Twisted Bonds by Cora Reilly

CHAPTER 23

KIARA

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The next morning Alessio wasreleased from hospital. Like Remo had said, nobody tried to stop us from taking him home. He was really our son; nobody would ever know him as anything else. Nino had arranged a baby seat for the SUV so we could transport Alessio safely, and I sat on the backseat beside it to calm our baby. He started crying the moment Nino started the car and eventually I managed to soothe him by singing for him and pressing my palm reassuringly against his chest.

Nino’s phone beeped once more. He’d been getting several messages since yesterday, and I wondered if some of them were from Remo, informing him about Alessio’s birth mother. Maybe it was selfish and cowardly, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what Remo had done to her.

Leona and Serafina had sent me several texts, congratulating me and I couldn’t wait to show them our son.

Our son. I still couldn’t get over how wonderful it felt to think that, to say that. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t our blood and it never would. He was ours.

Nino opened the gates with a press of the button and drove up the driveway toward the mansion. “This is your home, Alessio.”

Nino and I got out of the car then he carefully lifted Alessio out of his seat. Our baby looked so tiny in comparison to Nino, breakable. My heart felt impossibly full watching Nino holding Alessio, being careful and gentle with him.

“Do you want to carry him inside?” he asked quietly.

I nodded, because even if the sight of Alessio in Nino’s arm made my heart sing, I just wanted him close, wanted to smell his sweet baby scent, feel his warmth and stroke his soft cheek. Nino handed him to me and I pressed him to my chest.

His small fingers flattened against my skin and it was the best feeling in the world. Nino touched my back. “Come on. Let’s go inside so he can meet the rest of his family.”

I nodded but I couldn’t stop peering down at Alessio’s honey-colored crown. He loved being close to me and always quieted down when he felt my warmth, and I relished in the feel of his small body against mine. I beamed at Nino, deliriously happy.

Nino smiled at me. “You haven’t been this happy in a long time.”

“I’ve always been happy with you, but this makes it even more perfect.”

When we stepped inside the gaming room, everyone was already waiting. Fabiano and Leona, Serafina and Remo with the twins, and even Savio and Adamo. Serafina stood and walked over to me. “Oh, he’s cute.”

“He is,” I agreed.

Nevio stumbled over to me, curious as always and grabbed my knees. He pointed one tiny finger up at Alessio. “You want to see him?”

A jerky nod. Nino picked him up and held him close to me. Nevio tilted his head, watching everything with his dark eyes.

“Alessio’s going to be Greta’s and your best friend, Nevio.”

“They’ll get in trouble together, that’s for sure,” Remo said as he came over with Greta who was as curious about the new arrival as her brother but not as bold.

“See, Greta?” Remo murmured. “Now you aren’t the smallest person in this house. We need to teach you how to kick ass so you and Nevio can protect Alessio.”

Savio snorted. “Good luck. That kid doesn’t have a single aggressive bone in her body. No way will she ever kick anyone’s ass.”

Remo glowered at his brother. “I’ll teach her.”

I had to agree with Savio, which didn’t happen very often. Greta was soft-spoken, gentle and cautious, and I doubted that would change with time. Not everyone wanted to fight, and that was okay, even if Remo disagreed.

“If she doesn’t want to fight, Alessio and Nevio are going to protect her,” I said, pressing a kiss to Alessio’s soft hair. The others gathered around Alessio and me as well, and I showed him to everyone.

“Hey Alessio,” Fabiano said with a small smile. “Finally, another blue-eyed boy in this family.”

“You could just start working on blue-eyed kids yourself,” Remo suggested with a twisted grin.

Fabiano’s eyes widened in alarm, and Leona shook her head quickly.

“Not yet,” she said. They exchanged a look and laughed.

“I think there are enough babies in this house now,” Savio said.

Remo’s mouth twitched. “We’ll see.”

“Oh man,” Adamo said. I rolled my eyes at him and he gave me a small smile, one that reminded me of the ones from the past. “He is cute though.”

“I know he is,” I said.

Nevio and Greta were still curiously, considering the newcomer. I couldn’t wait for them to be older and play together in the garden.

Alessio began to squirm and mewl softly, smacking his lips. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

“Do you want me to prepare a bottle for him?” Serafina asked at once.

Smiling, I nodded. “That would be great.”

She handed Nevio over to Nino then hurried away.

“I can’t believe someone would throw a baby into the trash,” Leona said in disbelief, coming closer.

Remo and Nino exchanged a dark look.

“He’s too thin and he’s got cigarette burns on his stomach,” Nino said. “And the whore didn’t even remember his birthday.”

“She gave birth to him in the apartment of a shitty dealer she fucked in return for drugs and didn’t take him to a doctor until a few days later.”

My throat tightened as I regarded Alessio. Nino had briefly mentioned that we’d have to choose the birthday of our son but it seemed like such a monumental thing to decide that we hadn’t made up our minds yet.

Leona shook her head with glassy eyes.

“Fuck,” Savio muttered. “We’ve done some crazy shit but dumping a baby, burning it, that’s just fucked up.”

“He’s safe now,” Remo said.

“And in a few years, he’ll be strong enough to defend himself,” Fabiano added.

“You’ll be as strong as your dad and your uncles,” I told my boy.

I settled on the sofawith Leona and Serafina while the twins played with each other on the floor.

I couldn’t stop looking at Alessio as he drank from his bottle, resting peacefully in the crook of my arm.

He was a small baby with thin arms and an almost elfish face, too thin. “We’ll work on those chubby cheeks, won’t we?” I murmured as I stroked his soft cheek then trailed up to his hair. He watched me quietly. Even if his fussy moments would be a lot of work, I preferred them to his very quiet moments, because I always worried that they were a sign of the things he’d already had to endure at such a young age.

Serafina cooed softly and tugged at his small feet. “Makes me want to have another one.”

Nevio threw a wooden block away, then another, grinning like that was an achievement.

“But I’ll give it a few more years,” she added. Nevio continued throwing things around. “Or maybe even longer.”

Leona laughed. “I can’t believe you want more after giving birth to twins.”

“Well, I’m not too excited about labor. You didn’t miss anything,” Serafina told me then grimaced. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’d love to give birth, even if it’s painful, but I’m perfectly happy with Alessio. It doesn’t matter how he came to us. He’s our son.”

“He is,” Serafina murmured and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “And you’ll be an amazing mom.”

“Considering that I never had a good or even decent mother, I wonder how I’ll ever be a good mom,” Leona said, touching Alessio’s head gently.

“I don’t have a role model either. My mother was weak, and then she died, and my aunt always only saw me as burden. I’ll raise Alessio like I would have wanted to be raised, with love and care.”

NINO

The other men and I moved to the room adjoining the gaming room, which used to be our father’s office but now harbored only our boxing ring and the pool table as well as part of our liquor cabinet. With our family expanding we needed more room in the gaming room, which was slowly turning into a general common room for all of us. Remo raised a glass. “To the new dad.” We all downed our drink and Adamo hissed at the strength of the alcohol.

“I’m surprised you killed her,” Adamo said with a frown as we all sank down on the armchairs arranged in a half-circle.

“I would have been surprised if he didn’t,” Fabiano said, exchanging a look with Remo. “She deserved death.”

Savio shook his head. “What was he supposed to do to her? Let her go? Hand her over to the police? Not really an option.”

Adamo shrugged. “She could have worked in one of our other establishments.”

I said, “For one, it would cause discord among the whores if one of them was known as a child-murderer. Second I don’t want her to cause any kind of trouble for Alessio in the future.”

“I get it,” Adamo mumbled. “But you are still pissed at our half-brother for killing our father, yet you took from Alessio the chance to kill his mother or meet her.”

Mentioning Growl around Remo was never a good idea. My personal feelings toward our half-brother bordered on indifferent but I didn’t want another fight between Remo and Adamo. Our mother had caused enough discord between them. I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes. “She isn’t his mother. Kiara is. Alessio won’t ever find out he isn’t our blood.”

Remo downed his drink. “From this day on this kid is a Falcone. Anyone who dares telling him differently will have to deal with the consequences.”

I gave Remo a grateful smile. Lying to family wasn’t something Remo or I liked to do but this was for Alessio’s benefit. Finding out about his real mother would do nothing good, only bring pain.

“You’ll have to decide his birthday,” Remo reminded me.

If it was up to me, I’d have simply chosen a random date at the beginning of July. Alessio would never know that it might not be the day he was born, and in the long run of a life a few days more or less really weren’t of importance. Kiara, however, needed time to consider the possible dates.

“Do you know who his sperm donor is?” Savio asked.

Remo’s lips curled. “She went bareback with several customers in the past, there’s no telling who got her knocked up, and like I said, it doesn’t matter.”

“Could be important for genetic diseases,” Savio said.

“The whore who gave birth to him was a junkie. She consumed drugs when she was pregnant. The doctors warned us that it could have long-term effects, lead to Alessio having deficits concentrating, or have a penchant for drugs himself.”

Adamo sank deeper into his chair. He had returned from C.J. like promised, and hadn’t taken any drugs despite not being under supervision. Maybe he was on the right track. I hoped Kiara and I wouldn’t have to see Alessio through something similar in the future.

“But this was a good reminder that we still have business to attend to as well,” Remo said in a low voice, holding my gaze with the familiar look of hatred in his eyes.

“We do. Maybe it’s time.”

Adamo asked, worried, “You want to kill our mother?”

“She deserves death,” I said, trying to sound poised and calm despite the chaos in my chest.

“That’s not your decision alone,” Adamo said. “She’s mine and Savio’s mother as well.”

“I don’t care if they kill her. She’s dead to me anyway. But I don’t want to be involved in it. I don’t want to see her ever again, not dead or alive,” Savio muttered, filling his glass again.

Remo began pacing the room. Silence fell over us as we watched him, knowing he was close to an outburst. “She tried to kill us all, Adamo. She would still kill us if she got the chance. Sick or not, she’s dangerous. You weren’t there. Not really.”

“She isn’t the same woman as she was. You have no right to kill her without all of our consent,” Adamo insisted.

Remo leaned down, bringing his face close to Adamo’s. “Do you really think you know her? Don’t be naïve. You keep trusting the wrong people.”

Adamo jutted out his chin. I raised a hand before this could get out of control.

“We don’t have to decide it today. Right now, I have to help Kiara with Alessio, and your birthday is soon, Adamo. After that, we’ll have another discussion, and find a solution.”

“We won’t decide today,” Remo conceded, straightening. “But there is only one solution.”

Kiara rocked Alessiogently against her chest as we made our way to our bedroom. It was earlier than our usual bedtime, but Kiara hadn’t slept much and I not at all last night.

Surprise filled her face when she spotted the rollaway crib beside our bed.

“Remo and Serafina went out shopping for Alessio this morning. They got this and a few other things for the nursery.”

“I’ll have to thank them tomorrow,” Kiara said as she ran her fingers along the white crib. The inside was a soft blue with white clouds. “Where are we going to have his nursery?”

“I thought the room next door would make sense as long while he’s still young, and I reckon you want to have him sleep in our bedroom the first couple of weeks.”

Kiara gave me an apologetic smile. “I really do. Is that okay for you?”

I moved over to her, stroking her throat and peering down at the small baby sleeping against her chest. “Why wouldn’t it be? He needs us now. After what he’s experienced, he needs to learn trust, and I know having him here will make you happy.”

She nodded, her eyes filled with so much love sometimes it still caught me off guard. Sighing, she turned to the crib and carefully laid Alessio down then stayed bent over him and just watched him. I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “I’ll grab a quick shower.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

When I emerged ten minutes later Kiara had changed into a nightgown and was lying on her side, watching Alessio. She’d removed the bars on the side of the crib facing the bed and was stroking his belly gently.

I climbed into bed behind her and pressed against her back. She released a small breath. “Sometimes I’m scared he’ll disappear if I close my eyes, and that this will turn out to be a dream.”

“It’s not,” I murmured against her neck. “And nothing will take him away from us. He’s ours. Have you chosen his birthday?”

Kiara released a small sigh. “I’ve been thinking about it all day. It seems wrong to decide something like that for a small person.”

“We have no way of finding out his birth date.”

“I know, and I think we should just say he was born July 1^st. It’s the beginning of a new month, a new start. The possibility of new adventures...” She trailed off. “I know I’m putting too much meaning into a simple date, but I feel like he needs a special day.”

“That sounds good. First of July, it is then.”

She nodded. “I’ll always be grateful to Remo and you for bringing him into this family. Many men in our circles wouldn’t want a child that wasn’t their blood, especially not a child from a prostitute. They’d insist to have an heir.”

I trailed my fingers up and down her slender arm. “Alessio is my heir, Kiara. Blood or not. Remo and I don’t care about that. We took Fabiano in and he’s become our family. And I can’t see how it would matter that his birthmother was a whore. It’s got nothing to do with him. He’ll grow up to be a Falcone.”

“Look at everyone in this house. All of our pasts hold horrors in some shape or form, but somehow we’ve come together. Sometimes I’m scared it’ll catch up with us. It’s too perfect, too good.”

I shook my head. “The past is just that. It can only catch up if we allow it to, and we won’t.”

Kiara smiled, and with that beautiful image I extinguished the lights. I believed in the words I’d just said even if Remo and I were still tethered to our past through our mother.

That was our weakness and wouldn’t taint our family.