Ti Amo (6 page)

“It won’t go bad. I never ran from him because I was afraid of him. I was afraid of his lifestyle. I can talk to him. I have to now, Kei.”

He glanced at her with shock on his face. “Did you know he was coming? Did you contact him?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then why are you sitting there so calm?”

Mira struggled to hide the truth. Part of her knew he would, some day. She was a fucking hypocrite.

“Fuck it!” Kei put the car in drive. Mira touched his hand. She leaned over and kissed the side of his mouth. “Don’t talk to him, okay?” she whispered in his ear. “Let me do the explaining. Whatever I decide you agree to it. Do you understand me?”

“Whatever you decide? Are you saying you’re going to tell him about Eve?”

“I can’t keep it a secret now can I? I don’t know what is going to happen. Just please don’t intervene. He won’t like it. Trust me, okay?”

Kei released a tight breath that almost sounded like a whistle. He drove slowly down the street, wheeled the car past the parked ones in front of their cottage. Mira reached for the door handle, grabbing her arm he stopped her. “I’m with you. Right beside you.”

“Okay.” Mira said, summoning courage she exited the car and went for Eve. Her daughter was bundled up in a pink jumper with a hood. She sucked harder on her pacifier blinking at her mother. Mira knew Eve was excited to get out of her car seat. Eve’s arms immediately went around her mother’s neck when Mira lifted her out of the back of the car. Mira held her close. Kei stood near his open car door glaring at the men watching them. One of them she recognized. She believed his name was Carlo. He smoked a cigarillo, flicked it into the snow before opening his trench and showing the gun to the front of his pants. He winked at Kei exhaling a thick plume of smoke from his flared nostrils.

“Let’s go,” Mira said.

Kei continued to glare at Carlo. She saw his jaw twitch and his eyes narrow dangerously. Was he seriously going to challenge a man with a gun?

“Let’s go!” Mira said again with bass in her voice.

Eve careened her neck to see the men her surrogate father was glaring at. She waved at them both. Carlo smiled and Carmine waved back.

Mira put Eve down and took her hand. She helped her step through the snow and up the steps to the door. She paused a moment to discover it had been forced open. The shoe print stamped at the center of the door made it apparent how.

“The bastards forced their way in.” Kei grimaced.

Mira chewed on her bottom lip nervously, unable to move. Finally she looked over at Kei. “Don’t speak unless he speaks to you. Let me do the talking,” she warned.

Kei frowned. “I’m not scared of him.”

“Eve. Think of Eve. Please,” she pleaded.

“I’ll follow your lead, Mira. Like we agreed.” Kei relented. “But sweetheart, you kept the man’s child from him. Don’t go in there thinking you can talk your way out of this. If it gets bad we do it my way.”

Mira had no idea what ‘my way’ meant. There were times when she considered Kei’s willingness to go up against these gangsters a sign of bravery. Now she suspected something she couldn’t quite name. Eve looked up at them both curious, and Mira smiled down at her baby reassuringly before she pushed the door open. She didn’t see Giovanni. Her heart raced so fast and strong she could barely take a breath. Entering her home she glanced to the left. He was seated near the fireplace watching her silently. At his side stood Lorenzo. Dominic was over near the window. He must have told Giovanni they had arrived.

Mira couldn’t fathom the change in him. Physically he was still a magnificent specimen of a man. The beard was new, and the hard coldness in his icy blue stare hardened features she once found charming. A swath of wavy dark hair fell casually over his brow out of the groomed dark wave of hair that dusted his collar. His well-groomed appearance, dark olive tanned skin and the cynical twist thinning his lips made his presence overpowering with self-confidence. Even Kei stood in silence staring at him. Mira had forgotten how powerfully seductive his eyes were. She lowered her gaze to break the hold he had over her. She needed to keep her emotions in check and show no weakness.

Eve let go of her mother’s hand and hid behind her legs. Her baby was naturally friendly. Giovanni’s hard glare made her instinctively draw away. He didn’t relent. He sat forward and his focus shifted from Mira down to her daughter. It remained that way.

Eve peeked at him. Did he recognize her? Mira always believed that if Giovanni met their child he’d recognize her as his own instantly. Not because of her eyes, but because of the love they shared when they created her. Staring at him now she wasn’t sure. This man before her seemed so different from the one she knew.

His gaze swung back up at Mira, fiery hot under lowered dark brows.  Silently, wordlessly she met his stare, and she knew he realized who Eve was to him. Instead of joy she saw fury. The reality of her true betrayal settled between them, dividing them. Slowly he rose from his seat.

“
Ciao, Giovanni
,” Mira said softly.

“
Ciao, Bella
. It’s been too long,” he answered.

She nodded. “How did you find me?”

How dare she let those five words be the first to pass between them. What about the little
bambina
clutching her legs?
His bambina!
He glanced down at the baby girl, and she buried her face into the back of her mother’s knee. She looked to be a toddler. He didn’t know much about kids, how they grew, but she stood and walked so she had to be at the very least two years old. His heart hammered so fast in his chest he wanted to grab the child to be sure. But he restrained and resisted his urges. She was after all only a baby and shouldn’t meet a father who had little self-control.

Mira however was a different matter.
Look at her.
As beautiful as the day he last saw her. She wore jeans, riding boots, a sweater under a matching leather waist jacket. However her up tilted breasts, slim waist that agilely defined her rounded hips, and fine shapely thighs made her body appear seductively feminine. He couldn’t see much of her hair. It looked longer but the knit eggshell white cap with blue stripes was pulled low to her brow. 

“Did you miss me?” he asked in an even tone, refusing to let her beauty subdue him.

Mira bit down on her plump rose-colored bottom lip. She blinked long dark lashes at him over honey brown eyes. “I can explain,” came her soft reply.

“Who is the
bambina
hiding behind you? Explain her.”

The little one stuck her head out as if knowing he mentioned her. She blinked at him, and he got a good look at her eyes. Giovanni was a bit stunned by their beauty. A smile formed on the little one’s face as if she wanted to play with him, but it faded and she sucked on the plug in her mouth. Some of the dark ice around his heart thawed at the small exchange.

Mira removed her knit cap and stuck it in her jacket pocket. Her dark hair was flattened to her forehead but wavy strands framed her face. She knelt. She pulled the little girl around to unzip the puffy jumpsuit she wore to ward off the cold. The hood came down and curly brownish-blonde locks of hair sprang free. Her large blue eyes, and her mocha brown skin made her uniquely special. She wore a yellow shirt with dark green corduroy pants. Mira turned her daughter so she could face him. She kept her protectively close but Giovanni could see her face clearly. A face that looked so similar to Catalina’s when she was a small girl, he glanced to Lorenzo to see if he noticed too. Lorenzo stared at the child transfixed. He had.

“Who is she?” he asked, his voice going hoarse.

“She’s my daughter. I named her Eve Fabiana Battaglia.”

“Why?” he glanced up into Mira’s eyes.

“Because she’s your daughter too.”

“Eve Fabiana?” he repeated. He stood. No one spoke. Giovanni walked over to the little girl and knelt to her level. They were only a few feet apart. “
Siete il bambina piccolo più dolce,”
he said. Eve blinked at him, and he had to smile. It felt strange smiling. It was more of a twitching of his lips than the actual act. It had been quite some time since he was surprised, pleasantly surprised like this.

“Eve?” he extended his hand. He reached for the plug she sucked and removed it from her mouth. She had the sweetest pink rosebud lips. His little one frowned at him for the offense and immediately she grabbed the plug dangling from a bumblebee pin on a satin ribbon and stuck it back in her mouth. Eve sucked harder with a warning in her clear blue eyes for him not to try it again.

Mira spoke. “It’s her pacifier. She doesn’t like to be without it.”

“Oh? Pacy-flier.” Giovanni repeated. He then reached for her hand. She had little cute stubby fingers. He kissed her hand. Eve pulled away from him and turned to her mother for comfort. His daughter didn’t know him. The pain arrowed into his heart, and he could barely summon a breath. He was a stranger to his own flesh and blood. How could Mira be so cruel? Did she fear or hate him this much to keep him from his child?

Mira smiled at him. He said Eve was the sweetest little baby in Italian. Eve sucked on her pacifier and peeked back over at Giovanni, then turned her face away to bury it into Mira’s neck.

“What are you doing?” Kei asked, the pain in his voice made her cringe. When her gaze swiveled to Kei then Giovanni she saw the frozen heated glare he leveled on Kei.

“Remember what we discussed,” Kei said. Giovanni’s brows lowered.

Panicked she rose and held Eve’s hand as she stepped to Kei. “Don’t. Do. This,” she whispered.

Giovanni stood tall. Parting the folds of his trench coat he slid his hands down into his trouser pockets. His voice was smooth, overly calm. “Do what Bella? He’s your man isn’t he? He has a right to be heard. I’d love to hear what you two discussed about me.”

His tone made her flush with shame. But she had nothing to be ashamed about. None of this was Kei’s fault or hers.
How dare he!
“Giovanni I’d like to speak to you alone.”

Unfortunately her words had little effect. He returned his gaze to Kei and kept it leveled on him. There was something cold and dark in his stare, and it worried Mira. Worse yet was the unwavering glare Kei aimed his way. Neither man seemed the least bit intimidated. It was Mira who stood in fear. Caught between them both she had to defuse the situation quickly. 

“Giovanni. Please, let me explain,” Mira began.

“Oh you will explain after you pack yours and Eve’s things. Kei and I will remain here and have a talk.”

“She isn’t going anywhere with you.” Kei smirked.

Mira shook her head. “Kei you promised. You promised you would let me handle this.”

“I’m sorry sweetheart. You aren’t handling it. I won’t allow him to hurt you again. They won’t leave this airspace with you and get away with it. You think I haven’t planned for this day?” Kei spat at Giovanni. “You have no idea how far I will go to protect her.”

Giovanni smirked. “I think I do. You’re the man that helped fake her death; that makes you resourceful.”

“Damn right.”

“Kei! Stop!”

“Quiet, Bella. This is between Kei and I.”

“No. I have Eve here. Look at her, the both of you! I don’t want this in front of her. So stop.”

Her words seemed to have a cooling affect. She felt the tension shift in the room. However, her heart hammered so hard and fast in her chest she was panting and breathing hard through her nose.

“You have Eve to think about.” Kei touched her shoulder. “You were standing here about to hand over your daughter to this… this man.”

Mira lowered Eve, who walked away bored with the scene. She turned to Kei and stepped in his face. “You’ve been a good friend to me. I love you for wanting to protect me, but you have to trust me to do what’s best for my daughter. I need to talk to Giovanni.”

“Why don’t the three of us have a fucking chat?” Giovanni interjected. “Since you two have had plenty of conversations without me.”

“Watch your mouth in front of my daughter.” Mira said.

“Watch your mouth in front of me.” Giovanni warned.

Mira seethed. “This is between you and me, leave Kei out of it.”

“Why? Why! You brought him into this!”

“I brought him into this? What about you? What about—.” Mira bit down on her lip. He would kill Kei if she didn’t appeal to his heart, and quick. Did she think he was a murderer? If you had asked her two years ago after he showed her his heart she would have said no. But now with the blood of her best friend between them she had no illusions over who he truly was. And there was something else. He felt different to her. Cold and indifferent. The act of communicating with Eve seemed to exhaust him. As if he hadn’t worked his heart muscle for love and compassion in quite some time. “I will go with you. Eve and I will leave right now if you let Kei go.”

“Mira no!” Kei grabbed her arm. “You don’t have to bargain for my life. I can handle him. He can’t force you to go.”

Giovanni smirked. “She’s coming with me regardless.”

Dominic and Lorenzo chuckled with their boss. The cold reality was certain. Not even the presence of their daughter would prevent him from having his way. And that scared her too. She had to protect Eve. Mira pulled her arm free of Kei’s hold. She approached Giovanni.