Page 80 of Mafia Billionaire's Surprise Baby

“After you, Gia,” Gabriel gestures, his hand on an ancient looking wooden door.

I press past him and duck inside.

Sal, ever behind me, follows.

Inside, there’s a quaint little couch area, set up next to some windows that look pretty industrial. They might have once been a factory or something, but now light filters through them easily onto the floor, painting the furniture and the room with a golden glaze.

Gabriel settles into a chair, and we do the same. He gestures for tea, and it appears.

I take my cup. “You know I can’t drink this,” I say, blowing on it before I set it down.

“Gia,” Gabriel puts a hand on his chest, “you wound me. You think I would poison you?”

“Yes,” I answer without any other explanation.

“Ah well. You always were a smart one. Tell me, what are you doing in Europe?”

I can’t tell if he’s asking why we are still alive, or why we’re here in general. “Oh, you know. Business.”

“Business, I see,” Gabriel nods. “Business like the explosion that killed the Russians?”

Fuck. “I believe we were also named as dead in that explosion.”

“That you were.”

“So, how will you tell people you saw ghosts?”

I’m trying to gauge his interest in this, and whether or not he’ll rat us out.

Gabriel wrinkles his nose. “I find it best to leave ghosts alone. Should they come back to life, they can choose that path. Plus, it is advantageous, no? If the world thinks you are dead, they will not look for you.”

“That’s the idea.”

“Ah. I see. Well, I am willing to keep the ghosts and leave them in their graves, if you are willing to help me.”

I tilt my head. “With what?”

He gestures for something, and a dark-suited man zooms in, handing Gabriel a jar. Gabriel opens it, the metal snapping in the room. “Do you like French jellies, Gia and bodyguard?”

“Not a gelled goods person, actually,” I say.

Gabriel nods. “These are delicious. They are made with the highest quality French fruits, of course. And something else.”

“Like what?”

“A secret ingredient. One that I very much hope can expand, with the help of my friends the Rossi’s, who also have a very good pathway for expansion.”

“What’s the ingredient, Gabriel?”

His smile widens. “Medicinal, of course.”

“Medicinal how?”

“Well, medicinal mushrooms.”

I shut my eyes, smiling despite myself. “You make jelly that gets people high.”

“Ah, but it is perfect. They do not show up on a drug test. You can control your dose, and they do not taste foul, as mushrooms are known to do. I have made quite an impact with them, and they are used excessively along the coast and in Ibiza.