“Vincent,” Arturo said. “I heard something happened today.”
Arturo had been the boss of the Barone crime family for most of his life. He was a legend in the city since he’d taken the family from a minor crime group to one of the biggest mobs in the whole country. Arturo was well respected and powerful, although he was getting up there in years.
“Yes,” I said. “Her name is Kaley Kozlov, daughter of Anatoli Kozlov, the Russian boss.”
“And she says her son is yours.”
I nodded. “That’s her story.”
“Is he?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “He could be.”
Arturo sighed. “You stuck your dick in some Russian whore, and now you have a son.”
I cringed at the way he said that. Kaley wasn’t a whore, so far as I knew. But you didn’t correct Arturo Barone, not if you were smart.
“Yes, sir.”
“Why is she here?”
“She believes her family is going to take her son away from her because he is an embarrassment to them. She’s here looking for my protection.”
Arturo nodded. “I see. And are you going to offer that protection?”
I blinked, surprised. “I assumed you’d be making that decision, sir,” I said.
“Lucas here believes that it would be wrong to turn away a mother in need,” Arturo said. “And I believe she could be useful. We’re always looking for an edge against the Russians.”
I nodded. “Practical. I agree.”
“But ultimately, this is your decision. If you take her in, there could be serious consequences from the Russians. Consequences you may be forced to pay.”
I frowned, looking down at my hands.
Was Alex my kid?
It was possible. It was very possible. When I’d held him, I knew I had felt something deep inside me. I didn’t know what that meant, if anything, but it had happened.
Then there was the girl.
Kaley was all fire and beauty. She was tough, but she was a Russian princess, everything I’d been taught to dislike. I wanted to fuck her, but I didn’t want to raise a child with her.
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.