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I stuffed my phone back into my pants pocket, then glanced down at the still crying boy, though his volume had reduced considerably. His voice was becoming hoarse, and his hiccuped breathing was causing more breaks in his cries.
“Listen, buddy,” I began, but the kid only stared at his dirty feet and kept crying.
Who was I kidding? Nothing I’d say would calm the kid. I bent down and grabbed him under the arms and lifted him off the hot ground. He froze in my hold like a baby gazelle the second before the lion broke its neck.
Without a word, I carried the kid to my car and put him on the back seat. I turned on the AC but made sure it wasn’t too cold, then closed the door. I would have loved to sit in the cool inside too, but his cries were starting to grate on my nerves. I would have thought I was used to human screams by now, but his bothered me. Maybe because I had no way to stop them. Well, I wasn’t willing to use the methods I usually employed to shut people up.
I leaned against the side of my car, hoping Rory’s helper syndrome would bring her here quickly. If she didn’t show up… Fuck, I’d have no choice but to call Alessio and Massimo, but then what? Alessio would probably insist on finding the boy’s mother, and Massimo would insist on taking him home to Vegas. There was no way in hell I was doing either.
Rory didn’t disappoint. Thirty minutes later, her car pulled up. She hesitated a moment before she got out. The amount of relief I felt when she got out was alarming.
She’d always seemed like a beacon of light, but today, she trumped even the aurora borealis.
I wasn’t sure why I was here, why after everything, I was on my way to Nevio because he supposedly needed help. Maybe this was a new form of his game. Maybe after weeks of stalking me despite my more or less clear rebuke, he wanted a change of pace. See me run to him again.
I had almost convinced myself to turn around when I pulled up in the car graveyard where trunks and hoods of cars peeked out of the earth as if they were undead and about to rise again. Nevio leaned against his car. Nobody else was around, and again, I wondered whose cries I’d heard before. They had tugged at my heartstrings in a way I couldn’t quite explain. If Nevio had called me here to help him dispose of someone, I’d run him over with my car and finally be free. Though knowing Nevio, he’d still find a way to haunt me from the other side.
With a monumental sigh, I got out of the car and put my sunglasses on. It was always easier to battle with Nevio if he couldn’t look me in the eyes. I still wasn’t immune to his power. Kissing him definitely hadn’t helped, though it hadn’t changed my feelings, only my level of desire.
His eyes just held a certain amount of power that always grabbed you by the throat. I knew I wasn’t the only one who had trouble resisting his eyes, but for most people, their fear and primal flight instinct got in the way of feeling any real draw to him.
I made my way over to him. He straightened, and the relief on his face surprised me. “Why am I here?” I congratulated myself silently for my hard tone. Luckily, I was furious. Running him over with my car was still one of the options I entertained.
“Because you want to help me,” Nevio said with a twist to his mouth that only fueled my anger.
“I’m done,” I growled, so mad at myself I felt a little sick. I turned on my heel to stalk back to my car. A hand clamped around my wrist.
“Don’t go,” Nevio said firmly. Then a tad softer. “I really need your help with this, Rory.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Part of this was curiosity, but the other part definitely involved me being unable to say no to Nevio, even now. I let out a sigh and turned back around, then tugged my hand from his grip. “If this is a trick…”
“It’s not.” He pointed at his car. “I’ll show you.”
Maybe he really needed help burying someone.
“I won’t help you dispose of a body.”
Nevio let out a chuckle. “I’d call Massimo or Alessio if I needed help with that.”
He led me toward the back door and opened it. I hesitated briefly, still suspicious of his motive, but then a new wave of cries hit me. I peeked inside and took a stunned step back. In the back seat sat a small boy with dark, slightly curly hair, only dressed in a diaper. Snot ran out of his nose from crying, and from the sound of his wails, a little raspy and choked, he had been doing so for a while. My heart clenched.
“Where are his parents?” I demanded. A sinking feeling told me Nevio had killed them and then noticed the little child. I could only hope the boy didn’t have to watch.
“I didn’t kill them if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
I moved closer to the boy. “Shhh, it’s okay.” The boy briefly glanced my way with a look that made it clear he knew I wasn’t telling the truth. I froze because something about the boy’s eyes and even his features were familiar. They weren’t as sharp as those of the man beside me, but there was no doubt in my mind that this kid in front of me was related to Nevio.
I swallowed, then glanced up at Nevio. “He’s yours.”
“Massimo would say a human being can’t legally be anyone’s possession.”
I glared. “Did you sleep with the mother?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“You don’t remember?” I chuckled and shook my head. He hadn’t remembered sleeping with me either, so why was I even surprised. Ignoring the infuriating man beside me, I leaned into the car and picked up the crying boy. He didn’t stop crying and barely reacted to my presence, but I kept rocking him, hoping to calm him down eventually. I turned back to Nevio, who was watching me with his hands in his pockets.
“How many more kids have you fathered?”
