by Piper Page
A smile played on her lips and spread over her face. She wiped her runny nose on the back of her sleeve, and in that minute, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. I reached out and placed my hand on her flat abdomen. My head ducked down, and I kissed her stomach through the blanket. “Hello there, little one.”
21
Sunny
We woke up together in one another’s arms on the sofa. Cole rubbed the flat of my stomach with the palm of his hand. “Good morning.” He kissed my cheek.
My stomach turned, and I got up and headed for the bathroom. I knew Cole was happy for this pregnancy, and I also knew he was back in my life, but this part of it sucked. I was early in the first trimester, and already I hated being pregnant. I hoped one day, soon, I would grow to love it. I knew most women did, at some point. I just hoped that point would come sooner than later.
I heaved over the bowl, then felt Cole’s hand pulling my hair back out of the way. He kissed my shoulder as he leaned over with me. “You’re okay.”
I brushed my teeth and glanced at our reflection in the mirror. The vision was perfect. Just as I’d always imagined. “I’ll get you some ginger ale and crackers. Maybe we should set up a doctor’s appointment.”
I nodded, agreeing with him.
“And Sunny?”
“Mmm?”
“I think it would be good for us both if you considered moving in with me.”
Was he serious? Did he want me to move in with him because of this, or was it more? I stood there with my toothbrush in hand and gave it some serious thought. If I did, would that mean I was giving up my house? Would I be giving up my career too? Was I willing to do that for Cole and his baby?
* * *
Yes.
* * *
“Okay,” I called from the bathroom.
“Excuse me?” His perfectly quaffed hair appeared around the corner of the door frame.
“I’ll move in with you.” There was a confidence in my voice that surprised even me.
Cole whooped into the air and swung me around in the confines of the small bathroom. I felt sick from the swirling motion. “Oh, I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t do that right now.”
“No. Probably best if we keep the spinning puke rides down to a minimum,” I laughed.
Cole laughed with me. “You’re serious, you’ll move in with me?”
I nodded my head. “Yes, but…”
Cole froze and waited for my stipulations.
“I don’t want to give up my bungalow. It’s an old family home. It would mean a lot to me to keep it.”
“Of course. Do you want to take a ride and see my place? Maybe we can take a drive and pick out some baby furniture.”
I laughed at his enthusiasm. “Let’s not get to overwhelmed. There will be plenty of time for furniture. We have a lot more to do first, like tell my parents.”
I watched Cole’s face drop. “Right, your family. Is…that going to be a problem?”
* * *
Seeing as I snitched on you, yes, that could be a big problem.
* * *
“Let’s just take it a step at a time.”
“Right.”
“I’m going to shower and then we can go, okay?”
Cole agreed and left me to my own devices. I could hear him banging around in the kitchen, probably trying to make me something nutritious that I could hold down.
* * *
Please don’t let it be eggs.
* * *
The very thought made me nauseous again. I swathed a towel around myself and combed out my hair before blowing it dry. The energy it took was more than I could rally, and in the end, I just tied it up and pulled on a fresh pair of leggings and a comfortable oversized hooded sweatshirt. “Well, if you still want me after this glorious look, then I guess it was meant to be,” I said to my reflection in the full-length mirror in my bedroom.
Cole was perched on the sofa with a plate of toast and fresh fruit in front of him. A tall glass of orange juice rested beside that. In his hands, he held a framed photograph. I recognized it instantly to be that of my father and me at my graduation from college. Cole looked perplexed. “Is this your father?”
I smiled, proud of the fact. “Yep. He was so happy that day. I’m the baby and the last one to graduate from college. I am sure that day was a blessing, no more tuition to pay.”
Cole nodded. “Yeah, I can imagine.”
How was I going to explain to them what I had done? I had turned in the father of my child, and now, I was committed to and maybe even in love with a man who was involved in illegal activities, but for all the right reasons. I was a fool to ever believe that once I stepped out of my box, life would or could ever go back to normal. It never worked that way, not in the movies, not in storybooks, and never in real life. I supposed this was the true meaning of opening Pandora’s box.
“I’m ready. Do you still want to show me your place?”
Cole nodded and took my hand. We locked up, and soon, we were back on the road headed to Houston.
* * *
Cole
* * *
I should have put two and two together. Why was everything to do with Sunny off my radar? Is this what love amounted to, being blinded? On one hand, I was ecstatic. I mean, here was the woman who stole my heart. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wanted her and all her goodness. She was having my baby, for Christ’s sake.
And then there was the reality that her father was one of my own.
Would she be angry with me yet again when she found out? It baffled me to think about it. Truly, I could have known Sunny for years if I had bothered to delve deeper into her father as one of my “security” measures. Sunny’s father was the reason I could still take shipments in at the ports in Galveston. He was on my fucking payroll. I had indirectly paid for Sunny’s nursing degree.
As we drove closer to Houston, my mind was plagued with questions. Would he turn me in once he found out about the baby? Would that be a father’s undoing, his revenge? Would he come clean and tell Sunny that he has worked for the Von Larsen Empire for years from the inside? Would he welcome me into their family or shun me and keep Sunny and my child away from me? He could do that. Banks could blackmail me, but would he do so at the possible cost of alienating his daughter and his new grandchild? My head was spinning, and I wondered if my stomach was beginning to have pregnancy sympathy symptoms as it rolled and tuned with nauseous waves.
The situation had escalated, and I wondered if I would ever be able to leave her alone again. With this new knowledge came a new round of safety concerns. If Filippo connected her with the officials and uncovered that her father was also a part of our inner circle, it would give him new ways to attack us. My first and foremost concerns were Sunny and our unborn child.
“Maybe you should take a leave of absence from the hospital.”
She turned to look at me as we drove down the final miles into the city. “That was out of the blue.”
“I know. But I’ve been thinking, and with your morning sickness and this move to my place. It’s going to be a lot of stress on your body, and you’re going to need to rest. I’m not saying you should quit.” I in no way wanted Sunny to think I was trying to control her. I was fairly certain that she would run and do the opposite of that I was asking if she had even the slightest inkling that I was trying to tell her what to do.
“It will be a long commute from Houston to Galveston every day.”
I nodded and waited, letting her come to the decision on her own.
“With the way it’s gone most days so far, I’d be late all the time.”
“Right, and you don’t want that on your record.”
“I suppose I could put in for a transfer to Houston and take a leave while I waited for it.”
I smiled, feeling relieved. “That sounds like a solid idea.”
“Really, when you think about it, the baby will be here before that really gets set in moti
on. I’m pretty low on the totem pole as it is.”
“True.”
“I guess the best option would be to wait it out until after the baby is born, then pick it all up again after we’re all settled, right?”
“I think we could manage that. If that’s what you truly think is best.”
Sunny took my hand. “Yes, I think it would be a good idea for the time being.”
* * *
Exactly what I was thinking, doll.
* * *
I maneuvered the car into the private parking garage of the high rise and opened Sunny’s door for her, escorting her to the elevator that would take us up to the penthouse. This was not going to be very accessible for a new mother. I couldn’t expect Sunny to wield a carriage, a diaper bag, and a baby back and forth from the top floor penthouse to the basement garage every day. Children need open space. They need back yards and pools and swing sets. They need their own rooms for toys and sleepovers. Big living rooms for birthday parties and Halloween gatherings. Sunny needed a house, and not her house, but a big house that was out of the reach of men like Lenny Filippo or any other low-lives that wanted to upset the von Larsen applecart. Tomorrow, I would set out to find us a home, and I’d have it built from the ground up, if that’s what Sunny wanted.
The elevator doors slid open, and I walked Sunny to the front door of the penthouse. My fingers tapped in the code on the digital lock. A buzzer sounded, and the door swung open. Should I carry her over the threshold? Sunny didn’t offer me the chance—she walked in and started measuring up the place right away. I stood there and watched as she traversed the bare brick hallway that led from the front door, past the kitchen and into the living area.
“Oh my goodness,” she cried out suddenly, and I was at her side in an instant. Her hand protected her stomach, and her back was against the brick wall as she stared into the kitchen.
“Damn it,” I cursed as I gawked at my brother, who stood there half-naked in the light of the refrigerator. His upper torso was bare, which allowed Sunny to witness all his tattooed skin in its full glory. I grabbed a kitchen towel off the counter and tossed it at him. “Jesus, Jake, fucking cover that shit up, there’s a lady present.”
Jake laughed as the towel dropped to the floor at his feet. “Hey now, don’t be jealous cause I got all this gorgeous body. I work hard for it, brother.”
That was true, my younger brother was a boxer, and he trained hard. He deserved every accolade he got, but I didn’t need to see it, and I certainly didn’t need this to be Sunny’s first impression. “Jake, fucking come on. You haven’t even met her yet.”
“Fiiiine.”
I watched as he ducked out the opposite side of the kitchen and then returned with a fresh t-shirt to cover his inked back and chest. Jake held out his hand to Sunny, who was still pressed against the cold hard brick of the hallway.
“Sunny, this is my brother Jake. Jake, this is Sunny Banks.”
“Pleasure to meet you Miss.” Jake took her hand and gave it a gentle shake before returning to the duty of making himself a sandwich.
“Nice to meet you too,” she said in a wispy voice.
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed to her. I thought we would be alone. “Jake, what are you doing here?”
He looked at me over the refrigerator door, his mouth full of meat and cheese. “I told you, my place is being repainted.” His tone emphasized the word “repainted.”
I nodded, remembering he was having all-new surveillance equipment installed in his building. Jake owned his own offices and gym on the opposite side of town. He lived there for the most part, when he wasn’t in Vegas for a fight or to run cards. I knew he wanted a place like the penthouse, and a lot of times, he was here anyway. I should have just given him the penthouse. Sunny and I would be moving soon enough. I was beginning to think this was all a plan, a sign designed by fate.
Sunny looked exhausted. “Hey Jake,” I said to him, “hang back here, I want to talk to you for a bit.”
“Sure, but don’t take all day, I have a fight to get ready for. I gotta get to the gym.”
I waved my hand as I led Sunny to the bedroom.
“He’s a fighter?”
“A professional boxer, one of the best, actually.”
“Really?” She sounded intrigued.
“Would you like to see him fight?”
“That might be fun,” she yawned.
I kissed her lips as her mouth recovered from the wide stretch. “Okay. Why don’t you take a rest here on the bed? I’ll talk to Jake for a while, and when you wake up, we’ll make some arrangements to get you moved. Would that be doable?”
Sunny smiled and curled up on my comforter, ducking an arm under my pillow and letting her blonde locks fan out behind her. I couldn’t wait to smell her scent on my sheets. Picturing our two bodies together in my bed made my blood heat up and rush through my veins. Maybe it was knowing she was creating a person that was the combination of both of us, or maybe it was the fact that she had forgiven me and understood what my life was, or maybe it was just the fact that she was so goddamned beautiful, but looking at her laying there, she was the most irresistible woman I had ever met. I would never lose her again.
“Is that the one?” Jake was perched on the edge of a barstool at the counter that divided the kitchen from the dining room.
“Excuse me?” How did he know I wanted her and no one else?
“Is she the one Filippo’s stalking?”
* * *
Right. That detail.
* * *
“Yeah, she’s the girl from the pictures.” I confirmed, realizing my brother had no idea what she meant to me.
“What does she know?”
I paused. My brothers and I were crossing this bridge for the first time. None of us were involved with anyone seriously. I wondered how they were going to take this. “She knows everything.”
His eyes widened. “What the fuck, Cole? What happens when she dumps your ass?”
“We’re having a baby, Jake,” I said bluntly.
Jake nearly choked on the rest of his sandwich. “No fucking way. Are you stupid? Cole, what are you thinking, man? What if it doesn’t work, then what are you going to do?”
“Her father works for us. He’s a cop in Galveston. I don’t think we’ll have to worry. Besides, I’m not letting her go, Jake. She’s everything I want.”
I watched as my brother softened. “Really? You’re sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure in my life.”
Jake reached for my hand and shook it with a tight grip. “You’ve always known what’s best, Cole. I gotta trust you on this one. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.”
“Thanks, Jake, that means a lot. There’s one thing I want to ask you though.”
Jake gave me a concerned look over the rim of his glass.
“With a baby and all, I can’t see us living here in the penthouse. I want to buy Sunny a house. A real house with a back yard and a swimming pool. Home and family is important to her. She should have a house to raise our kids.”
“Kids?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Okay, so what’s the question?”
“Do you want to live here, in the penthouse?”
I watched Jake’s smile grow into a grin. He looked around the room. “This place is a fucking hellhole,” he paused, then laughed. “I’ll take it!”
“Great, and I’ll need tickets to tomorrow’s fight.”
“Oh, dude, now you’re asking way too much,” he said with a grin.
22
Sunny
I could barely hear Cole talking to me while the crowd roared behind us. Jake was up in the square, roped ring, throwing punches. Punches so hard I could feel them reverberate in my chest. Cole was right, Jake was an amazing fighter. Watching him up there in silk boxing shorts and leather gloves, he looked fierce and dynamic. Not anything like the man standing in the kitchen. He was like a wild beast, let loose on th
e poor, unsuspecting man that was his opponent. Watching him box was exciting and scary all at once.
Cole’s hand on my knee, drew my attention away from the massacre that was unfolding. I was happy we were back together, but every time I looked at his face for longer than a minute, I felt the pangs of guilt. I still couldn’t decide whether I should tell him that he was in danger of being arrested and that it was all my fault, or if I should keep my mouth shut and trust that he had dealt with this situation before. The newest factor in the equation was that my father was relentless, like a bloodhound, especially when he caught a scent. He’d never give up on taking Cole down if he set his mind to it.
* * *
You need to warn him.
* * *
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“What?” The crowd was on its feet.
Cole and I stood up, and he leaned in close to my ear. “Having fun?”
“Yes, it’s great.”
A loud ruckus went up through the arena. Jake’s opponent was down on the mat. His body was still, and the referee was counting. The fight was over. I stood there in awe at Cole’s younger brother. He was right, Jake had a certain type of rage in him. I was fairly sure that any trouble that came to the von Larsen Empire could be handled by Jake. The controlled force and fierceness radiated off him.
“Your brother is the business, isn’t he?”
Cole looked at me as the meaning of my words sank in. He nodded. “He helps keep our enemies at bay.”
* * *
Enemies. More than one? God, what am I getting myself into?
