But she could be useful, very useful. I didn’t know what that meant for me and her, but it could be a good thing for the mob.
I didn’t want her brat, but I couldn’t turn my back on her, not until I knew for sure.
“I’ll take on that responsibility,” I said.
Arturo nodded. “Good.”
“At least until we know for sure if it’s my kid.”
“Of course,” Arturo said. “If it isn’t your son, we will ship her back to her family as soon as possible with all our apologies.”
“And if it’s my son?”
“Well,” Arturo said, smiling, “we’ll decide that when it happens. For now, we’ll keep her here.”
I stood up. “Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t fuck this up, Vince. Keep the girl happy until we know more.”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Lucas turned and left, and I followed him. He shut the door behind us.
We walked back out into the hallway where he stopped and faced me. He had this serious look on his face, and I stopped in my tracks, staring at him.
“What?” I asked.
His face broke out into a big smile. “Congrats, daddy,” he said. “You have a fucking son.”
I groaned. “Fuck off.”
He laughed and headed back toward the office.
But he was right.
Taking her in like this was basically admitting to myself that the kid might really be mine. I didn’t want him, never signed up for being a father, but the fact remained that it might be my kid.
And so I had a responsibility to his beautiful mother.
Fuck. This whole thing was a mess.
And Lucas being a dick about it wasn’t helping.
We headed back toward my office and Kaley, a knot in my damn stomach.
7
Kaley
Vince returned to the office not long after, his face haunted by something. He barely looked at me as he returned to his desk, and a few minutes later, another man showed up at our door.
“Kaley?” he asked.
I stood up. “What’s going on?”
Vince looked at me. “Relax,” he said. “He’s showing you to your room.”
“My room?”
“Yeah,” Vince said. “You’ll be staying here for a little while.”
I took a step toward him, my mouth hanging open. “You’re taking me in?”
“Until the paternity test comes back,” he warned.
“You’re the father,” I said. “You’ll see.”
He only nodded, his hard eyes staring at me. I wanted to kiss his handsome lips but held myself in check.
“Thanks,” I said.
He nodded again. I turned away and the man smiled at me. “Right this way.”
He was dressed in a suit and had an earpiece in, just like a secret service agent. He was maybe in his forties and was beginning to bald at the top. I grabbed my bag and hurried to follow him.
He took me down some twisting, long hallways, and I was lost as soon as we started walking. A few minutes later, he stopped in front of a door, swiped a card, and opened it.
I stepped inside and took a deep breath.
The room was amazing. It was a suite, with a living room on the outside and a bedroom toward the back. It was by far the nicest room I had ever stayed in, at least on par with a five-star hotel, but probably better.
“Will this be okay?” the man asked.
“Great,” I said. “This is great.”
“Good.” He checked his watch. “Someone will be by shortly to get you settled.” He turned and disappeared.
I gaped around the room and dropped my bag on the couch. “We’re safe, little boy,” I whispered to Alex. “See, we have our own room now. Daddy is going to take care of us.”
I felt weird calling Vince that. He was Alexei’s father, but it was still strange to be under his protection. Truth was, I still thought about him all the time, and I didn’t know how I felt about the man. Everything was so mixed up in my mind.
Alex and I explored the room, and I talked to him the whole time. He seemed so calm, surprisingly calm, especially considering he was an infant in a brand new place. But he probably didn’t even notice the difference.
I noticed, though. The bedroom was huge, and the attached bathroom was gorgeous. It had a full tub and a standing shower, plus all granite and marble surfaces. It was by far the nicest place I had ever stepped foot in.
I heard the door open in the other room. “Hello?” a woman’s voice called out.
I stepped out into the living room and saw an older woman standing there, smiling at me. She was probably in her mid-forties, with her dark hair in a tight bun. She was wearing modest dress pants and a button-down shirt and looked like she belonged in a JCrew catalogue or something like that.