Patriot and his Secret Baby (The Rossi Family Mafia Book 1) (12 page)

In the corner of my eye, I saw Regina shoot me a nasty grin. She didn’t dare tell him the real truth, but I knew she was rejoicing in the fact I was pregnant and the fallout that would happen from it. Anger filled me and I had to use all my willpower to keep my face blank when I stared back at her.
 

Her nose was red from the punch I had dealt her at the club. Luckily, she had gotten away with the excuse ‘I broke my heel and fell on the ground’. Luca made sure that the story was corroborated. Man, did I owe him one. He was probably the reason that my sister didn’t run to my parents and rat me out as soon as she could. What had happened at the club was wrong, shameful even. I made a promise to myself then. Regina wouldn’t pull me down with her toxic antics, not anymore.
 

“Regina, honey,” Father looked out the window. “Where is that car that I gave you for your birthday? I haven’t seen it in a few days.”

I watched as my sister about choked on a piece of toast. “Oh, erm … I ….”
 

While my answer had been bullshit, at least it didn’t have anything to do with a vehicle worth over six figures. My Father raised his eyebrows and his demeanor turned dark.
 

We’d see this face when he worked with the boys sometimes. It was the same he used for everyone in his business. Whenever he used it, we were sure he was serious.

“Regina Rossi, where is your car?” My mother chimed in after dabbing her mouth with a napkin.
 

“It’s, um … in the shop ….” she said.
 

“What?” my parents said together. Our brothers watched us like it was a soccer game, only this was much more entertaining to them.
 

“Ok, I didn’t want to tell you, but my car battery died when I was at the sleepover on Friday.”

Sleepover. Uh huh, she meant blacked-out drunk at a club. She could get away with murder and my parents would eat it up. I glanced around at my brothers, who seemed to be sharing the same sly grin, except Matteo. He always took Regina too seriously.

“Why didn’t you tell us, honey?” Father asked her. She was starting the waterworks.

“I-I’m so so sorry Daddy. I-I thought I’d try and fix it myself, you know? I d-didn’t want to bother you guys.”

“That’s alright honey.”

“T-the car battery wouldn’t h-hold a charge, S-So I asked Luca who his mechanic was.”
 

Their eyes turned to Luca, he was always the one to be blamed or take a fall in our family. But he was good at taking the blame, especially when he worked together with Simone. He shrugged in reply. “We use him for work. He’s to be trusted. Clean.”
 

My body stiffened. He was talking about Lance, I knew it. The fact that he was fixing Regina’s car made me extremely uncomfortable, especially with what he had to put up with on Friday night. I tried not to show I was interested, feeling my oldest brother’s eyes on me. If he had any idea I was interested in Lance Strong, he’d go poking in places he didn’t belong.

Father shifted in his seat. “You know I don’t want your sisters and our business mixing Luca.”

“Yes Father,” he looked down at his plate, not wanting the confrontation to go any further.
 

Father turned to Regina and reached out to hug her around the shoulders. “It’s alright this time, but next time please tell me when you have car trouble.”

“Okay Daddy,” she said in her sing-song, baby voice. Wincing, I turned back to making designs out of my eggs. I didn’t know what happened to Regina’s car, but it definitely wasn’t a battery issue. I had to talk to Lance.

“May I be excused?” It was a rule for us to ask before leaving the table, even if I was in my twenties.
 

“You didn’t eat,” my mother said.
 

“I’m sorry, I’m feeling sick to my stomach,” I said, taking my plate from the table and walking away before they could argue any further. I was done with breakfast, done with walking on eggshells around Regina and Matteo. And most of all, I was sick of having to fake I was alright when I wasn’t.
 

After I had washed up my plate, I snuck off down the hallway to text Lance about the car. Before I could even start texting, I heard someone following behind me. Regina bumped into me as she passed, making me drop my phone with a crash on the hardwood.

"What the HELL, Reggie?" I knelt down to check the damage. To my disappointment, my phone was cracked all across the screen. Above me, my sister snorted.
 

"What, you mad? Could it be because I'll be getting your money?"
 

"No, I'm mad because you made me drop my phone!" I replied, brushing off the small pieces of glass with my sleeve.

"Too bad you won't be able to afford getting it replaced."
 

Dammit. She was so arrogant, so cocky and sure of herself. I rose in the hallway, my hand clutching my broken phone in seething anger.
 

"Oh. Are you so sure?" My voice was low, dangerous. The Rossi was coming out in me again and just like my father, once I got that way, I meant business.

Regina whipped around, her curls hitting her face as she turned. She placed a hand on her hip in confidence, but I could tell by her face that I was making her question herself.

"See," I stepped closer, my voice becoming lower. "The will only states that I lose the inheritance only if I HAVE a baby out of wedlock."

"But you can't get an abortion either. Don't try to trick me, I read the document."

"True," I paused. "That just means I have to have a child IN wedlock."

Our gazes met and she knew what I was thinking. She shook her head and stamped her foot.

"Daddy won't have it! Do you really expect he'd allow you to marry some random dude?"
 

She was starting to get louder. I hushed her and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the closest room with a door, the office. It was a large room, with dark-stained wood shelves lining the walls. Father's desk sat in the middle. He kept things simple. All that was on top of the desk was a pen, a large leather planner and an antique clock. Behind the desk was a green high-backed chair. Regina stomped over to it and slid her ass into the seat, twirling around. I leaned against the door.

"You won't tell them ANYTHING." I growled, "If you do, I'll tell them about your underage drinking and get to the bottom of what really happened to your car."

She crossed her arms at me. I knew then that the car story she had given Father was a total farce. I hoped it was bad enough that it would keep her mouth shut a while longer.
 

"You really think you're going to keep a baby and a marriage a secret in this town?" she said.

"Who said I'm staying?"
 

She shot me a look of disbelief. "You know what happened the last time you tried to run away."
 

Shortly after Lance had left me broken hearted in high school, I had a period where I just wanted to get away. Like the stupid teenager I was, I packed a bag and snuck out a window. I didn't know where I was going, just that I was sick of our family, of hiding all our secrets.
 

Somehow, I had been able to buy a one-way ticket to Atlanta. Why Atlanta? I didn't know. A T.V. show I had liked took place there. But before I could even step on the bus, a few cars pulled up, blocking the vehicle from moving. Once my parents knew I was missing, Father had sent his thugs to get me at all costs.
 

It took me a few years before they could trust me to sign up for college classes, even if I was taking them from home.
 

I shook my head at the memory.
 

"This is different."

"Really? Because you know Daddy has eyes everywhere. He'll find the gang-banger you're 'marrying' and kill him."

"He's not a gang-banger. He's a ...he's a good guy."

"Who is it?" Regina replied, placing her feet up on the deck. "Hrm? Is it one of the assistants Daddy has over? You said you had a crush on one of them. No?"

My eyes lowered to the ground. I sure as hell wasn't going to tell Regina who it was, even if she probably had a good idea.
 

I heard a slap as Regina hit the table.

"It's that guy from the club! The new mechanic."

The expression of my face probably gave me away. She giggled in glee as she realized she had guessed it. "You're marrying a poor-ass mechanic! How long have you known him, like a week?"

"For your information," I said. "I've known him for six years."
 

"Since high school ..." A realization flashed over her face. "Is he that LANCE guy?"

Turning away from her didn't help. I crossed my arms and grumbled, "Yeah."
 

Regina about exploded in the chair. "He's that guy who GHOSTED YOU? And you're getting married and having a baby with him? Are you fucking mental?"

"He's changed, okay? He went to war, served his country
―
"

"What would Matteo say if he knew about this?" Regina's eyes were sly, knowing. If one thing was clear in our family, it was that I had my heart broken in high school and Matteo hated the man who did it. I remembered their fight in front of the school over me, just for a little kiss. As far as I knew, Matteo hadn't realized that Lance was that same boy from six years ago.
 

"He is not going to find out, at least not now."

"MMMMhmmm …" Regina replied, inspecting her nails.  

"I'm serious," I told her. Turning to grab the door handle, I sighed. "I'm sorry Regina. I'm sorry I punched you, I'm sorry about the will … I know you're hurt."

Silence replied.
 

"I know you hate me right now, but I need you to please keep this secret. If you do," I paused, "I can help you get out of here too."

When my eyes met hers, they faltered. I knew it. She wanted the same things I wanted, even if she was a spoiled brat. That money was worth a lot to her because of the freedom that came with not having to ask Daddy every time she wanted a new outfit. I allowed my words to sink in a little, even if standing there was awkward. Finally, I opened the door.

"Just, think about it," I said.
 

I let the heavy wooden door close behind me with a click. As soon as the door closed, I heard muffled cries and the sound of books hitting the floor. There was no way to know if my words had worked, but I could only hope that Regina would keep her mouth shut about my relationship with Lance.

The broken phone in my pocket vibrated. When I looked at the cracked screen, I saw Lance had sent me a text.

"Can you meet me at the shop tomorrow? I got us a meeting with the priest at Saint Agatha’s. ;-)”

I clutched the phone to my chest before the butterflies erupted in my stomach.
 

It was happening.

I was getting married.

"Six months?"
I had tried to stay quiet and reverent as the priest droned own about the "sacrament" of marriage, but I wasn't expecting to have a huge obstacle placed in front of us.
 

We sat in an office near the back of the church we went to as kids. My mom went to this church every Sunday. Sometimes I even tagged along, with my tattoos and all. Rosabella squirmed in her seat at my outburst. As she moved, I noticed how smoking hot she looked, even when she was modestly dressed for the meeting.

"Well, yes. Unlike lots of other churches out there, The Catholic Church takes marriage pretty darn seriously," the priest chortled. He was stout fellow, with large glasses and greying hair.
 

"It seems like a pretty simple process to me," I said. "You promise to have babies, raise 'em in the church, get married, umm … make sure the marriage is legitimate and then bam."

"It's not that simple. You see, we have a marriage class that we like every couple to attend, as well as multiple interviews and
―
" he droned on. I could feel myself losing focus.

Rosa and I came up with our plan on our way to the church. We both agreed that we wanted to leave as soon as possible, leaving less time for Regina to spill the beans on us. That meant, we'd have to be married before she took the pregnancy test, giving us less than a week.
 

Rosa had brought the will to show me, and it did stipulate that we had to be married in the Catholic church by a priest.
 

Yes, my family was Catholic, but I never knew that getting married took that much work. By how often my younger cousins got married and reproduced like bunnies, it seemed like it would be easier.
 

I leaned forward and opened my mouth, interrupting the priest in mid-sentence.

"Would you be able to help us out, Father?"

The man looked uncomfortable and then shook his head.
 

"The best I can do, if you two do all the necessary work, is four months."

"Four months!" I exclaimed. I could feel my nostrils flaring. God dammit, this was why I never went to church. So many rules.
 

Then, I felt Rosabella's hand on my thigh. I paused, a bit taken aback that she'd come on to me in front of a Catholic priest. But as I looked down, I realized she was grasping me for support. Her eyes were starting to water, and I could tell she had something up her sleeve.
 

"Father," she said softly, her voice was smooth and buttery, but a tad higher than I was used to. "Father, I'm sorry. Lance, he just got back from serving in Afghanistan." She looked up at me with loving eyes, like she was looking at her soul mate. I'd only seen that look from her once, and that was in high school, after our first kiss.

"We met in high school, six years ago," Rosa went on. "And we've been apart ever since. But our love was so strong and we overcame it … but …" a tear ran down her cheek.
 

"It's okay dear," the priest said, turning to grab a Kleenex and hand it to her. She thanked him, then dabbed her eyes. Damn was she good.