Man of the House(74)

I nodded.

“Good,” she said. “So you won’t need formula. Here’s a map of the grounds. Pretty much nothing outside is off limits. There’s a lot of stuff to do, so feel free to explore.”

“Sonya,” I said, “what the heck is this place?”

She laughed, smiling. “I know, strange, right?”

“It’s just more like a resort than like a mafia compound.”

She laughed, nodding her head. “I know, I know. I like how direct you are.”

I blushed. “Sorry. Everyone knows that, right?”

“Of course.” She shrugged, looking through the papers. “I don’t know why this place became the way it is. I guess since the men have such difficult jobs, the family wanted somewhere for everyone to feel safe and relaxed.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Plus, the Barones like to show off their wealth. What better way than to spoil every single guest that walks in the door?”

I nodded again. It made sense, but it was still all too much. Only a few hours ago I had been worried about whether my son was going to be taken away from me, and now suddenly I was staying in this five-star mafia resort, completely protected and taken care of.

The Russian mob had nothing like this. They were more spread out, less centralized. I knew my father’s people had almost as much wealth as the Italians did, but our people sent a lot of it back to Russia, where we held a lot of land and buildings.

Apparently, at least. I’d never seen any of it or been to Russia. Hell, I barely even spoke Russian, which pissed my dad off all the time.

But forget him and forget the Russians. As far as I was concerned, the second they wanted to take my son away was the second I stopped being a part of their family.

“Any questions?” Sonya asked me.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll leave you alone. The crib will be up shortly, along with other supplies. I’ll check in on you later.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “Really, I’m fine.”

Sonya sighed. “Listen, Kaley. I don’t know why you’re here or what you’re running from. All I know is I was assigned to help take care of your son. If you don’t want me to do anything, I won’t. But I’ve been helping single moms like you for a very long time, and trust me, I know how hard it can be in those first few months.”

I nodded at her, frowning. She really didn’t seem like she was a part of the Italian organization at all. Maybe she really was just a staff member sent to help take care of Alexei. Maybe people weren’t always awful and sometimes actually took care of their children instead of trying to send them away.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No problem.” She turned and walked toward the door. “One more thing. If you ever need me, pick up the phone and ask for me by name. They’ll know who I am. I’ll come running.”

“Thank you,” I said again.

She nodded. “Please, ask for help. And good luck if you decide you don’t want any.”

I smiled. She turned and disappeared out the door.

“What a strange place,” I said softy. “Right, little boy?”

He smiled up at me.

I looked down at the packet Sonya had brought up and felt something deep in my chest.

It was relief.

For the first time since Alex had been born, I felt like he was safe. We weren’t in immediate danger. Vince was going to protect me for the next three days at least, and then he would find out that he was definitely the father.

Then, who knew what would happen. But at least I was safe for a little while and could finally catch my breath.

Almost as if on cue, Alex started crying.

The work of a mother is never over, I thought to myself.





8





Vince





I gave her a night to get settled.

The mansion was a crazy place. It was easy to forget that it was a mafia compound and not a five-star resort. I spent the night in my own room on the grounds, drinking nice whisky, eating decent food, and otherwise trying to forget about the girl that was staying just down the hall.

Of course I had them put her in a room near mine. I couldn’t resist myself. Kaley was still so damn sexy, her body was incredible, and the way she looked at me with this mixture of fear, hate, and desire drove me fucking wild. My cock was hard every second I was around her.

But she was trouble, and that baby was a real problem. If I was a father, I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do.

More importantly, though, she was a Russian mob princess. Her being in our compound meant the Russians were going to be pissed, and it was only a matter of time before we heard them bitch and moan about it.