Adriano & Cam

by Soraya Naomi

  “What?” He cocks his head. “You’re looking at me funny. You feel okay?”

  “Yes. I thought I woke up earlier?”

  “You did. You woke yesterday. Do you remember what I told you?”

  “I was in a coma for four months.”

  “You panicked and fell asleep again and then awoke twice during the night, screaming.”

  “Oh, I remember you calming me.”

  He kisses my hand and sits beside me on the bed.

  “Adriano, what happened in all that time? Where’s everyone? How...how are you?”

  He grins widely at me. “I love you so fucking much. Everyone will be back later. They wanted to give you a chance to clear your head so that you wouldn’t be overwhelmed again. And you’re worried about me? Cam, nothing can rain on my parade now that you’re back. But there are a few important things I need to tell you.”

  Unease washes over me. “Like what?”

  My stomach itches, so I scratch it and frown. Promptly, I lift the sheet and am confronted with a bloated belly. “What the hell?!”

  Adriano looks at me hopefully and places his palm on my stomach. “Sweetheart, we’re pregnant.”

  “Oh my god...” Words escape me while I stare at my swollen abdomen. I cautiously glide my palm over the bump, and Adriano covers my hand with his.

  I feel a smile pulling at my lips, and just when I’m preparing to kiss Adriano, he’s already slanting his mouth over mine, whispering in the happiest voice I’ve ever heard, “We’re having a baby. She’s five months old and healthy, Cam. She’s just a little small, so you have to start eating.”

  “She? It’s a girl?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t want to find out until you woke up.”

  “So the baby hasn’t been in any danger?”

  “No. You took care of her,” he says with awe.

  “Our baby...” Adriano’s constant, consoling touch on my face and belly triggers a memory. “When I was in the coma, were you always here talking to me and caressing my head and stomach?”

  “Yes, I was, hoping you’d hear me.”

  “I’m starting to remember more and more, but mostly words and random parts of sentences. Who’s Logan, by the way?”

  “Wade,” he replies.

  “Huh?”

  “Logan is Wade. Richard Wade’s real name is Logan Wade. We call him Logan nowadays. He’s now an official member and our first Capo.”

  Naturally, things have changed over the course of four months. “Oh, okay.”

  “Please tell me what you’re thinking, because you’re very difficult to read.”

  I look him straight in the eye. “I’m processing all this information. What have you been doing all this time?”

  Two tiny pleats appear between his brows. “Taking care of you, of course.”

  There’s a question on the tip of my tongue, so I blurt, “Well, I’ve been gone for a long time. Have you...”

  “Are fucking kidding me?!” he roars, offended. “You think I met someone else? No, I haven’t. I’ve been waiting every day for you to return to me.”

  “I’m so sorry, Adriano. I don’t know what I was thinking,” I quickly respond, hoping to assuage the hurt I see in his eyes.

  Grateful for this man who’s my everything, I toss off the sheet and he joins me on the bed, carefully shifting me to sit astride him. I move slowly because my limbs are weakened from being bedridden for so long and plant myself in his lap, securing my arms around his neck as he grips my behind.

  “And I came back, for you. Ti amo,” I whisper.

  “I love you too, Cam.”

  One of his hands slithers up my spine, causing a tingle between my legs. Then I press myself into him, realizing I’m feeling only two things at the moment: horny and hungry. And evidently, one of those is mirrored by Adriano, because I feel his hardening erection between my thighs.

  “Are you horny?” I breathe around a smile.

  “Woman, I haven’t had sex in four months and you jump on my lap. I’m about to explode.”

  I laugh and break out in a coughing fit, so Adriano gently lays me back on the bed and orders me to drink some water.

  That one movement completely wore me out, and I’m about to ask Adriano what my rehabilitation plan is when an army of people, including a man with blond hair, wearing a suit, and several policemen, swarm inside the room.

  Adriano bolts up, his cool composure now full of fury as he barks, “Who the fuck are you, and how did you get past my guard?”

  “I had to use some force to gain entrance to this hallway. Miss Guillermo, I’d like to have a talk,” the blond says.

  “You can talk to me.” Adriano tries to block me from the man’s vision and holds my hand while standing guard beside my bed. “Last time, who are you?”

  “I’m Steve Pillon, the DA. And I need to talk to Camilla Guillermo.”

  Is this regarding the tape? Didn’t Adriano mention he had that under control?

  But I stay quiet since I’m completely in the unknown. Nevertheless, I’m scared they’re here to arrest me.

  Fortunately, we hear more feet pounding down the hall, and Luca, Fallon, Wade, James, and three of our guards charge inside. James and Luca start a heated conversation with the DA at the door.

  In that moment, Adriano spins around and says to me, “If he gets the chance to ask you questions, don’t say anything except that you’re my wife.”

  His wife? When did we get married? Before Halloween? I don’t remember a wedding at all.

  Immediately, my attention shifts to my finger, and I only now notice a ring.

  “Do you understand me, Cam?” Adriano pleads, but I’m swallowed up by confusion once again and simply gape at the silver-gold wedding ring.

  CHAPTER 45

  Adriano

  “Do you understand me, Cam?” I ask.

  Her bemused expression is guarded.

  Marc warned me that she might be frightened these first couple of days as her body and mind adjust. But, at present, I need some confirmation that she understands me, yet she’s retreating into herself and gawking at her wedding band.

  “Cam!” I whisper-shout, and her gaze redirects to me, but then I’m required to handle the situation.

  Two guards take position at the foot of Cam’s bed, and I glance at Luca at the door, so he nods instantly, knowing to message the police that are on my payroll.

  “You can’t talk to her,” I repeat, but Pillon disregards me.

  “Miss Guillermo, do you know where you are? Do you know who this man is?” Pillon points at me.

  What is his game?

  Cam observes everyone leisurely with an obvious suspicious gleam, and I’m afraid that she’s going to provide the wrong answer. Sweat forms on my palms.

  She catches my eyes and replies, “He’s my husband.”

  Pillon seems disappointed with her response.

  But I smile at her in reassurance, demanding from Pillon, “Now what do you want?”

  “To ask her a few more questions.”

  “About what?” I’m only allowing this conversation because I’m stalling, and I refuse to initiate a brawl in here and cause Cam more stress. On the other hand, I’m enraged that my reunion with Cam has been interrupted by this man.

  “I can come back with a warrant,” Pillon informs with a self-righteous grin.

  “Try...and you’ll regret it,” I counter, and his four agents draw their guns, but not as fast as my men.

  “Get out now!” I order and extend my arm.

  “Why so worried, Mr. Montesi? I simply want to talk to your wife.”

  His air of superiority grates on my nerves, so I advance on him in two long steps. “I’m not a man who enjoys repeating himself.” I inch forward, forcing him backward while everyone has their gun out and Cam looks on, despondent, taking it all in.

  My guards beckon with their guns for the rest of Pillon’s men to move out as well.

  At the doorway, I s
hove Pillon into the hall and crane my neck. “Lock the door and watch her like a hawk, James.”

  James bobs his head and shuts the door with Fallon inside Cam’s room.

  “Adriano? No!” I overhear Cam’s anxious tone, and then James is comforting her.

  In a flash, the police officers that Luca texted plow down the hallway, and everyone is targeting someone, except Pillon and me.

  “What the fuck did you hope to accomplish by coming here?” I tower over him.

  “That woman was not married before she fell into that coma. She’s not your wife and you know it.” He lifts his chin in challenge. “You’re using her because you know I’m investigating her and that could lead to you.”

  I summon my composure and attempt to hide my complete astonishment. If he’s conducting an investigation of Cam, then there must be a copy of that tape still circulating. And I need to discover how long it’s been out there. Pillon must be working very secretively, because I’m sure that neither the FBI nor the CIA is involved.

  “I have an incriminating tape of Guillermo. The same tape Wallace had a copy of, and you buried him in scandal very cleverly, but dear Medlov had already also provided me with a copy. And I’ll prove that you forged documents to marry Ms. Guillermo so that she can’t ever testify against you. You’re not invincible, Montesi. I’ve been waiting patiently for her to wake up. Yes, I know you run the largest branch of the mafia in the state, perhaps even in the country, but I will bring you down, and my career will take off because of it.” He flays his arms dramatically. “It wasn’t easy to find men who aren’t on your payroll. As you can see, more of Chicago’s finest are targeting me, the DA, than you, a mafia boss.”

  I crowd him and growl, “You’re a dead man if you ever come near my wife again.”

  Pillon blinks slowly and steadily steps around me when I don’t budge. He snaps his fingers, and his men tail him. “The investigation into the Syndicate has started, Montesi.” He complacently leaves.

  Logan asks first, “Why did he come here?”

  “To rile me up. He wants me, and Cam is his ticket. If he can’t use her to build his case, he’ll try her. He’ll arrest her to get to me! Don’t you get it?!” I clench my fists because I was too reckless regarding that tape, and now my wife might pay the price. I will not allow that to happen.

  “If he is after you, then it’s a good thing you married her.” Luca hides his gun in his suit jacket. “He must have a good case.”

  “Or he’s just a shark with a huge ego,” Logan contradicts. “He’s almost thirty-five and brutally ambitious. Hence why he targets the mafia; the mafia is the big dog of all criminals. If he has such a good case, why didn’t he already have a warrant when he came here?”

  “That’s true, but we can’t assume anything until we know for sure that all copies of that tape have been destroyed.” Luca mirrors my thought. “We’ve been negligent with this. He only wanted to let us know that he’s investigating us. He wanted to provoke Adriano by coming here right after Cam woke up. He’s hoping to derail us.”

  “This is a problem I don’t need right now,” I point out, exasperated. “Get extra security in here. No one gets access to this floor as long as Cam’s here. Logan, find out who he’s collaborating with and if he has a case. And Luca, ask Henry to get me a background check on Pillon.”

  “What are we telling Cam?” Luca asks as he types a message to Henry on his phone. “Is she up-to-date on what’s transpired in the last four months?”

  “I just told her we’re married when Pillon busted in. She knows about everything else. And I told her the tape issue was handled, which was a lie, unbeknownst to me.” I brush back a stray lock of hair from my forehead and order Luca and Logan, “I don’t want to stress her out, so follow my lead.”

  While I would’ve protected Cam with my life before, after being in hell without her, I’ll never be lenient regarding her safety again. I’ve learned the hard way that when it comes to Cam, I’ll go to the moon and back to have the life I envisioned for us when I accepted the role of Capo crimine. I’ll stop at nothing to finish Pillon as soon as possible. But right now, I need to give my undivided attention to Cam’s recuperation. I refuse to make the same mistakes as before and take our time together for granted. So for now, I’ll let Luca and Logan handle him.

  I inhale a deep breath since I know Cam’s going to be firing questions at me the minute I return to her room, and I open the door to see James hugging his daughter.

  Cam immediately sits up and flinches.

  “Don’t get up.” I’m by her side within two seconds, guiding her back to rest against her pillows.

  “What happened? Is this about Santino’s tape? Am I in trouble?”

  “No.” I bend forward, but her cold conduct halts me. “You don’t have to worry—”

  “Be honest with me! Tell me, am I under investigation?” Her heart monitor beeps faster and faster.

  “You’re not. Logan and Luca are taking care of it.”

  “How? So you don’t have the tape?”

  “I do have the tape. But Pillon has a copy.” I watch her keenly, observing anxiety in her manner.

  “Fuck! So I missed four months of my life for nothing! I missed four months of my own baby for nothing!” she shouts in a tone of voice I’ve never heard from her.

  “Cam,” Fallon comments softly. “Take a calming breath.”

  She complies and calms herself. Then she exclaims, “And we’re married?!” Her brows hit her hairline, and a pang of disappointment stirs me when she doesn’t give the impression that she’s pleased about that fact.

  “Yes. I...” Fuck, she scalds me with an incredulous look.

  “I know! Fallon told me. Where’s your ring?” Cam grabs my hand and traces the tattoo with her finger. “You got a tattoo? Cam. My angel,” she murmurs.

  “Yes, and your ring is engraved too.”

  She drops my hand and slides her ring off, reading the lettering: Adriano. My devil. Her eyes pool with tears.

  Her distant behavior is causing me to perspire. Is she mad at me?

  “Are you angry?” I ask, my defenses going up because she doesn’t put the ring back on but twirls it between her fingers.

  She’s slow to answer as she frowns at Fallon, James, Luca, and Logan, who are all standing around her bed.

  “I don’t know.” She rubs her forehead and doesn’t look at me, which fractures a piece of my heart. I actually hear the cracks forming. She’s different, not my Cam. One second, she stares at me with all the love I feel for her, and the next second, she judges me as if I’m a stranger to her.

  “It’s like it’s not my life.” She’s gazing down at her stomach as tears track down her face.

  I move forward to touch her but startle when she yells, “Don’t touch me! Just leave me alone for a second.”

  The hurt that’s pinging inside me switches to annoyance. “No. I will not leave you alone.”

  And she finally looks at me.

  Without breaking our stare, I tell everyone, “I need some privacy with my wife.”

  As they disperse quietly, I sit down beside her hip, taking her ring, and she lets me slide it back onto her finger. “Cam, Marc warned me about how you might be overwhelmed when you woke up. That’s what’s happening to you. I married you because I wanted to and because I was afraid that James might try to make a decision about your treatment that I’d have no say in whatsoever. Can you imagine how that was for me?”

  Her attitude softens, luckily, because my heart is stuck in my throat. I want to hold her and touch her, but there’s this wall between us that I need to eradicate.

  “You’re trying to catch up on four months in a few days; that’s not possible,” I explain.

  Ultimately, she relaxes and covers my hand with hers, resting it on her bump. “I’m not mad. I just don’t feel like myself. I’m so sluggish, and I hate that I missed so much. This is why I kept fighting you about Serena. Because I felt deep in my bo
nes that my instincts were correct, Adriano. And you see now what the result was. I talked to Fallon, and I know everything that happened businesswise. Serena was working with Medlov.”

  “Yes, you were right, Cam. And there hasn’t been a second in the day that I haven’t regretted not listening to you.”

  Her sigh is one of impatience and a bit of anger. “I don’t even remember our wedding...”

  “It wasn’t really a wedding, more a formality.”

  “Oh, that’s romantic,” she grumbles.

  “No, I don’t mean it like that. But once you’re out of here and feeling better, I’ll give you the wedding you’ve always dreamed of.”

  Disbelievingly, she rolls her eyes. “No, because we’re already married.” When she catches my obvious disheartened reaction to her reply, she offers, “I’m sorry. I am happy you’re my husband.”

  “It doesn’t seem like you are,” I admit honestly.

  “I am. I promise. I’m just finding it difficult to cope with everything. Are you sure that I don’t have to worry about the tape?”

  “Yes,” I lie because I won’t add any stress to her state of mind. I’ll never let anyone cause her or my child any harm.

  “And I really can’t believe you got my name tattooed on you,” she whispers around a tentative smile.

  “Isn’t that romantic?” I tease. “Fallon practically swooned.”

  “It is.” Abruptly, her mood improves and she cheers, “Ah, she kicked! Did you feel it?”

  “I did.” And I smile as I scoot closer, grasping on to this split-second of joy to revive our connection, our love.

  Inside, I’m ecstatic because this is one of those pivotal moments that I wanted to share with her, feeling our child moving inside her. It kindles a sentiment that no words can express. It’s the first time the three of us bond.

  “We’re making our memories now, Cam.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “You just need to focus on your recovery and our baby. I’ll take care of everything else.”

  She raises her head, and thank god, that look of admiration has returned, so the rifts in my heart repair quickly. How long I hoped to see the vibrant color in her eyes again and hear the sound of her husky voice. Tension rises as her breathing increases, and she licks her luscious, pink lips. I follow the sensual movement, but regrettably, Marc interrupts us, so I wink at her before I turn around.