Patriot and his Secret Baby (The Rossi Family Mafia Book 1) (9 page)

She was catching her breath still, lying on her side to make room for me. Her hair was sticking to her face and lips. I reached out, moving it aside so I could see those beautiful eyes of hers. As I watched her, I noticed that her eyes were filled with tears.

Dread filled me. Had I done something wrong? Had I hurt her? Yes, I did handle her a little roughly, but if I had known she wasn't enjoying it, I would have stopped immediately. I could feel the color draining from my face as a tear ran down her cheek.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" I asked frantically.

"Oh, yeah," she sniffed and tried to wipe her tears on her arm. "Oh God, I'm so sorry Lance, I don't know where this is coming from." She tried to laugh away the tears, but I could tell something was off about it.

"Are you sure?" I asked, touching her shoulder with my hand gently. She didn't try to move away, but instead, returned the favor, touching my hand in a sweet and gentle manner.

"I'm fine," she reassured me.

It took a few moments of me looking at her suspiciously before I was able to let it go. If she wanted to tell me what was up, then she could do it on her own time. I moved my body closer to hers and kissed the top of her head before getting up to get dressed and clean up the interior of the Maserati.

I couldn't tell him
and it made me feel rotten.

So many moments and opportunities had passed since Lance had picked me up from my house to tell him about the pregnancy, but each one of those had passed. Every moment I didn't tell him, it made it the truth harder to face.

I was pregnant and it was his child. He had a right to know that he was bringing a child into this world.

But why couldn't I tell him?

My hands shook as I buttoned up my blouse in the front seat of my brother's sports car as Lance took his undershirt to scrub the evidence of our escapades in the back seat. Thank goodness we didn't get too messy or cause any damage. If any of my brothers found out I had been sleeping with Lance ... well, I couldn't think of the consequences now. What I had to focus on was what to do about our child.

A few minutes after I was fully dressed, Lance got back in the driver’s seat. He flashed me one of his cocky, tooth-filled grins that made me want to both slap him and kiss him. I was still reeling from my orgasm. Even though he was my first sexual partner, I had never felt so satisfied in my life.

I allowed myself to relax into the heated passenger seat as Lance started up the car again. The hip hop blasted all of a sudden, sending me out of my state of zen. He chuckled at me and I shot him a playful glance. As the vehicle started moving out of the parking lot, I was able to see that no one had entered while we had been busy in the back seat.

Thank God.

I never thought of myself as the type of girl who would get off on the thought of having sex in public places, but here I was. Anyone could have driven in and seen me in all my naked glory, being fucked by an ex-marine. My stomach flipped just thinking about what could have happened.
Never again
, my brain told me. My heart replied,
until next time
.

The drive was mostly silent. I was still stewing about what to say to Lance. There were so many ways the conversation could go. To be honest, I don't think I knew how he would react. Sure, we had known each other for years, but maybe the military had given him a temper or a hatred for babies? I tried not to laugh at the thought, I knew I was letting my emotions get the better of me. It was easy for me to become a ball of stress, letting my imagination run wild with all the horror stories that could happen. But what I needed to tell myself was, just because they COULD happen, doesn't mean they WOULD happen.

Just when I had started to gather up the courage I needed to start the conversation with Lance, we pulled up to a warehouse. It was a large, brick building with a nondescript door. I had never been to my brother's club, since it was pretty new and Daddy generally frowned upon the type of girls who frequented those types of places. It didn't look like what I thought a club would look like, except for the line of people that wound around the corner.

Girls with dramatic makeup and short dresses clung to each other for warmth. I could see their breath and was amazed that I had braved the cold naked only a few minutes prior. It was strange what tricks sex could play on your mind. Men stood in line too, wearing t-shirts and hats with flat brims. Most had really bright sneakers and didn't seem as affected by the cold as the women did. At the door, there were two bouncers, each more than six feet tall and huge. They reminded me of our guard back at home, but younger and with a little bit more edge.

Daddy liked our home guards to have some class to them, while these bouncers looked like walls of pure anger and testosterone. But, I knew inside that Luca and Simone needed all the guards they could get. Out of all of my siblings, they were the ones that would get into the most trouble, even more than my hot-headed oldest brother.

"Welp, here we are," Lance said as we pulled into a parking spot. Damn it. It would be awkward to tell him now, especially since I didn't want to make a scene in front of my brother's business. I took a few moments to gather my emotions before smiling at the man next to me.

"Yep."

"It looks like a nice place," he said, taking the keys out of the ignition.

"Yeah, this is actually my first time seeing it."

Lance looked at me in surprise, "Really?"

"Well, in person that it. Luca has been posting pictures and boasting about the club on social media for months, but I haven’t had the opportunity to come down since the opening."

"Not a party girl?" he teased.

I swiped at him, but he dodged my half-hearted hit and winked. "Come on! I've been to parties … once …."

"Really? When?"

"Well …" I made my hand into a fist and let my chin rest on it in thought. "Back in high school, Jessica Graves had a party while her parents were away on vacation."

"Jessica Graves? The cheerleader, Jessica?"

"Yep. She had her older sister buy us a bunch of Mike's hard lemonade."

Lance snorted with laughter and I glared at him. "I'll tell you that I had two drinks and got tipsy that night."

"Yep, you're SUCH a party girl," he teased, opening his door and walking around to open mine. I crossed my arms so when he opened my door I looked disgruntled with his teasing. However, I couldn’t be upset for much longer as he flashed me a smile and offered his hand. That same hand had sent me over the edge to orgasm just minutes before.

I took his hand and he pulled me up, bringing me a little too close for comfort. I whipped my head from side to side to see if anyone was watching us. Thankfully, no one paid us heed. Most people in line were straining their necks to see if the front of the queue was moving and the guards were busy patting people down for weapons or drugs.

It was simple to get into the front of the line to the club. We just walked up and gave our names and I.D.'s. The bouncer who checked my I.D. did a double-take as he looked at the name that was printed across the plastic. "Rossi, like Luca and Simone Rossi?"

"The very same," I replied. My voice was slightly strained, since the music drowned a lot of the sound, even if we weren't in the building yet. Once they realized who I was, the door flew open and we were let in without any pat down. I was used to this sort of treatment, but it made me uncomfortable. In our town, you only had to say our last name to get free service, dinners, and V.I.P. treatment. However, I always felt like our name was more of a threat than a name people respected because of my father’s profession.

People treat you differently when you're the daughter of a big-name Mafia boss.

That was why I liked Lance. Sure, what we were doing was more than stupid, but most guys would never dare to speak with me, nevertheless touch me. And Lance, he didn't seem to care what other people thought, at least not anymore. Whatever had scared him away in high school had somehow been lost overseas. He was the only one who treated me like I was a person and not some doll that belonged to a man.

Inside the club, the music was bumping. It was a large, multi-tiered space and was pretty minimalistic. I could view multiple bars, areas to sit, and go-go dancers that shared the stage with the DJ. Colored lights moved around, flashing against the large crowd of people who were jumping up and down to the beat. Most of them had strange looks on their faces and enlarged pupils. I could tell some of the girls were barely able to stay up on their stiletto heels, they were so drunk. This crowd partied hard, and it seemed like both the drinks and the drugs were flowing here.

Lance took my hand, and then started to make his way through the crowd. It was uncomfortable brushing up against sweaty bodies, but Lance guided me into the middle of the crowd and then created a space for the both of us. He placed his lips next to my ear so I could hear him.

"I need to go give your brothers the keys to their car. It might work best if we aren't seen by them together."

I nodded, understanding. He squeezed my hand and then lead me to an area with plush sofas.

"Do you need a drink?" he asked me. I shook my head no. I wasn't one to drink often. Being in control of myself at all times was important to me. If I did drink, it was usually after an eggnog at our family Christmas party. Alcohol always left me too giggly for my own good.

He was paranoid, I could tell. He kept looking around, eyeing people who got too close. He touched my shoulder and looked into my eyes.

“I’ll just be a moment, stay here.” Then, he disappeared into the crowd, making his way toward the VIP area. That would be where my brothers would be waiting with their lackeys. Though Lance was sweet, I think his over-protective nature was misplaced. No matter what, I was a Rossi. My blood gave me protection, especially in this club. Lance’s body language told me he thought of my family as a threat. But it was how I lived.  Suddenly, I didn’t feel like sitting anymore.

I felt a bit under-dressed in my jeans and blouse. Ladies passed me, looking like they had spent 2 hours getting ready. The people in the crowd grew as the opening DJ’s set drew to a close. Electronic music wasn’t really my thing, especially the kind that was harsh and beat into your head like a headache. I made my way to the side of the warehouse, where people waited for partners or made out in the shadows. Standing on my tip-toes, I strained my eyes to see if I could get a view of Lance.

I took a step back and lost balance. My heels slid from underneath me and I stumbled back, hitting a couple who were embracing against the wall. The woman squealed and jumped away from me. Her partner, a man who wore a neon-yellow polo with a popped collar threw his hands in the air.

“What the fuck, watch where you’re stepping!”

“Oh God, sorry, I’m so sorry!” I regained my balance, but quickly learned the fall had broken my heel. I leaned up against the wall for support. I didn’t know what to do as the man started to get in my face aggressively.

“Wait, Rosabella?” The woman who’d been basically inhaling the jerk in front of me stepped between us, her eyes wide. Well look who it was ….

“R-Regina?” The woman who stood in front of me looked nothing like my sister. She was wearing extensions and makeup that was so dramatic that
I barely even recognized her.

"Rosabella?" She blinked a few times, her fake lashes batting at me. "What are YOU doing here?"

"What am I doing here? No, no, no, what are YOU doing here?"

I looked down at her hand, which was clutching a bright pink cocktail. She had spilled about half the drink down the front of her dress, which I assumed happened while she was making out with the meat head in front of me. She stepped forward, getting in between me and the man. As she stepped she wobbled and she had a hard time making eye contact with me.

"Are you drunk?" I exclaimed, "You're SEVENTEEN!" I looked pointedly at her man-friend, who looked to be in his thirties. As he realized what was happening he turned his back on the both of us.

"Fuck this shit, I'll see you later Reg."

"Wait, baby
―
" Regina twisted her body to follow him, but I caught her by the arm, making more of her cocktail spill on the ground below. "Oh my God, what are you doing?"

"If Daddy knew you were here he's be FURIOUS! What are you thinking?"

"I could say the same thing about you." She gave up trying to go after her friend and resigned herself to standing next to me. Lifting the glass to her heavily-glossed lips, she took a huge gulp and emptied the glass, then forced it into my hands. "If you tell Daddy that I was here, I'll tell him that you're pregnant."

My blood ran cold.

"What did you say?"

"That day when you were crying like a BITCH in the fucking bathroom? I looked in the garbage when you left. So how many men have you fucked, slut?'

I laughed, not knowing what else to do. I was starting to panic, but I didn't want to show anything that would tip me off to Regina. "You can't be serious
―
"

"So whose pregnancy tests were those? Moms?" She leaned against the wall so she wouldn't topple over from wearing stiletto heels. "I might be the baby of the family, but I'm not stupid."

I leaned in so that no one around us could hear what I said. "If you tell Daddy anything I'll
―
"

"You'll what? You have no leverage against me. Actually, I have the proof that you're a slut and not deserving of the money that Auntie gave you."

"Is this what that's about? The money?"

"YOU DON'T DESERVE THAT MONEY," she was yelling at me now and people on the edges of the dance floor were starting to turn and look. I tried to quiet her, but it only made her screeches worse. "And guess what, bitch? I read the fucking will. Once the lawyer sees you’re pregnant then all the money goes to who deserves it, our ENTIRE FAMILY!"

"It's not my fault that Auntie left you out of the will, Reg. I'm sorry, I was just trying to honor her wishes …."