Chapter Thirty-One

Stephen

~Three and a half months later…~

Three and a half months have passed since little William became part of our family. He’s the happiest kid you could ever meet.

His arrival has made Trinity and me even more excited to meet our own two when they finally decide to make their appearance.

Trinity is now twenty-eight weeks pregnant. We had another check-up yesterday morning and everything is going smoothly.

Our boy is a bit bigger than our girl, but the doctors say it’s nothing to worry about. Both are healthy and if everything continues as it is, there should be no complications.

Trinity looks amazing. Pregnancy really suits her and sometimes, I just can’t help but stare at her.

Ever since her belly started to show, which didn’t take long with twins, I’ve found myself constantly admiring the changes in her body.

Of course, she doesn’t like the changes and feels uncomfortable, so I always remind her how beautiful she looks.

I also do everything I can to help her feel comfortable and to ease some of her burdens.

Despite my protests, she insists on continuing to work for now, although her job has had to be restructured to accommodate her pregnancy.

Since Trinity is quite petite, she was unable to drive as soon as her belly started to show.

At six and a half months pregnant with twins, she’s about the same size as a woman with a single pregnancy. Being only five feet tall makes it hard for her to reach the pedals in the car.

She’s been working from the office with her current investors and owners, and they’ve arranged for someone to handle her open for inspections and marketing.

I’ve been driving her to and from work, which I don’t mind at all. At least I know my wife and unborn children are safe that way.

I’ve been getting the nursery ready and I finished painting it this morning. Now all we need to do is pick out the furniture.

I’ve started looking at some ideas, but let’s be honest, this is Trinity’s area of expertise, not mine.

I was about to head into our ensuite to take a shower and then grab some lunch and check in with Trinity when the doorbell rang.

I went down the stairs and opened the door to find none other than my favorite person; Detective Peters.

I was tempted not to answer, but I knew this asshole wouldn’t leave until I did.

“What?”

“Now, Mr. Gotti, is that any way to answer your door?”

“Usually, yes, when it’s someone uninvited, like you. What do you want?”

“I’m pretty busy right now and need to get ready to pick up my wife soon. So if you don’t have anything important to say, I’m going to have to politely ask you to leave.”

“Actually, Mr. Gotti, it seems today I will be the one giving the orders. I and these officers would like you to come with us to the station, please.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain?”

“Mr. Gotti, we’re asking nicely right now,” he replied. “But I have no problem contacting the DA to make this trip less pleasant for you.”

“If you say so, Detective. I’m guessing that since you’re still standing on that side of my door, you don’t have a warrant. So you can wait right here while I get my phone, call my lawyer, and arrange for someone to pick up my wife.”

Detective Peters nodded. “Very well, Mr. Gotti, I’ll give you five minutes. Otherwise, my next call will be to the DA–”

I slammed the door in his face while he was still talking.

~Go ahead and make your fucking call, pig. I don’t care. I know you don’t have anything on me. If you did, you would’ve already called the DA and brought a warrant with you.~

I grabbed my phone and called Clint first. I needed him to make sure Trinity was okay. I didn’t know how long they were going to mess with me today and I didn’t want her to be stuck at work and worried if she couldn’t reach me.

“Bro, what’s up?”

“I need you to listen carefully, okay? I don’t have time for games.”

“Sure, what’s wrong?”

“Detective Peters is here and wants me to go to the station with him. If I don’t, he’s going to call the DA and wait here for a warrant. I’m going to call Benji next to meet me there.”

“Got it, bro. Just tell me what you need.”

“I was supposed to pick up Trin at three-thirty. I need you to go get her as soon as possible. Call her as soon as I hang up.”

“Tell her what’s happening. She’ll panic more if you keep her in the dark. Tell her I’m fine and explain the situation. You know how this shit works.”

“Got it. I’ll bring her back to our place to stay with Mia. I’ll be on standby until you need me to pick you up.”

“Please. Also, call Dave and give him a heads up.”

“Done,” Clint said.

“Talk to you soon, Clint.”

I hung up and then called Benji, our lawyer. He’s the best in the business for this kind of stuff.

“Stephen? It’s been a while.”

“Benji, the wonderful Chicago PD is at my door asking me to come in for a chat. Can you meet me downtown?”

“They’ve given me five minutes to get ready and go with them or they’re calling the DA for help. I’ll transfer the 25k retainer right now.”

Benji chuckled. “Sure, man. I’ll leave right now.”

“Thanks, mate.”

I hung up, grabbed my wallet, went back to the door, and locked up my house.

“Let’s get this over with, Detective,” I said flatly. “I’d like to get back to my pregnant wife as soon as possible.”

“We’ll see, depending on how our conversation goes,” Detective Peters smirked.

“Oh, did I mention Benji Ramirez will be meeting us there?”

I watched as the detective swallowed hard and I smirked, knowing that got him sweating.