Mafia Doctor’s Secret Baby: Chapter 9

KATIE

I twitch the curtains, peering down onto the street outside. My eyes dart this way and that, searching for anything that seems wrong. At a glance, it might look as though everything is in its right place—but I know better.

I drop the curtains and pace back and forth along the living room floor of our new apartment. Polly is asleep, thank God, but I am anything but, and I know it’s not going to be easy for me to get any rest this evening.

It started when we went out grocery shopping earlier in the day. I’m not going to pretend that I’m not a little paranoid, after everything that I found out about Luca. He might have done everything in his power to convince me that there’s nothing for me to worry about, but I don’t buy it, I just don’t. It’s all too convenient—sure, he might want to tell me that he can protect me, but the people who are working against him would play as dirty as they need to in order to get what they want.

So I’ve been looking over my shoulder a little more than I might otherwise, keeping watch for cars that seem to turn up more times than they need to, for people who don’t look as though they belong. Nothing has really sparked my attention—until today, in the grocery store, when I noticed a man in a dark jacket following us around.

At first, I told myself that he was just traversing the aisles the same direction I was, that there was nothing to worry about, that we would split up soon enough and I would laugh to myself about how silly I was. But as I pushed Polly up and down the aisles, he was there at every turn—and more than that, he was watching me.

There was no mistaking it for anything else. No, the way he looked at me, it was clear that he wanted to drink in every moment of my presence. But why? It didn’t look like he was checking me out, and he barely paid attention to Polly in her stroller.

I paid for my stuff and left—and sure enough, when I turned around, there he was, right on my tail. I made it to the side street next to the store, where I paused for a moment to catch my breath. That seemed to shake him, but as I made a break for it back to the apartment block, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, and I wasn’t sure what it would take to make me feel better.

It’s been hours since I got back from the store, but I can’t stop peering out of the window. I don’t know what I’m expecting to see. Someone with a gun? Someone watching me? Someone videoing me, taking pictures, sending them back to another person as intel? I don’t have a clue what to expect, but then, I’ve never been in a mess as big as this one.

As I sink down onto the couch for a moment and catch my breath, my mind drifts back to what Luca said to me the other day. That, if I needed anything, he could come by my apartment and see to it that I’m okay. Or he’d send his brother to do the same thing.

I guess I could take him up on that, but…

But there’s a part of me that knows I risk a whole lot if I bring him over to my apartment in the middle of the night. I’m not entirely convinced I can be around him without acting in some way that’s obviously against my own self-interest.

There was a reason I confronted him in the parking lot of the hospital, even though I know where his office is. I didn’t trust myself not to make a mistake I couldn’t take back—and I know that, if I let myself get physically involved with this man, it’s going to be a whole lot harder to extricate myself from him when he finally leaves to go back to his normal life…

A sound from outside makes me jump. I leap to my feet and rush over to the window, pulling the curtain aside so I can see what’s going on. Shit—it’s just a man getting out of his car, slamming the door a little louder than he needed to. I close my eyes and press my lips together, trying to will myself to pull it together. I need to get my shit in line; I need to handle my nervousness. I can’t let Polly grow up in an environment that’s so toxic with my anxiety. It’s not fair on her…

Before I know what I’m doing, I reach for my phone. I don’t know what exactly drives me to do it, but I don’t have any choice. I need him to be here with me right now. It’s the only way I’m going to be able to get any sleep tonight. He doesn’t have to see Polly—we don’t even really have to talk—I just need someone else here, to convince me that everything is going to be okay.

My fingers shaking, I fire off a text message to him—asking him to come over, because I felt like someone was following me earlier in the day. It’s the middle of the night, the dark shadow of blackness hanging over the gloomy sky above me, and I don’t expect him to get back to me fast. He’s either on shift or sleeping, and neither of those are exactly conducive for a quick⁠—

And then my phone pings. I glance down—it’s a text from him, already.

On my way over.

Just like that. I stare at the message for a moment, trying to make sense of it. He’s really just dropping everything to come running to my aid, even before he knows anything is really wrong. I feel a little twist of guilt in my stomach, worrying that I’ve done this when there’s nothing for me to concern him about. But I soothe myself swiftly, shaking my head. He told me I should reach out to him if I needed anything. And right now, I do, whether that man was following me or not.

I continue to pace, intermittently pausing to pull the curtains back and look outside. I don’t know how long he’s going to be. I don’t know where he lives. Somewhere fancy, most likely. These criminal families are always super-rich, right? That’s why they do it in the first place, to make themselves obscene amounts of money…

Before I can linger much more on that thought, a buzzer sounds at the door, and I rush over to let him in. At least, I hope it’s him…

Much to my relief, a few moments later, I hear his footsteps on the stairs, and he appears in the doorway. He’s dressed down, in a tee and jeans, and his brow is furrowed with concern as he lays eyes on me again.

“What’s going on?” he demands, grasping me by the shoulders. I gaze up at him—and before I can stop myself, the tears rush up, and I begin to cry.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he assures me, his voice dropping as he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close to him. I press my head against his chest, listening to the soft beat of his heart beneath me, and eventually that serves to bring me back to earth.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. “I—I probably shouldn’t have called you. Nothing really happened, it was just…”

“Just what?” he prompts me as he guides me inside, looking around to make certain there’s no danger waiting to spring out on us.

“I was at the store with Polly,” I tell him finally. “And there was this guy—shit, looking back now, he was probably just another shopper trying to go about his day, but I felt like he was following us. I left the store, and he left too, and I managed to shake him off and go back to the apartment, but I can’t help but feel like someone’s watching me…”

The words spill out of me in a desperate rush that I have no ounce of control over, but he’s quick to soothe me, rubbing his hand along the small of my back in an attempt to bring me back to the real world.

“It’s alright,” he promises me as he guides me to the couch so I can sit. “You were right to call me. I meant it when I said you could get in touch with me any time you needed.”

I sink into the couch beside him, and let out a long breath. Okay, I’m starting to feel a little better now. A little less like I’m losing my mind, though I doubt he feels the same way. I can actually think straight, and looking back, maybe there was something going on at the store. I’m going to have to be careful for the foreseeable future, and that’s something I’ll just have to find a way to wrap my head around.

“Is Polly okay?” he asks, and I nod at once—but then, as if on cue, I hear her crying from the next room.

“Oh God,” I murmur, and I get to my feet. “Sorry, I have to go check on her…”

“No, it’s fine,” he replies, and he pauses for a moment before he speaks again. “Can I come with you?”

I’m surprised—I guess I shouldn’t be, given that the girl in the room next door is his daughter, but I just figured he would want to be out of here as soon as he got the chance, given that nothing is actually going on.

“Yeah,” I reply, staring up at him for a moment. I nod, shaking the surprise from my face. “Yeah, of course you can. She might be a little finicky, but…”

“I deal with babies all day at work,” he reminds me with a slight grin. “I can handle a baby with a bit of an attitude, trust me.”

I laugh. I feel so much better having him here, though I don’t know exactly how that makes sense. He’s a mafia doctor, a criminal, a man who is probably more dangerous than I even know what to do with. And yet, as he sits there opposite me, it’s hard to believe any of that about him.

It’s hard to believe anything bad about him at all, actually.

I rise to my feet and head for the bedroom, and he follows behind me—there’s something about the sound of another set of footsteps in this place that feels right, as though it was built for a family.

As though this is always how it was meant to be.

Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Options

not work with dark mode
Reset