Chapter 78
His Promise: The Mafia’s Babies
âDid you hear that, Luis? My brother is safe!â I told him and pulled him into a hug.
âIâm so happy.â Luis smiled and rested his head against my stomach. âItâs hard to hug you.â He giggled.I had my doubts whether Isobel would manage to free him or not, but she actually did it. Not having to wBeau had removed the suffocating feeling I had for these past days.
âI have to find out where sheâs taking him!â I reached out to grab my phone again but got light-
headed âSerena, you have to sit down!â Luis told me and grabbed my hand.
âYour brother is safe for now, so please restâplease.â He pouted as he squeezed my hand. âFor the babyFor the baby, he was rightâI had been so caught up in everything that I had forgotten about the baby.
âBeau is safe, thatâs enough for nowâyou should take a nap because you have not closed a single eye shereâ¦â
âNo, sweetheart itâs not because of you!â I reassured Luis and squeezed both sides of his cheeks. I was sutaking care of him, but at the moment he was taking care of meâand I felt horrible.
He released himself from my grip and ran over to the mini-fridge to grab a bottle of water. âDrink!â
He spushed the bottle into my hands.
âThanks, Luis.â I chuckled. For someone willing to fight for my babyâs life, I had barely thought about theof me not taking care of myself. Instead, I was doing everything Ramiro had told me not to.
âLuis? You telling me about Beau, it wonât put you in any trouble right?â I asked for the first time.
Only afhad already been done, I was ready to deal with the consequencesâand guilt was eating me alive. âTell mabout it?â
âThe guards, VinceâFabio and I,â Luis mumbled as he tried to avoid my gaze. I felt an awful pit in my stoit was guilt. Because of my nagging, I had forced Luis into helping me free Beau, while he came to me foâDonât worry, I need you to rest.â Luis gave me a warm smile and grabbed the covers with his tiny handsover me. âCan I touch your belly again?â He asked with hopeful eyes. âYes, sure!â
I smiled.
He placed his hand on my belly and looked at me with sparkling eyes. âWow.â He gasped as he rubbed cbelly. I looked at him with a warm smile and admired how he was completely immersed by my belly.
âI like Christian, I still think we couldâve asked him to save Beau.â He suddenly spoke. Everyone seemed tconfidence in him, but I remained skeptical.
My biggest fear was for him to send Luis back to that place and I did not want that.
I did not want to deal with him calling me stupid, not smart enough, not good enoughâand all the othewouldâve probably left his mouth. I was not in the mood to argue.
âYou know, Vince once told Beau that Christian is willing to sell his soul for you and that he would walk tyou, so I believe he will do whatâs right,â Luis told me. I smiled as I did not doubt that. Over the past few shown me how much he cared and that was definitely not the issueâbut this was about something a bitâI would never do that for a girl, girls are scary.â Luis pulled a disgusting look. âDo you think Iâm scary?âruffled my hand through his hair. He wasnât exactly wrong, because the way how I had put my own brothhis and everyone elseâs was indeed scary.
Christian had told me that the war would be a week from now, but I knew very well that saving Beau migthings.
âNo, you are nice and prettyâbut I still donât understand.â Luis smiled at me. It seemed crazy to me howunderstand how brave he was. âLuis, youâve not even noticed how youâve risked your life in helping me sthe same as walking through fire for someone.â
âIt is, isnât it?â Luis giggled with a shy look on his face. I bet he didnât get that many compliments.
âVincehe would walk through fire for me.â Luisâs smile had slowly disappeared from his face. There was no doumissed his brother.
âAnd Iâm sure he still will.â I grabbed his hand. âWhat happened between the two of you?â I asked him, khad to be more behind it. The two were always together and were known as two peas in a pod.
âLuis? Come on, tell me.â I pushed him to talk after seeing the dull look on his face. âHe yelled at Beau, ahim to stop he pushed meâ¦hard,â Luis whispered the last word as tears were threatening to spill from hisâHe didnât even notice and he didnât even apologize, but Beau did.â He looked up at me. âHe was becomFabio and it scared me. I donât want him to be like Fabio.â
âYour brother is just stressed out, becauseâ¦â I tried to convince him, knowing there was no point in dointoo far when he had put his hands on Luis and there was no defending that.
âBecause heâs just like Fabio and wants to hurt you because of the baby?â Luis finished my sentence.
âI know Fabio hurt mommy, Vincenzo told me and he promised he wouldnât be like him.â Luis spoke.
Hepossibly got rid of Luisâs mother was neither a shock or surprising to me. Fabio was a heartless man, andfound that out on my own.
âYour brother is a good person, heâs just lost.â I rubbed my hand on his back. No matter what anyone, inwould sayâI still had faith in Vince. In the time I had spent with him I got to know him as an ambitious, kwas always ready to help anyone.
He defended me when I spilled champagne over his suit.
He cheered me up when I was too scared to buy a pregnancy test.
He got me a job while I was completely unqualified because he knew I needed it.
He paid for my lunch because he knew I needed it.
He made time for me when my bond with Christian was rocky because he knew I needed it.
So I did not doubt that he would come back to his senses and end up doing whatâs right, the only questI could hope for was that itâd be in time before itâs too late.
âI know heâs a good personâI just donât want to be around him right now.â Luis sighed. âVince had oncshort break can heal a broken relationship, he told me there is no point in forcing it to glue it back togetnot going to hold.â
âI donât think thatâs the relationship he was talking about.â I laughed at Luisâs explanation.
âI donât think it matters. If Iâd stayed there, he wouldâve apologizedâbut I wouldâve still hated him and Ihate him. We just need a break.â Luis told me. He was right, they needed a breakâwe all needed a breakand be at his side when he realizes what heâs missing.â
âYou know Luis, youâre really wise for your age,â I told him and pushed him down so I could tuck him in. been tired from everything, and he was still holding on. âItâs because of the video games.â He yawned.
âMaybe it is.â I chuckled, giving myself a mental note to never stop my baby from playing video games.
âCome on, letâs go to sleep for nowâI think we both need it.â I kissed Luis on his forehead and patientlyfell asleep. Only after knowing he was asleep I was able to close my eyes.
After a two-hour nap, I had opened my eyes again and immediately reached for my phone.
How could I even think about sleep, when I had screwed up everyoneâs plans by saving Beau?
I gasped when I realized that Isobel had called me three times. I was asleep when she had called me, andcouldâve happened in that time.
What if Christian found out? What if Fabio found out?
âIsobel?â I called out as I was eagerly waiting for an answer, but the moment I heard my brotherâs voice if my world had stopped.
âSerena?â