How could I possibly be distressed?
Maybe because this hit me all at once, or maybe because having someone standing in front of me who looked so much like Marco without being him sucked, my surroundings began to swirl around me.
“Whoa,” Luca said, when I tried to bolt up from the plush couch in the living area. How did I get here? Hadn’t I been standing by the door? “Take a minute. You almost passed out.”
I held my head in my hands. “I think I did pass out.”
Luca smiled kindly, but that couldn’t be right. He wasn’t merely a mobster, he was the head of the mobster family. The leader. Which meant he couldn’t be kind. Right?
But then Marco had been kind. Loving. Sweet. Tender. And he’d lied to me.
This was so confusing.
“I recommend you take it easy for a while,” Luca told me. “Pregnancy can really wreak havoc on your system.”
“How do you know I’m pregnant?” I asked, my voice coming out more shrill than I’d intended. In answer, he nodded at the two stick tests setting beside us on the coffee table.
“You dropped those.”
“Oh.”
“Marco asked me to make sure you received that letter. It was important to him,” Luca said, his tone soft. His voice wasn’t quite as deep as Marco’s, but it was lovely to listen to, almost melodious.
I glanced at the unsealed letter at my side. Then, almost afraid to breathe, opened it.
Kelly,
I have done a great number of things I am not proud of. I am guilty of many crimes and can be linked to several more. I am sorry I didn’t reveal this truth to you, that I promoted you under false pretenses. That I hurt you. I can’t take back what I’ve done, but I can correct the error of my ways.
By the time you receive this letter, I will likely have gone to the authorities with a deal to turn state’s evidence against a large rival mafia family, and I have more than enough proof to back up my claims. Though I may be asked to reveal my own family’s crimes, that is something I’d rather die than do. I may not be a good man, but I don’t believe in betraying those I love.
The deal I’m offering the Feds will require me to be entered into the witness protection program. I will have to remain hidden and anonymous and will lose all contact with those from my former life. The one person I may not have to lose contact with, however, is you.
You mean more to me than these words can possibly convey, and I am asking you to go with me, to build this new life with me. I swear to you that I will never lie to you ever again. I am giving up who I once was because you deserve to be with a man you can trust, and I will prove that you can trust me. Every day for the rest of my life. If you give me the chance.
I’ll understand if you say no. If I don’t hear from you within the next forty-eight hours, then I’ll assume that is your answer. While I hope you’ll forgive me, that you’ll come with me, I have to be truthful. I don’t expect this new life to be easy. We will be under the umbrella of protective services at all times which will severely limit what we’ll be able to do. We’ll have to live by their rules in order to stay safe. It may not be the type of existence you would enjoy.
Whatever your decision, please know that I’ll always love you. You’ve shown me what true goodness and compassion is, and I’ll be forever appreciative of that. My life is about to take a sharp right turn, but I’m so thankful that I bought that bistro. Even after everything that’s happened, that decision led me to you, to the time I was able to share with you.
Whether you decide to be mine or not, please know that I’ll always be yours,
Marco
After finishing the letter, I peeked up at Luca. “You read it?”
“I did.”
“He’s doing all of this for me.”
Luca nodded. “Yes.” He watched me for a moment, then asked, “Do you love him, Kelly?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m guessing he has no idea you’re expecting.”
“No, and I don’t know what to do about this,” I admitted. I put a hand on my abdomen. “About any of this.”
“These are big decisions,” he said, resting his hands on his knees.