Exhaling: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection Book 3) Read online

  Vince explained the situation to Doctor Henderson in clipped sentences. “I need you to do a DNA test on the two of us. I don’t want you to let anyone else handle the process, only you. Bring the results right back right here as soon as you get them. I’ll need to see the printout myself.”

  “Okay.” Doctor Henderson knew a lot about medicine. He knew a lot about the BMW he drove. He knew a lot about golfing. Doctor Henderson knew enough about the D’Amatos to not ask questions, so he kept his mouth shut through the blood and cheek swab samples. “It would help if I had a sample of either of the parents’ DNA so I could get your results quicker.”

  Vince’s tone was stony. “Do what you can with just us.”

  Fallyn didn’t flinch when the needle poked her, nor did she care when Doctor Henderson took a swab from the inside of her cheek. The doctor looked inside her mouth and frowned. “She’s severely dehydrated. Do you want me to set up an IV drip?”

  Vince nodded, but Fallyn shook her head, finally coming to life. “Do you have a pregnancy test in your bag?”

  Vince let out a choked cry and clutched his chest, as if in the throes of a heart attack. “What did you just say?”

  Fallyn hung her head. “I’m three weeks late.”

  Doctor Henderson moved slowly, lest he spook the man he’d never seen so all over the place. “I do.” He pulled the wrapped package out of his bag and handed it to Fallyn, who ambled on rubbery legs toward the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

  4

  One Last Time

  Fallyn knew what the results would be. She knew in her heart over a week ago when she’d been bent over the toilet in her bakery’s bathroom. She let Vince in to stop his incessant knocking, and they sat on the edge of the tub together, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder. “No matter what, a baby is good news, Fal. Don’t forget that. We’re not related. I can feel it. I would know.”

  The seconds that ticked by were excruciating for Vince, but Fallyn wished for an eternity more of them so she didn’t have to feel the harsh swirls of emotion that would come upon the confirmation. When the second line appeared on the stick, her heart lifted and crashed at the elation of being pregnant, and the utter devastation that if she and Vince were related, she would not be able to keep the baby. Vince dismissed Doctor Henderson with a fistful of cash, locked the front door again and ran back to his wife.

  Vince was silent as he turned on the shower. He was quiet and respectful as he undressed her, keeping his lust on hold for a better day, of which he willed there to be many. He helped her into the shower and then undressed himself, stepping in with her. He watched her not know what to do, as if she’d never seen soap before. The fear in Vince rose up as he realized that if the results were as Declan predicted, this would be the last time he would shower with his wife. Fear gripped him around the throat, daring him to submit to its power. Vince knew that no matter how bad the storm inside him raged, he couldn’t let Fallyn see him question their connection. Vince took his time soaping up every inch of her, taking the best care of the prize he’d stolen out from under the nose of her family.

  There were too many things to think about, but his heart kept dwelling on one word: baby. He washed her stomach, palming the child he’d always wanted, but had only recently found the one woman he’d take that leap with. He traced back over the many times they’d made love, ruling the careless time in the tub to be the culprit. Or perhaps it was the reckless abandonment in the vineyard when they’d celebrated him acquiring more land to add to his family’s vineyard. He wanted to celebrate. He wanted to kick Declan’s teeth in. He wanted to run Fallyn to a hospital so they could check everything to make sure his wife and the baby were healthy. One look at her, and he knew Fallyn wasn’t healthy. He’d brought her home from Italy with a tanned glow, and it had taken a little over a week for her brothers to steal it from her, leaving her a speechless shell of the woman he’d ravished too many times to count.

  “College fund,” Vince muttered, and then shook his head. He knew that once he found words, they would be all the wrong ones. The non sequitur was enough to make Fallyn blink at him and meet his gaze with hers, registering he’d spoken, so he went with it. “I’ll set up a college fund in the morning for the baby. And a trust fund, of course. Might have to wait till he’s actually born, but I can at least get the paperwork started with my broker.”

  “Huh?”

  “And vitamins. You need vitamins.” He cringed at his negligence. “Do you even take a multivitamin? I should’ve told Doctor Henderson to bring some in the morning with the DNA results. I can call him when we get out.” When Fallyn made to protest, he shook his head. “And baby proofing. Do you think we should have the crib in our room? Yeah, probably. At least for the first few weeks so you don’t have to be separate from the baby.”

  “Vince,” Fallyn scolded gently.

  “I’ll have my car guy get you a safer car, too. I mean, your car’s nice and all, but you should have bulletproof glass, at least. Maybe something with a bigger trunk for the stroller?”

  Fallyn lifted her thin hand to rest it on his cheek, bringing his worries to a head. “Vince, if you’re my brother, we can’t keep this baby. We can’t stay married.”

  “Shh,” Vince pleaded, his hand covering hers. “I can’t go there. I can’t think about it until Doctor Henderson makes me think about it. I can’t make decisions without irrefutable proof.”

  “And if he brings us that?”

  “Then I’ll get a second opinion!” he shouted out of nowhere. “And a third and a fourth, if that’s what it takes. I’ll kick down every hospital’s door until we find someone who tells us we can be together!”

  “Honey,” she cooed, finally seeing the torment she’d had a week to process that was tearing at his sanity afresh.

  “It’s not true! I owe your brothers the beating of a lifetime after this. More than a week, Fal! Nine days! You were gone nine days!” He was livid, his dark eyebrows pushed together to add more emphasis to the pain he barked at her. “When shit hits the fan, you come to me! You don’t run to your brothers. You don’t shut down or shut me out. You run to me! I’m your home! I’m your husband. I’m your family, not them anymore. They should’ve sat us both down, not blindsided you like that. I’ll kill them for making you question us!”

  Every few seconds that passed by added one more layer of awareness and sanity in the midst of the chaos. Fallyn saw her husband and realized her fault in his suffering. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should’ve come home to you. I didn’t think. I just heard the bomb go off and checked out. I didn’t want to cut you off. I just didn’t want to get out of bed.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Vince, what if we’re…”

  Vince covered her mouth with his large mitt. “Don’t say it! Not until it’s real. Tomorrow we can ask all the questions. Tonight?” He moved his hand down to cup her chin. “Tonight we’re us. You’re my wife, no one else.” He watched her soften in his hand, his other arm snaking around the small of her back to pull her naked body flush to his while the shower pelted them with warmth. His voice turned deep and seductive after he coaxed a languid kiss from her that pulled the longing to the forefront, knocking back all the uncertainty and fear. “You’ve got your husband in the shower. What are you going to do with him?” The first smile he’d felt in nine days touched his lips when Fallyn’s fingers brushed across his chest. He hissed into their kiss, and despite everything, he rose to the occasion, eager to make science see that it was wrong, and they were very, very right together.

  Fallyn was torn, muttering between pleasure-filled gasps and utter fear that they couldn’t do what they were doing. When Vince would try to pull away, she clutched him closer, fear and conflict warring with the adoration she could not deny she still carried for her husband like a burning flame in her chest. Louder and louder their passion rose until Fallyn finally let herself feel the connection that was there, and couldn’t be shaken. Over and over, Vince pledged himsel
f to her, until they were both exhausted and emotionally spent.

  The water ran cold, but neither of them felt anything aside from each other. Vince was trembling as he rewashed his wife and himself, barely toweling off before they collapsed in a heap of naked limbs on the king-sized bed. They sought each other out even in unconsciousness, tangling and caressing while they dreamed of things that were far, far away from the nightmares that plagued their days.

  5

  Keep

  Vince awoke to his face buried in Fallyn’s bosom and sighed contentedly. He’d roused several times in the night to check that the doors were still locked, bolted and free of unwelcome O’Keefes. He vowed he would never leave her alone again, and after kissing his favorite breasts, he went downstairs to make her breakfast, having noticed the thinness that made her ribs too visible.

  When he brought her breakfast in bed, his heart sank when he saw she’d put a robe on. He followed suit and donned his black boxer briefs, reasoning he was allowed to pull her to his side, at the very least. The two fed each other chunks of fruit, bites of toast and spoonfuls of oatmeal. Fallyn caught a belch before it carried on too loudly. “Sorry. Morning sickness. I should eat slower.”

  “How is it you can burp, say something with ‘sickness’ in the title, and all I want is more of you?”

  “You’re wonderful, that’s how.” She lay down next to him after they finished eating, keeping one hand or foot on him at all times. She’d missed the connection just as much as he had, and knew they might have mere minutes before Doctor Henderson came with the results that ripped it all away from them.

  “Tell me everything about our baby. I missed the last nine days of holding your hair back.” His hand crept inside her robe and palmed her stomach, willing his child to inch closer to him, if such a thing were possible so early on.

  Fallyn warmed to her husband, her body cuddling up to his after he set the tray on the ground. “Well, I don’t think I ate much for the last week and a half, but that first day or two, I threw up a couple times, I think. Sensitive to strong smells, that’s for sure.”

  Vince’s eyebrows pushed together. “Didn’t eat much for a week and a half? That’s not safe!” He rolled over and picked up the remnants of the breakfast, holding what was left of the banana to her mouth. He bit back a groan as her perfect lips closed around the fruit in a way that made him come alive for her. He fought back the beast with an iron sword and tried to carry on a conversation without making love to her. “You can’t do that anymore. You’ve got our baby to think about.”

  “Believe me, that wasn’t my plan. I just lost it. I’m not sure where I went in my head. Declan brought me to his house, and I didn’t get out of bed pretty much until Killian brought me to you.” She closed her eyes. “What did you do to Danny?”

  “What I had to.” Vince’s tone was resolute. “Nothing permanent, but enough to look bad and scare your brothers. They have to know they can’t mess with us like that. They can’t just take you into hiding and expect I’ll do nothing about it.”

  Fallyn shook her head, her hand stroking the thin amounts of chest hair that tickled her cheek when she pressed up against him. “I know you have a certain way of doing things, but if I can’t check out anymore, you can’t beat on my brothers unless we agree that’s what should be done. It’s complicated, and it affects me.”

  Vince stiffened. “They aren’t allowed to abduct you. I acted completely within my rights.”

  “I’m not saying you didn’t. I’m saying for the future, please don’t hurt my brothers unless we discuss it first. And I promise not to go running to them and hide from you. Deal?”

  “I don’t like this deal.”

  Fallyn leaned up and kissed him, his body drawn to hers like a magnet. “I’m not above full-on manipulation to get this settled.”

  Vince growled against her lips, untying the red silk robe he’d bought her in Italy that hugged her curves in all the right places. He cursed loudly when the doorbell rang, debating ignoring the most important news of his life for just a few minutes more with his wife in bed. The debate was moot when Fallyn pulled away, slipping on a pair of jeans and a sweater that only made him want her more.

  “You’re staying up here,” Vince ruled, tugging on his jeans and a t-shirt. He quirked his eyebrow at Fallyn’s snigger. “What?”

  “You. You’re adorable in jeans and a t-shirt. You always look so fancy and put together when you’re doing your normal day. I like that I get to see you like this. Makes me want to take you to a ballgame or something.”

  Vince tried to smile, but his nerves were too high to feel the levity. His palms were sweaty when he ran downstairs and gripped the door handle.

  “Good morning, Mr. D’Amato,” the tall doctor with perfectly combed sandy hair greeted him.

  “Doctor Henderson. Tell me what you’ve got.”

  The doctor set his briefcase down on the stand in the foyer since Vince did not invite him in further. He pulled out a set of papers and laid them out, pointing to the various measurements on the chart and explaining the loci levels were in no way a match.

  Vince rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he’d studied medicine so he understood what any of it meant. “In English, Doc. I mean it. Spell it out. Is Fallyn my half-sister?”

  The words came out of Doctor Henderson toward Vince as if in slow motion. “No. She’s of no relation to you.”

  Then Vince did something he’d never done in the presence of the man before. He smiled and let out a joyous laugh aimed to the ceiling. “Are you sure? Like, how accurate is this test?”

  “I’m positive. There are absolutely no genetics tying you to her.” He reached into his black briefcase again, pulling out a prescription bag. “Speaking of genetics, I took the liberty of bringing over some prenatal vitamins. See to it a doctor looks her and the baby over in a legitimate office with all the bells and whistles. A home pregnancy test doesn’t count for proper prenatal care.” He looked toward the ceiling where their bedroom was. “And that girl was dehydrated and wasting away yesterday. See to it she’s taken better care of than that. I’ll look the other way on a lot of things, but I won’t have a dead baby on my conscience.”

  Vince took the authoritative advice in stride. “I will.” He shook the doctor’s hand, shoving another bill into his palm out of habit for the man’s discretion.

  “Is it good news?” Fallyn inquired, tiptoeing down the stairs toward the men.

  Vince rolled his eyes. “I told you to stay upstairs.”

  Fallyn ignored his grumping. “Is it?” Doctor Henderson showed her the charts and explained the same thing he had to Vince, smiling kindly as she burst into tears in her husband’s arms. Doctor Henderson excused himself, and Vince bolted the door behind him so the two could celebrate their grand news. “It wasn’t true, then? We can stay married?”

  Vince lifted her off the ground and supported her weight as her legs wrapped around his waist. “You’re stuck with me,” he said between kisses, taking her to the nearest room, which was the dining room. He laid her on the table and made love to her right then and there, celebrating that what was almost lost was now his. Theirs.

  When she came out of her post-coital haze, Fallyn’s brain started working in overdrive as she hopped off the table and paced the dining room. “But baby proofing! This house isn’t ready for a baby. So many sharp edges. Vitamins? Am I supposed to take special vitamins?” She babbled the same questions Vince had uttered the night before, stopping only when he kissed calmness back into her. “We can keep the baby?”

  Vince sank to his knees and kissed her stomach. “We can keep our baby. We can keep it all.”

  6

  Merging and Marriage

  It was three days before Fallyn convinced her husband that it was perfectly safe for her to leave her house. “They kidnapped you, Fal. Who’s to say they won’t try something like that again?”

  Fallyn sighed, reminding herself that this was how Vince showed h
e loved something – by protecting it on pain of death. She pulled the milk out of the fridge and poured a little over her oatmeal. “For the last time, they didn’t kidnap me. They gave me a place to crash while I sorted stuff out in my mind. They made the mistake of not telling you where I was, but they didn’t hold me hostage or something, unlike what you did with Danny.”

  “I don’t like it. You can run the business remotely just fine. This is why you hired a store manager.” Vince eyed the orange juice she’d squeezed fresh for him that morning. He knew he should drink it, but he was too anxious to properly digest anything.

  Fallyn had another argument on standby, but pocketed it for a rainy day. She sat on the stool next to him at the marble counter and stirred her oatmeal. She placed her hand on his cheek, pulled him in for a softening kiss and said, “You don’t want me without baking. It’s not good for me to sit around all day with no goals and no ambition. I like being in the bakery. It’s good for me.”

  Running a comparison between Maria and Fallyn wasn’t a thing Vince did intentionally, but when she said things like that and did things like refuse to take his money for everyday expenses, he realized anew how right she was for him, and how much respect he had for her independence. He didn’t want to be one of her brothers who questioned her every move and babied her to the point of exhaustion. He didn’t want to clip her wings, but there was still a part of him that had a panic attack at the thought of losing her again.

  Vince ran his tongue along his teeth before responding. “I get it, and I’m glad you have something that makes you happy. You’re good at running the bakery. I just don’t like it when you might not come home to me. You have no idea how terrifying it all was when you were gone.”