“You need to make a decision today, Tommy. If you go to her, you're leaving the family,” Vince says simply. It fucking hurts. He's telling me he'd kick me out. My own blood. The familia is all I know. They're all I have.
“It's like that?” I ask him, not holding back how hurt I am. Fuck it, he should know what he's asking.
“We can't have a cop in our family.” I bite the inside of my cheek, letting the pain consume me. My eyes settle on a dark swirl in the rug beneath my feet. “It's over. I told you that.” My voice is flat, just like my emotions.
“I know you did. But you have to have one more talk with her.” My eyes dart to his. What the fuck does he want from me? I'm not using her. She's staying out of whatever shit he's thinking up in his head.
“She's leaving town. She quit being a cop, did you know that?”
She quit? Damn. I wish I knew why. My brow furrows. I don't know why it hurts me to think that she quit. I should be happy. That means she's not a cop anymore. But whatever her reason is for quitting must have something to do with how fucked up she was the other night. And I don't like that. I don't want anything to hurt my bad girl. And something did, something tore her up. And I'm not there for her. She needed me. She still does. I know she does.
“No, I didn't know.” She never told me, maybe that's why she called. Just as I think that, the phone goes off again. It's a gentle vibration. The screen lights up and I see her number.
We both ignore it.
“She went to your place today.”
My heart stops in my chest and I lean forward in my seat. I have to grab the armrests so hard my knuckles turn white just to stay seated. “You better not have fucking touched her.” I swear to God if he laid a hand on her I'll fucking kill him.
He cocks a brow at me and shows no signs of fear. That's why he's the Don, but I know my threat didn't fall on deaf ears.
“She came to tell you she's pregnant.”
His words strike me with a force that makes me fall back in the chair. I stare at the phone as the words settle. She's pregnant. She's going to have my baby.
“So you need to choose between her or the family, Tommy.” Vince's words smack me across the face and bring me back to reality.
“Choose? Between family and my child? I fucking love her, Vince. I'm not giving her up.” Saying it out loud feels so fucking good. I love her. And I love that she's having my baby.
“I'm sad to see you go, then.” He's firm in his response.
“You said she quit.” He can't honestly expect that I'm going to leave her when she's pregnant.
“I can't allow it, Tommy. Do you know what kind of position this puts me in?” My anger comes back with full force, just as the phone rings, again.
“Fucking answer it already.” He looks at me with an exasperated expression. It pisses me off, but I answer it.
“Hello,” I answer her without giving anything away.
“Thomas,” she answers me with my name like that, and I hate it. Just because we ended things doesn't mean that she's gotta do that shit. I loved hearing her call me Tommy.
“Talk to me, baby.” I hope my answer warms her up to me. I know she's gonna tell me she's pregnant and she's probably worried. I don't want her to be though. I'm gonna be there for her. Even if Vince tells me I've gotta leave, I'm not leaving her.
“I need you to meet me,” she says calmly. There's no emotion from her at all.
“Sure, baby. Wherever you want.” Again I soften my voice. I want her to know I'm receptive to whatever it is she's gotta tell me. I'm also anxious though. I wanna hear it from her lips. “We could talk now, if there's something on your mind,” I offer.
“It's nothing.” My forehead creases. Nothing? She's carrying my child, and she thinks it's nothing?
“I just want to see you before I leave. I thought we could meet where we first met. A small smile plays at my lips as I answer her, “At the station.” She doesn't laugh. Instead she replies flatly, “At Rosetti's. I know it's closed now, but it'd be nice to say goodbye by the creek in the back. Where we first met.”
Something's off. My eyes bore into Vince's skull until he looks at me.
“Something's wrong.” I mouth the words to him as I put it on speaker. We've never been there before. It doesn't make sense. She's trying to tell me something. “Sure, baby, you want me to bring anything?”
“No, I think it will be quick.” I don't understand what she's getting at, what she's hinting at.
“Maybe a bottle of wine. I can bring those chocolates; you remember the two packages we had at your place the first night? The two on the end table before I had your taste on my mouth for the first time. How many of those are you expecting?” I'm hoping she's getting what I'm talking about. Vince looks at me like I've lost my damn mind.