Miles cradled the child, resting G’s legs on his tattooed arm as he waited for Letty to answer.
“Gabriel,” Letty said with a pause.
“Like the angel…” Miles said as he looked at the child.
“Gabriel John Alves,” Letty continued.
Miles raised an eyebrow.
“Not Juan, after your father? Did you say John?” Miles asked incredulously.
Letty had an embarrassed look on her face. “That’s right, John.”
“You know John is my middle name, right?” Miles asked with a smirk.
Letty smiled sheepishly as she nodded her head. “Yeah. I know.” A sly expression curled from her lips.
Miles stroked the child’s back softly as a dark look set in his eyes.
“Letty, there’s no husband or baby daddy that’s gonna pop out with a baseball bat, right?”
Letty laughed, throwing her head back in amusement. “Decidedly not. It’s just us.”
“Oh?” Miles asked as he caught the turmoil in Letty’s laugh. “Where is his father?”
Letty shrugged. “Oh, he’s much too busy being a local celebrity. He doesn’t bother with us.”
Miles’s upper lip snarled. “Scumbag. Who is he? Do I know him?”
Letty laughed darkly. “Oh, you know him all right.”
Miles looked at Letty for a moment. He didn’t like where this was going.
“Out with it, Letty. No secrets. Remember?”
“Look Miles, don’t judge me, okay?” Letty said as a vulnerable look crossed her face.
Miles gave Letty a serious look. “It’s not Knox, is it? Please tell me it’s not Knox.”
“It’s not Knox! No judging!” Letty barked.
Miles rolled his eyes. “I’m not judging you, baby. Just need to know whose ass I gotta kick.”
Letty sighed heavily as she stared into Miles’s eyes. Grabbing his hand, she prepared to let the truth be known.
“Miles, do you remember Richie Rizzolli?”
The second she said his name, Miles’s cool expression turned to animosity.
“Ruin?”
“Yeah. It was a one-night stand. Totally unexpected. A mistake…”
Quickly Miles covered G’s ears.
“Don’t say that in front of him.”
“He’s not the mistake…”
“I get that, but kids can easily misunderstand and that shit carries. You got G out of it. Shit happens… okay, go on.”
“Anyway, I know that you and Richie were tight. I fucked up,” Letty said as she turned her face away. There was pain in her eyes and it caused Miles’s stomach to wrench tightly.
“Letty…” Miles said as he turned her face back towards him. “I don’t care who you’ve been with. You’re human. We all have needs, and let’s face it, I was in no condition where I could help you. The thing that does bother me is that the bastard didn’t own up to his responsibility. You did.”
Letty was surprised at how understanding Miles was.
“I was in jail, Letty. I didn’t expect you to wait around. I just wanted to hear from you,” Miles explained. “And don’t you worry. Rizzolli will get his.”
“We’ve gotten three checks in two years.”
“Dirt bag… Nothing I hate more than a father who doesn’t do right by his kid. Good thing for G here, Miles don’t like letting anybody down. C’mon. Your momma’s gonna make us dinner.”
With a look of amazement on her face, Letty watched as Miles slung G’s diaper bag over his shoulder, picked up his car seat, and headed towards the front door. Turning around, Miles and G looked out at Letty with smiles.
“Are you comin’ or what?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“ANY CLUE WHAT THE FUCK that was about?” Knox asked Dustin as they walked into the parlor.
Knox’s nose had finally stopped bleeding, his red-stained handkerchief hanging from his hand. Dustin followed close behind Knox, shaking his head as he glared at the back of Knox’s head.
“Yeah, I got a pretty good idea,” Dustin said cryptically as a conflicted look stormed in his dark brown eyes.
The pair passed through the long corridors of the Capadonno compound. Not a sound could be heard except for the echoes of their foot falls and the rough sounds of their voices.
“We need to have a discussion…” Dustin said as Knox turned on his heels to face his brother.
“Not here…” Knox whispered through gritted teeth, darting his eyes around to make sure no one was within ear shot.
“Tia Marie’s. The Velvet Room.”
“When?”
“Now. It’s important.”
“I have a fuckin’ broken nose… and you want me to go to Tia Marie’s wit’ you.”
Dustin threw his head back as he rolled his eyes at Knox. Dustin griped, “Can you not act like such a * all your fucking life?”
“What’s going on?” Landon asked as he slinked around the corner of the hallway, emerging from his father’s office.
“Playin’ doctor,” Dustin said with a wicked smile growing on his face.
“Oh, no you ain’t!” Knox said as he backed up a few steps.