she"s thinking. What the hell did Electra say to her? I want to hunt Electra down and find out what she"s up to.

I"m speeding back to the villa and decide to use the few minutes to find out what Electra is playing at.

"You finally call, Daddy."

"What the fuck are you up to, Electra?"

"Didn"t your new pet tell you? You're going to be a daddy. If you want to keep her, I have no problem with that, but I"m going to be the woman of the house. You need to get her out."

My hands flex and then wrap around the steering wheel as my brain scrambles to figure out what she"s talking about. "Have you been drinking?"

She lets out an exasperated breath. "I haven"t been drinking because I"m pregnant. With your child, Luca. Try to get rid of me now."

These are very dangerous words. I know plenty of powerful men who would absolutely get rid of an inconvenient woman, especially one making demands. Electra is fortunate that I"m not one of them. I"m not sure that she knows that, though.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Electra."

"It"s not a game. I"m carrying your child."

"That"s impossible." I"m doing mental math to figure out if it is possible. I haven"t been with Electra in a long time. Not since I made the decision to return to New York and help Niko and Lucia with the war they had going on against Lucia"s father. I think back to when I saw Electra at the club recently. The clothing around her belly was loose. Had she been hiding a pregnancy?

It doesn"t matter, I tell myself. I"ve always used a condom when I was with Electra. I"ve used a condom with every woman I"ve ever been with, except Aria. It"s reckless, I know. Probably misogynistic too. But I can"t imagine being with Aria with barriers. She"s mine and I"m hers, and any child born of our coming together will be blessed and welcome into the Conte family.

"Your people very rudely shoved me out, but I will be back, Luca. You need to tell them."

"You need to watch your tone with me, Electra. The game you"re playing is very dangerous. If you continue to threaten my home, to threaten Aria, you're going to have a problem."

"You wouldn"t dare kill your unborn child."

"No, but someday, that child"s going to be born, and then we'll test and find out that it's not mine."

She is silent, and I think she"s finally understanding that she is not going to bully her way into my home, into my life.

"This child is yours. You have to marry me and get rid of that American. I'll do it for you if I have to."

"If the baby is mine, I will do right by the child, but you will never be the mistress of my home. You will never be my wife. If you ever come near Aria again, your child will be an orphan." I click the off button and roll my shoulders, uncomfortable with the threat I just delivered. I don"t kill women, but I won't tolerate any threats against Aria.

I speed through the gate and skid to a stop in front of the house. I rush in, calling out for Aria. Roberta appears immediately and tells me that Aria is outside on the terrace. I make a beeline to her, and when I reach her, I want to pull her up and take her in my arms to make sure she"s all right.

Her expression stops me. Her eyes are narrow in accusation. It hurts and frustrates me that she still doesn"t trust me. But I remind myself that an ex lover of mine broke into my house. I"d probably have doubts too if things were reversed.

I grab a chair from the table and put it in front of her, sitting down and leaning forward toward her. "Are you all right?"

"How did she get in the house?"

"She—"

Aria holds up a hand to stop me. "She got in because your men know to let her in. Because she"s been here. What is going on, Luca? Is this one of those situations in which you marry one woman for her pedigree but you get your rocks off with a mistress?"

"No." I"m feeling desperate and it's uncomfortable. I"m resenting Aria for making me feel this way. I"ve done nothing wrong. "Electra has never been in my home. Never in my bed. I don"t know why she was allowed in except for the fact that it"s known that she was once a lover of mine. But that is all she was."

Aria purses her lips and tilts her head to the side. "Perhaps they let her in because she"s carrying your child."

My head is shaking before she finishes the words. "It"s not my child. You can think whatever fucked up thing you want to think about me, Aria. But know this. That baby, if there really is one, is not mine."

Her expression softens momentarily, but then she pulls it back in as if she doesn"t want to believe me. "How can you be so sure?"

"For one, I always use a condom."

"You don"t with me."

"That"s because you and I belong to each other. Think about it, Aria. I am not a reckless man. Except maybe when it comes to you. For you, I"ve taken on the most powerful Don in America. For you, I"m prepared to give everything I am, my very soul."

I can see the tug-of-war in her eyes, of wanting to believe me but afraid to do so.

"I"m going to get to the bottom of this, Aria. I will deal with Electra?—"

"How?" Concern laces her eyes. I remember that she saw me kill a man she believed to be an innocent homeless man.

"That"s not code for I"m going to kill her. But she will be dealt with."

"She got into the house, and nobody saw her. She could get in and slit my throat."

The vision of that is more than I can bear. I reach out, taking Aria's hands in mine. "I won"t let that happen."

"How can you stop it? She was in my closet."

She"s right. Perhaps I"ve underestimated Electra. Between her and dealing with Sabini's rogue men, now may not be the safest time for Aria to be here with me.

"You should go to New York. Go to Lucia"s baby shower."

Her eyes round, clearly not expecting me to say that. "You want me to leave?" She starts to tug her hands away, but I grip them tighter.

"Hell no. I want you here with me, by my side for always. But I want you to feel safe. And I know that your family is important to you."

"Come with me." She leans forward, her hands gripping mine, and I feel it like a lifeline.

"You know I can"t."

"Niko won"t kill you. He might want to beat you up…"

My lips twitch upward. "It"s not just Niko. I need to handle Electra and some other business from the fallout of Sabini's demise. You understand, don"t you?"

She nods. "Okay."

Nothing has changed. She's still holding my hands. But all of a sudden, I feel like she"s moving away from me. Who knows what will happen when she"s in New York? Perhaps all the glitter that shines in her eyes toward me will clear and she"ll realize that I"m not the romantic hero she's been wanting. Or maybe Niko will force her to stay in New York.

But her safety is more important. "I"ll make the arrangements for a flight to New York."

She shakes her head. "Newark. I'll go stay with Lucy and Donovan."

I nod. I like the idea slightly better than her staying with Niko.

She smiles, her hands cradling my face. She can see my unease, and it's like a balm on my heart.

"I"ll come back."

I kiss her and pray that it"s true.

Later,when Aria is in bed, I meet with Bruno to figure out what to do about Electra.

"I can't believe she got into the house. Aria is afraid she'll slit her throat in her sleep." I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. I let my dick get me into this trouble by fucking her in the first place. Now she could ruin my tentative hold on Aria.

"I'll make sure security knows to keep her out."

"Is she really pregnant? Who has she been fucking?"

Bruno looks down, shifts uncomfortably.

"Oh, hell… you?"

He winces. "You were in New York… the second time."

"Could this baby be yours?"

He shrugs.

I feel a twinge of frustration at Bruno"s lack of caution. Not at fucking a woman I used to fuck, but at not being more careful to avoid a pregnancy.

"In retrospect, it was probably a set up. She came on pretty strong, and well…"

I hold my hand up. "I don't need details." I know all about Electra's powers of seduction. "What I need is to keep her away from Aria."

Bruno nods solemnly, then suggests, "Maybe I should marry her."

The idea amuses me, but I can see the sincerity in his expression. The truth is, I don"t want to lose my right-hand man, but getting Electra away from Aria means I may have to let him go. I have some business in the south that I could hand over to him.

"How would you feel about taking over the Gioia Tauro?" I say of our import-export business in southern Italy.

"I can see her becoming the village queen."

He seems genuinely interested in this idea. "Do you love her?"

He shakes his head. "No, but I'll do right by her and the child." His lips twitch upward. "I kind of like the idea of being a dad."

Memories of Aria holding a toddler flash through my mind, and I find myself wondering about fatherhood as well. The thought both thrills and terrifies me. I just don't want to be Electra's baby daddy.

I smile, seeing a new side to him. "Marrying Electra could work, although I hate to let you go."

"I'm sorry."

I wave his apology away. "I'm not upset that you slept with her. You should learn to use a condom, though."

His cheeks flush. "It was a little?—"

Again, I hold my hand up. "I don't want the details. Take care of it. I need to arrange for Aria to go to New York for a week or so. I want this all cleared up by the time she returns."

Bruno arches a brow. "Is that wise? Don Leone will likely keep her from coming back."

Agitation slides through me knowing he's right. "She plans to stay with Lucia."

He doesn't look convinced about that answer.

"I need Aria to feel safe, and she needs to see her family." And maybe by letting her go, Niko will see that I have no intention of keeping her from him. Maybe he'll then bless our relationship.

"I'll deal with Electra tonight."

I nod. "See that you convince her to make this move, Bruno. I mean it. I can't have her fucking things up with Aria."

His brow furrows. "What if I can't?"

I suck in a breath knowing he's asking how far to go with Electra. "She's stubborn, but smart. She wants a lavish life. We can make that happen. She'll take that deal over managing in the club."

When he leaves, I make arrangements for a flight to Newark for Aria. That feeling like I'm sending her away and won't see her again fills me with dread. My instinct is to force her to stay. To lock her in a gilded cage to keep her safe and with me.

What is that saying? If you love something, set it free? So I'm going to let her go and hope like hell that she comes back to me.