Gemma’s POV
Despite my internal panic, I couldn’t just hide away in the fortified penthouse. I’d promised Carn a sleepover with her friends, and we’d already prepared everything in the secured wing of the compound. So commitnts simply had to be honored, regardless of personal turmoil, especially when they involved the family’s children.
"You look absolutely breathtaking," Dominic said, rising from the leather couch and walking toward . His arms encircled my waist as he asked, "Feeling better now?" The weight of his gun holster pressed against my side, a constant reminder of our dangerous world.
"Yes, I am," I replied, giving him a quick peck on the lips.
I addressed everyone gathered in the main living room of our secured floor. "So, about today—Carn’s having her sleepover, and I need to ask all the boys to give the girls so space. We’ll be taking over the entertainnt room." Carn’s face imdiately brightened at my announcent, her excitent cutting through the tension that always lingered in our heavily guarded ho.
"I can cancel with my friends if you’re not feeling well," she offered sweetly, her concern touching in a world where trust was a luxury few could afford.
"Absolutely not! I’ve been looking forward to this," I reassured her with a smile.
Vincenzo’s face fell. "Does that an no gaming tournants for us tonight?"
"Exactly!" I confird, trying not to laugh at his crestfallen expression.
Dominic jumped in to smooth things over. "Don’t worry, Vincenzo. We’ll keep clear of the girls. Xavier invited us to his private club anyway—the crew wants to practice so we can finally beat Lila at those strategy gas. That sneaky little genius destroyed us last ti." His laughter filled the room as he recalled our last family ga night, a rare mont of normalcy in our high-stakes existence.
"That undercover nerd completely humiliated us. So embarrassing for a bunch of made guys!" Vincenzo lanted dramatically.
Carn suddenly perked up with an idea. "Gemma, you should invite your friends from the organization too!"
"That’s brilliant, Carn," I said, imdiately grabbing my encrypted phone to ssage the girls through our secure channels.
Everyone arrived right on schedule, passing through the compound’s multiple security checkpoints. Despite my worries, the evening turned out wonderfully entertaining. Late into the night, Carn and her friends were sound asleep across the mattresses in the entertainnt room, looking so peaceful under the protection of our ard guards that I decided not to move them.
"Now that the little ones are asleep, it’s ti for you to talk," Zoe said the mont I rejoined the adults in the private lounge, her tone leaving no room for evasion. As Dominic’s intelligence coordinator, she had an uncanny ability to read people.
"Talk about what?" I feigned ignorance, though I knew exactly what she ant.
"Sothing’s bothering you. You can’t fool —you’ve been distracted all night, even with all the security protocols we had to follow." Zoe had apparently been observing closely through her trained operative’s eyes without my noticing.
I exhaled slowly. "You’re right. Girls, I need to tell you sothing, but it has to stay between us, at least for now. Family business."
"You’re scaring already," Ruby said, her eyes studying my face intently. Working in the organization’s legal front had taught her to read danger signs.
"I’m pregnant," I announced bluntly. Their simultaneous squeals of delight echoed through the soundproofed room—excitent I unfortunately couldn’t share.
Ivy’s face lit up, her experience as the Don’s wife lending authority to her words. "Gemma, that’s amazing! I didn’t know you and Dominic were planning on expanding the family line."
"That’s the problem, Ivy—we weren’t. And as far as I know, Dominic never wanted to be a father. He’s always said the life we live is too dangerous for children." My voice trembled slightly as I expressed my deepest concern about our violent world.
Zoe’s expression turned serious, her intelligence network giving her insight into Dominic’s psyche. "I get it now. He really did always say he didn’t want kids in this business. But Gemma, people change, especially when it cos to family bloodlines. Maybe his feelings about fatherhood have changed too."
"I don’t know, Zoe. I have no idea how to tell him. What if this threatens everything we’ve built together in the organization?" Voicing my fears aloud only intensified my anxiety about our precarious position in the cri family hierarchy.
"Gemma, please," Lila interjected, always Dominic’s defender despite her civilian status. "Dominic isn’t so low-level soldier who would abandon his own blood. He’s a Capo."
"I’m not saying he’s disloyal to family, Lila. But he might think I did this intentionally to secure my position in the organization. I’m terrified of how he’ll react when his entire world revolves around control and calculated risks." The knot in my stomach tightened.
Lila’s practical nature ca through as always. "You can’t keep this hidden for long, Gemma. Better to tell him soon and face whatever cos. Secrets are dangerous in our world."
"Lila’s right," Ivy added, placing her warm hand over mine reassuringly, her wedding ring catching the light. "But I truly believe he’ll be happy about this. The family needs heirs."
"Maybe..." I sighed deeply. "I’ll tell him after the kids leave on Monday. Since I can’t predict his reaction, it’s better if they’re not around to witness it. This compound has seen enough violence."
Zoe’s face softened into a smile. "Nadia will absolutely lose her mind when she finds out there’s going to be another generation. And Bee will be over the moon too."
"At least soone will be happy about this," I said, feeling my chest constrict. "As for Dominic... I just don’t know how a man who’s built his life around calculated violence will handle an unplanned heir."
But my decision was made. Lila was right—facing this quickly was better than suffering through endless days of anticipation in our dangerous world. Whatever Dominic’s reaction might be, I needed to know sooner rather than later. Our future—and now our child’s future in this blood-soaked organization—depended on it.
User Comments
0 comments from readers