Bound By Blood: Anthology by Cora Reilly

 

Aria

It was late March when I started to feel small changes in my body, like tension in my breasts and just the subtle sensation that something was off. I suspected at once that I was pregnant but I didn’t mention anything to Luca that morning because I wanted to be certain before telling him. The moment he left, I texted Gianna, asking her to come up and bring a pregnancy test from her stash. She usually had a pregnancy scare at least every other month so she always kept a few tests on hand.

Since Demetrio would leave soon to become Underboss of Washington, Luca and Matteo had decided to change the way we were guarded. Gianna and I didn’t want new guards around us constantly so for a few weeks now, Demetrio and the other guards had moved into a room on the ground floor of the complex from where they could follow several cameras that showed them images from the elevator, underground garages, lobby as well as the immediate surroundings of the building. It guaranteed our protection while allowing Gianna and myself more freedom. I woke Marcella and went through our morning routine of brushing our hair and teeth, before I dressed her in a cute red wool dress and white tights and headed downstairs.

“Gianna will come over for breakfast this morning.”

“Yay,” Marcella screeched, clapping her hands. Having Gianna over meant fun activities and fewer rules but recently my sister had been busy becoming a yoga instructor, which I still found funny. She’d never struck me as someone who had the patience for something like yoga, but the activity seemed to ground her and gave her something to keep busy in addition to her online studies to become a nutritionist.

The elevator arrived on our floor shortly after, and Gianna got out, waving two tests in the air. Dressed in tight black leggings, an oversized black pullover with a huge glittery Kiss tongue and black boots, she looked like a rock band groupie. I doubted she owned a single piece of clothing that wasn’t black. Gianna had really found her own style, and most women in the Famiglia didn’t approve of it. Not that they had liked Gianna before.

“I can’t believe he got you knocked up this quickly. That guy only needs to look at you and you’re already pregnant.”

Marcella frowned up at me. “What’s that mean?”

“I don’t know if I’m pregnant,” I told Gianna, then to my daughter. “Nothing, sweetheart. Let’s have breakfast.” I put Marcella into her high chair before I grabbed everything for her banana oatmeal.

Gianna gave me a one-armed hug then shoved the tests at me. “Go pee on them. I’ll make breakfast for little miss princess.” She tickled Marcella’s tummy, who giggled delightedly.

“Here, give her a few of these to keep her busy until then,” I said as I handed Gianna a handful of raspberries.

“You should add Brazil or macadamia nuts to her breakfast for the healthy fats,” Gianna said thoughtfully.

“Check the cupboards. I don’t know if we have any.” Laughing, I slipped into the guest bathroom. It was wonderful to see Gianna being passionate about something. Life as a woman in our world could get monotonous very quickly if you didn’t find something to occupy yourself with.

Once I was done peeing on the tests, Gianna joined me inside to wait for the results, leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms. Marcella was busy eating her raspberries but I could tell that she was growing impatient from the way she bounced her little legs.

“Usually I find it nerve-wracking to wait for the test, but now that it’s for you, I’m actually excited,” she said.

“Are you that scared of getting pregnant?”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t say scared but I don’t want kids so I don’t want to be put in that position.”

“If you and Matteo are absolutely sure you don’t want kids, why don’t you opt for a more final solution?”

Gianna scoffed. “You know how men are… especially Made Men. Matteo doesn’t want to be castrated, how he put it.”

“Hmm,” I said, my eyes darting to the pregnancy test on the sink once more. The time was up by now, wasn’t it?

Gianna wasn’t as patient as me. She stepped forward, grabbed the test and grinned. “Congrats, your vajayjay is getting shredded again.”

“Really?”

Gianna snorted. “Never thought anyone could be this excited about the prospect of that.” She held out the test to me and indeed, I was pregnant. Smiling, I hugged my sister.

She held me tightly. “I’m happy for you.”

Excitement bubbled up in me. I hadn’t expected things to happen so fast and I couldn’t wait to tell Luca. It would definitely boost his ego, not that he was in need of that.

“Come on. Let’s have breakfast together,” I said, suddenly starving now that my nervousness had evaporated.

Gianna and I settled at the table beside Marcella, whose lips and cheeks were tinged pink from eating the raspberries. I wiped her face with a napkin then brushed a few strands of her black hair from her face. Gianna set a bowl with oatmeal down in front of my daughter, then two bigger bowls in front of us. They were sprinkled with nuts, so she had actually found them in our cupboards. I’d have to thank Marianna tomorrow for always making sure our shelves were stocked with an array of food.

Marcella hummed when she shoved her spoon with oatmeal into her mouth and I smiled, trying to imagine how I’d be sitting here with two children soon.

“Marci is already ridiculously beautiful. Luca needs to build a tower where he can lock her in once she hits puberty,” Gianna commented.

I snorted then took a spoon of the oatmeal. It tasted better than mine. Maybe I should ask Gianna to come over and cook us breakfast every day. “Do you take cooking lessons with your college classes?”

“God, no. I prefer telling people what they’re supposed to cook and not cook it myself, but oatmeal isn’t really rocket science.”

“If you say so…”

Gianna rolled her eyes then we both burst out laughing. “I wish Lily lived closer so she could just come over like you do.”

“I know,” Gianna said. “But Romero needs to protect his mother and sisters… yadda yadda.”

“Well, he’s the only man in the family, and his youngest sister and mother still need protection. You know how it is.”

“We all need protection, always.”

“Tell me about your classes. Are you still happy with them?” I asked, deciding to distract Gianna from the topic that always riled her up, and at once, her expression transformed.

“I love it. It’s super interesting to learn about the different effects macro and micronutrients have on our well-being.”

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do with your degree once you’re done?” I lifted Marcella out of her high chair because she was getting bored and set her down on the floor so she could get something to play.

Gianna crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. “Do you think it’s a waste of time like Luca does?” She huffed. “I get it. I can’t do the Famiglia’s books like you do…”

“I didn’t say that.” Luca definitely had, though, but he and Gianna were like cat and mouse anyway, so it was a given.

“I’ve actually thought it through. I can be useful for our cause with my degree. Our men are protective maniacs; every man in our circle is, so it’s difficult for women to go out by themselves. Not every Made Man has as many soldiers at his disposal as Luca and Matteo do, but they all have wives who want to look pretty so they can make their husbands happy.”

I cocked an eyebrow at Gianna’s derisive tone, even if she had a point.

“So I was thinking of opening a ladies’ gym only for Famiglia women where I can give yoga classes and diet consultations. Money isn’t really an issue so I’d pack it with amazing equipment, look for staff among our women, and Matteo could make sure that we always have a few guards who keep us and the gym safe.”

“That sounds great.”

“I know,” Gianna said with a grin. “I hide a clever brain behind my pretty façade.”

“You’re as vain as Matteo.”

Gianna poked out her tongue at me.

“That’s bad!” Marcella shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her aunt, who turned to her and poked out her tongue again.

Marcella giggled then her own tongue darted out with a cheeky grin.

I sighed, stifling a smile. Maybe it was for the best that Gianna and Matteo didn’t have kids…

When Luca returned from work that evening in time for dinner, I was practically bouncing on my feet and the second he spotted me, his brows drew together.

“What’s the matter?”

He headed over to where I was stirring pasta into a bowl of tomato sauce, and kissed me. Marcella was busy watching an episode of her favorite show. She was allowed to watch it while I prepared dinner and barely looked away from the screen, completely mesmerized. Setting down the spoon, I grinned up at Luca.

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered, remembering the last time I had found out about my pregnancy with Marcella. Luca and I had been fighting during the first few months of the pregnancy so I didn’t tell him until much later and it had been horrible.

Luca blinked then a slow smile took over his face and he lifted me off the ground to crush me against his chest. His lips found mine, soft and warm, and when he pulled back, he looked as happy as I felt. It was a look only very few people ever saw on Luca’s face; Marcella, Matteo, and I were probably the only ones who knew Luca’s honest smile; not the smirk, not the cold smile, not the arrogant smile or the one that was full of threat. No, this one reflected true happiness. I swallowed hard, overcome with emotions.

Luca touched my still flat belly and shook his head in apparent amazement. “How far along are you?”

I laughed. “Only about five weeks. It’s still very early. We should wait until we tell the others. I don’t want people to find out before we are certain that the baby is fine.”

Luca shook his head. “We won’t tell them until you’re farther along but not because we’ll lose our child. Nothing will ever happen to you or our baby, Aria. I won’t allow it.”

He sounded absolutely certain, as if even Mother Nature, even my body, would listen to his command, but we both knew that wasn’t the case. Still Luca’s certainty made me feel better and I smiled.

Luca seemed even more nervous about the doctor’s appointment than me when I settled on the examination table. I was in my eighteenth week and the chances were good that we’d find out the gender of our baby today. If it was a girl, Luca and I would definitely try for a third child because he needed an heir, and I was actually not against the idea. A big family was something I wanted more and more since we’d had Marcella. I loved being surrounded by family: Gianna, Marcella, Lily… I wanted a house full of laughter.

The doctor smiled at me when she entered the room but spotting Luca her lips pinched. She didn’t like the way he threatened the staff so they accommodated us outside of the usual office hours and kept their silence about us. He gave her a curt nod, but didn’t move from his spot beside me, nor did he sit down.

I squeezed his hand and his eyes softened ever so slightly when they settled on me. The doctor began the ultrasound and I watched the screen with bated breath, but I couldn’t see if it was a boy or girl.

“Is everything all right?” Luca asked with a hint of impatience after a minute of silence from the doctor.

She peered up at him with a tense smile. “Everything is as it should be. You’re expecting a boy, congratulations.”

For a moment, I didn’t move. Marcella would be a wonderful big sister to a baby boy. Maybe she wouldn’t be as jealous if she remained the princess in the family, and I loved the idea of having a small Luca in my life, a tiny version of the man I loved more than anything else in the world.

Luca stroked his thumb along the back of my hand, the only sign of affection he’d allow himself in public. Luca and I would make sure that our boy had a better childhood than Luca and Matteo. Luca’s face was stone but in his eyes, I could see the hint of wariness. I could imagine the worries going through his head. Even with Marcella he’d worried he’d be like his father, would be too harsh or cruel, but nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe he wouldn’t be as lenient with a boy as he was with a daughter, but that was it.

Now wasn’t the time to discuss the test results, not while the doctor did the ultrasound and we weren’t alone.

The moment we were back in our car, I took Luca’s hand. “You will be a wonderful dad to our boy. I just know it. You’ll love him like you love me and Marcella. I know you will be patient and loving and you won’t hurt him.”

Luca raised my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles but he didn’t say anything.

Luca

Aria sounded absolutely certain and I wished I could feel the same way but I knew raising a boy in our world required me to make him strong, to make him tough, to make him ruthless. Our boy would become Capo one day, he would rule over the Famiglia and the entire East Coast. For him to be ready for that task, he needed to be a killer, he needed to be cruel and brutal, resistant to pain and fear. My father had loved torturing Matteo and me like he loved torturing our mother and later Nina. He’d relished in our pain, in our fear; hardening us had happened automatically. Matteo and I became used to pain from an early age, had seen horrible things in our own home, had seen our father commit horrendous crimes when we were barely old enough to walk.

How would I handle a boy?Aria was still smiling at me with a face full of kindness and love. It let my own heart swell with the same emotions. Though, Aria and Marcella were the only people I was kind to, the only people I wanted to treat that way. But a boy, a small version of me… that was another story.

If he was anything like me, like the men in my family, he’d be difficult to handle, would love the kill and inflicting pain. Showing him kindness would be difficult. I’d have to encourage his dark side, his brutality, would have to make sure he became even more bloodthirsty. How could I harden a boy for our world, for the task of becoming Capo, if not with violence?

I didn’t know and I wasn’t sure if there was even a way, if I would even try going the gentle route. Maybe I wouldn’t feel the same hesitation, the same revulsion when thinking about hurting him, as I did with Aria and Marcella. When I looked at them, at their innocent faces, I couldn’t imagine hitting them, or worse. The idea of inflicting pain on my daughter or my wife made me sick to my stomach while inflicting pain on other people had always only brought me joy.

“What are you thinking?” Aria asked softly.

I drew my eyes away from the traffic, realizing I hadn’t reacted to her earlier comment, too lost in my whirring thoughts. “Just about how it’s going to be with a boy.”

“It’s going to be all right.” She squeezed my thigh and I put my hand on hers. “Have you thought about a name for him? With Marcella, you wanted your grandmother’s name, so I wondered if you want to do the same with a boy.”

“Name him after my father or grandfather? After men who tortured their children and wives?” I released a dark laugh. Those names would never be part of our family again. They’d died with their despicable owners.

“Well, I don’t want to name our son after my father or grandfather either.”

“We’ll find a name for him that doesn’t carry the baggage of the past,” I said.