by Mynx, Sienna
“Yes. There’s more.” Catalina dropped her head. “Giovanni doesn’t talk to me. He doesn’t look at me. And Dominic is so busy kissing his ass he barely sees me either. What’s the point?”
“It’s going to take time, Catalina. For all of us.” Mira walked over and stood at her side by the window.
“How are you? Now that everyone knows you’re alive.” Catalina touched her arm. “How bad is it?”
“They took a statement from me. I was told that Kei was picked up in America. They think he had something to do with Angelo Calderone’s murder and a lot of other things. I don’t know what to think.”
Catalina nodded toward the window. “The press is still out there by the gates.”
The truth was Mira’s life would never be the same. Part of her liked the world not knowing about her and Eve. It gave her a sense of security. Now she only found security behind these walls. What had her life become? Who was she becoming?
It was Christmas, and the holiday used to mean so much to her. She had less than a day to find that magic again for her daughter. “I’ll be fine.” She smiled. “It’s Christmas after all. Get dressed and join the family. I want us all together.”
“I can’t. Giovanni expects me to take the test.” Catalina’s gaze turned to the dresser and the brown paper bag sitting on it. She then looked back out of the window. “I’ve taken one test already. No point in taking the other two.”
Mira approached the nightstand and reached inside the bag. She removed the two pregnancy boxes. She was a few days late on her cycle. Her cycle had been unpredictable since she gave birth to Eve. Still she couldn’t deny that she made love to Giovanni nightly with no protection.
“Mira, are you okay?” Catalina frowned.
“Oh, yes. So you’re not pregnant?” Mira asked.
“No. Gio will be furious over the lie. Why do I keep doing these things? I lied, but I had hope. Domi and I slept together, and for the last couple of months Franco hadn’t touched me.”
“Catalina, I promise you Giovanni isn’t going to make any decisions about you and Dominic today. Let’s go and join the family. We can deal with everything else later.”
Catalina released a burdened sigh. “That’s just it. I don’t want to deal with this. Domi will never be mine. Gio will never forgive me. I can never wash the sin of what I did to Franco off my soul. I have nothing now.”
“Not true.” Mira put her hand on Catalina’s shoulder. She turned to her and they embraced. Mira held her tight then stroked the back of her head. “I’ll talk to Giovanni. We’ll figure this out. But first you have to stop this self-pity. Get showered, put on some makeup.”
“I’m sorry. You’re going through a lot too.” Catalina let her go.
“I can handle it. We both can. Can’t we?”
Catalina wiped at her tears and nodded. “Grazie.”
“Go on and get dressed.”
Catalina headed to the bathroom. Mira’s gaze shifted to the bag of unopened pregnancy tests. She reached inside the bag, took a box, and slipped out of Catalina’s room hurrying to her own. Not long after she entered her bathroom Giovanni entered as well. “Where’s Ma-ma!” he yelled.
Mira scrambled to hide the pregnancy test and left the bathroom closing the door. Giovanni set Eve down on her feet. “There she is.”
“Hi baby.” Mira said kneeling for her daughter to rush into her arms. She kissed her gently on the cheek. Eve loved the attention. Mira rose smiling. “It’s Christmas Eve.”
“Let’s have some fun.”
“How?” she asked.
“The gardens. The cold has moved on. Today the sun is out and it’s nice. Perfect for a stroll.” He kissed her. Mira smiled. She hadn’t seen Giovanni this happy since the news of Catalina and Dominic. She glanced to the bathroom. What would he think of another baby?
****
“I want to see my attorney. I have nothing to say.” Kei slumped back into his chair and glared directly at Special Agent Muntz. He had been kept for over a day in a holding cell with no access to a phone or his lawyers. The FBI would have to let him go eventually. He knew his fucking rights.
“Tell us about Angelique Roberts and Eduardo Glenn.” The agent asked again.
“I told you. They worked for Mira Ellison. That’s all I know. This conversation is redundant.”
“No Mr. Hyogo, your answers are redundant.” The agent said. “We’ve already interviewed the parents of Angelique Roberts. They claim their daughter who has been missing since 1989 has been on an assignment outside of the country?”
Kei shrugged.
“So we pulled their bank statements. Looks like you’ve made some generous deposits in their accounts quarterly. How much did it cost you to convince them to ignore the death of their daughter? I’m curious what parents sell their children for these days.”
Kei smirked. He didn’t answer.
The agent openly fumed. He continued with his anger barely contained. “We’ve received Mira Ellison’s statement. She said you staged the deaths of both Angelique and Eduardo. And she gave us information on your property in Switzerland where she was kept. Why don’t you tell us how this all connects with the Triad and a man being detained in Italy by the name of Cheung Bojing? A relative right?”
Kei closed his eyes and sighed. “I won’t say another word until I have an attorney present.”
The agent chuckled. “Then that’s quite unfortunate. Trust me this is your one and only time to negotiate with me.”
Kei smirked. “Get my fucking lawyer.”
****
Poggioreale, Napoli Italy.
Dominic and Lorenzo walked through the narrow hall. A single light above and what naturally poured in from the sparse windows was all they had to lead the way. The guard nodded and led them the rest of the way. They went though several locked doors past the dorms to the private holding cells. Dominic hadn’t said much on the drive over. His thoughts kept returning to Catalina. After Christmas he would lose her forever. How the hell could he accept it enough to be sure to follow his Don’s orders?
The calm resolution between him and Giovanni felt so final. Once he left for America he would never see any of them again. Already he’d been cut out of all family meetings. Lorenzo was now at Giovanni’s side in closed door discussions, and Dominic was regulated to this shit on Christmas Eve, no less.
“I can do this job alone.” Dominic grumbled. They waited for the guard to unlock the cell door. The man fumbled with his keys trying to find the right one. The holding cell was separate from the rest of the prison, and the isolation would be perfect for the mission.
Lorenzo cast Dominic an amused grin over his shoulder. “Giovanni doesn’t think you can do much on your own lately. He wants to know who leaked the truth about Mira to the press.”
“Who the fuck knows? She and Catalina left Melanzana for a shopping trip. Any number of people could have seen her. That wasn’t my fault.”
“Maybe. But sticking your cock in our little princess is your fault, and trust me Gio won’t easily forget or forgive your faults again.”
The steel door opened noisily. Dominic held his breath against the wave of stench from feces, sweat, and vomit smeared on the floors and walls. Lorenzo strolled ahead of him. Dominic felt a bit light-headed and then his senses stabilized enough for him to follow. He entered behind him. The man they came to see sat on a soiled cot. He wore only a pair of pants. His body was peppered with bruises.
“Do you know who we are?” Lorenzo asked.
The man didn’t lift his head.
“Doesn’t matter.” Lorenzo chuckled. “When we’re done with this meeting you’ll know all you need to, and you will give Don Battaglia what he wants.”
Dominic eased his gloves out of his pockets. He didn’t want blood or whatever filth that covered this bastard on him. But thanks to the putrid conditions the inmate was kept in he figured he and Lorenzo wouldn’t be able to wash away the stink for many weeks to come.
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“Look at me motherfucker!” Lorenzo barked.
The man lifted his head. They got a good look at the Asian. He sneered up at them and cursed in his foreign tongue.
“Does he speak Italian?” Dominic asked. They had to ensure that Cheung Bojing fingered Kei Hyogo as the man who sent him to Italy to kill Giovanni. If he didn’t speak Italian, then how the fuck would they manage it?
“Doesn’t matter.” Lorenzo looked him over with a dark sinister smile. “When I’m done with him he’ll speak any way I want.”
****
Eve ran in circles under the bright sunshine. The east gardens away from the estate were plush with green grass and flowers the colors of the rainbow. Mira shook her head and chuckled. Though the temperature dropped in the evenings, it was Christmas and you could barely see nature acknowledge the holiday. Instead of the snowy hills and cliffs, the place felt like a beautiful day in Spring. “The girl loves being outdoors.”
Giovanni’s arm slid around her waist. “She’s beautiful. Like her mama.”
Mira and he followed Eve who hurried on her little legs in the grass chasing something neither of them could see. Mira hoped it was just an imaginary thing or butterfly. She didn’t want her daughter fixated on some bug or critter in the grass. “I told Catalina to come downstairs and join the family. I couldn’t help but notice Domi and Lorenzo aren’t here.”
“They had some business to take care of. They’ll be back.”
Mira stopped. She turned and looked at Giovanni. “What have you decided regarding Domi and Catalina?”
“Let’s not discuss it now.”
“Giovanni, please. We’ve all been through so much. It’s time for us to be a real family. To heal. Can’t you forgive them?”
“Is she pregnant?” Giovanni asked.
Mira bit down on her bottom lip to resist the urge to lie. She threw her hands up in defeat. “No. She’s not.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“You can make this a beautiful Christmas if you forgive Domi and Catalina. It’s our first Christmas together. We should all have a fresh start after the year we’ve had. Don’t you agree?”
Eve turned and ran back toward them, her eyes large with fright. Something in the grass had scared her. Giovanni laughed and caught his daughter. He lifted her up in his arms and then threw her higher, catching her in his hands. Eve squealed. Mira sighed. Had he even heard her? He was such a stubborn man. But she believed he had a heart, compassion. He could be forgiving. She would make sure to remind him of these things. She would try. After their stroll, they went inside to a meal prepared by the women in the family. Catalina appeared, and though she said she didn’t care for her cousin Aurora, they seemed to get along okay while hanging lights through the lower rooms of Melanzana. The place was so decorative not a face in the house was caught without a smile.
Mira, however, kept thinking of the box upstairs. It was easy to slip away. The family either vied for Giovanni’s attention or fawned over Eve who now took to Zia as if she were her second mother. Not many made conversation with her. Mira tried to escape to her room. Giovanni would of course catch her and make a request, anything from her fixing him a plate of food or getting him another glass of wine. She didn’t mind, but her anxiety over the test kept her distracted and jumpy.
Eventually she abandoned the thoughts of the pregnancy test. Dominic and Lorenzo returned, and the men began to sing. Rocco performed some foot dance that kept everyone laughing. Mira settled next to Giovanni on the sofa and relaxed.
****
The snoring in her ear woke her. Mira blinked in the dark. He slept so close his tall frame covered her. His large muscular arm was thrown over her and so was his thigh. She ached between her legs from the workout he gave her just hours before. Gently she moved his arm and tried to ease from the bed.
“Where are you going?” he groaned pulling her back under him.
Mira smiled. “I have to use the toilet sweetheart. Be right back.”
Giovanni released her and rolled away. Their room was exceptionally cold at night. She found her slippers first and then slipped on his robe, which felt like it was several sizes too big. She peeked in at Eve. Her daughter kicked away her blanket but slept peacefully with her pacifier plugged in her mouth. Mira made sure to cover her. She pressed a kiss to her fingers and then pressed her fingers to Eve’s cheek before she smoothed back silky curls from her face. In a few hours she would wake to more toys than one child could manage. And she couldn’t wait to share the moment with Giovanni.
Eve’s nightlight and the moon rays from the balcony outside of her bedroom provided the only light through the silent darkness filling the adjoining rooms. She crept back inside to the bathroom and locked the door. She had hid the pregnancy box in her vanity bag under the sink. Mira found it and read the instructions in the dark. Quickly she opened the package and squatted on the toilet. She peed on the wand and then placed the plastic stick on the edge of the sink. Mira sat there patiently waiting. She hadn’t brought her watch inside to time the wait. So minutes dragged on and she resisted the urge to peek.
“Mira?” Giovanni called out, his voice loud enough to wake Eve.
“I’m coming sweetheart.” She answered. If he woke his daughter, she’d kill him. Wiping and flushing, she washed her hands and sucked down a deep breath to calm her nerves. If she was pregnant, it wouldn’t be a surprise. He would be thrilled, and she would be a mother again. She stared at her reflection. How was it that just two years ago her only dreams were to take over the fashion world? Motherhood wasn’t anything she’d ever fathomed. And was she a good mother? After all, she brought her daughter here based on love not sensibility. The Battaglia’s were a complicated, dangerous family, and Eve would grow up behind these walls influenced by all she’d learn and see. Mira closed her eyes and pushed down her surfacing doubts. She remembered her promises to Giovanni and herself. Love did matter. It would change things. It would change all of them. And this baby could do so as well, if she was pregnant.
Mira opened her eyes. She reached for the wand and paused as her heart and mind registered the truth. A plus sign meant another bambina or bambino for the family. They were pregnant.
“Mira? What are you doing?” Giovanni called out again.
“Good grief.” Mira groaned. The man acted like it was unnatural for her to use the bathroom. She wrapped the wand in a tissue and stuck it back in her vanity bag. Washing her hands once more, she finished and returned to bed.
“What were you doing in there?” he asked, a bit of irritation in his voice.
“Giovanni! I was using the bathroom!”
“Oh?” he said as if it didn’t dawn on him that she might have to do more than tinkle. He moved over her, kissing her face. She put a hand to his chest to slow him down. “Wait.”
“I missed you, cara,” he groaned as he slipped inside of her. Mira bit her tongue to withstand the pleasure rush of warmth flooding her channel when he buried himself deep inside of her. His mouth captured hers, and he kissed away her news. The long strong frame of his body lifted, and he slowly withdrew then slammed down into her channel. The lovely thrusting he performed made her body quake under its force. Before long her orgasm was so close she could practically taste it. All thoughts of her pregnancy faded. The world narrowed down to the pleasure between them. It was nothing but pleasure from her head to her feet. And he kept moving, kissing her face, and neck, his thrusting cock tunneling and stretching her. Mira arched up into him. Her vision blurred so her lids fluttered shut. Intense pressure coiled in her pelvis and a climatic wave shocked her system as her body shook, racked with the intensity of her orgasm. Exhausted after making love to him, she snuggled him and closed her eyes. Christmas morning she had the best surprise for him. One he’d never forget. A soft groan escaped her lips, and she slipped into bliss.
Epilogue
“Say it again.”
“Maywee… Maywee… Chrispma!”
“Say
Christmas. Merry Christmas.”
“Chrisy!”
Giovanni opened one eye. He squinted at the hovering face above his. Eve leaned further out of her mother’s arms. She grabbed his cheeks and covered his nose with her mouth. Giovanni chuckled and pulled her down to him. “Buon Natale Eve!”
Mira plopped down on the bed. She had changed into a red satin floor length nightgown and matching robe. Her face was scrubbed free of makeup but her hair was neatly groomed. Had he overslept?
“It’s time babe. We need to go downstairs. Everyone is waiting for you.”
Giovanni yawned. He sat Eve on his chest and tried to fully wake. He’d gone to bed late after fielding updates from New York. Kei Hyogo was arrested, and with the confession from Cheung Bojing, the charges kept piling on. He didn’t share this news with his Bella. He couldn’t help but rejoice silently at the irony of his victory. It didn’t take violence on his part to end the business between him and the China man. The fucker had hung himself on his twisted vine of lies.
“I need to brush my face and wash my teeth.”
Mira laughed. She crawled over him and lay on his chest. “You mean brush your teeth and wash your face?”
“I do.” He smirked.
“I’m so happy baby.”
He stroked her head. Happiness was something he could get used to. Mira rose and pulled Eve from his arms. She grabbed his robe and tossed it to him. “We’ll wait for you Papa but not for long. So hurry! Hurry!” she said as she breezed out of their room into Eve’s. His daughter waved at him from over her mother’s shoulder.
Giovanni waited until he was alone. He slipped out of bed, located his pajama pants and put them on. He went to the drawer to retrieve the gift he’d wrapped for her. He shoved it down deep into his pocket and put on his robe. Quick about his actions Giovanni went through the motions of washing his face and brushing his teeth. When he returned to the room he picked up his watch and read the time. It was three in the morning. “Bella?”
