Page 94 of Mafia Billionaire's Surprise Baby
“Doesn’t matter. You’re still my favorite,” I smile.
On the other end of the phone, I can hear Luna screeching in the background. “Sorry,” Caterina says after telling Luna to go play in another room. “She’s getting a little clingy with the babies on the way.”
“Well. As she should. She’s been an only child for a while. Siblings is going to be a big switch,” I say. As though I have any experience with that.
“Yeah. Sibling stuff is actually why I wanted to call,” Caterina says slowly.
“Oh?”
“Elio told me that you and Sal are trying to find Marco.”
My fingers stop drumming on the railing. “Elio is a tattletale.”
“I’m not stupid, Gia. You’ve been trying to find him ever since he disappeared.”
Dang it. No pregnancy brain for my beloved sister-in-law. “Okay. You got me. What about it?”
She’s quiet for a minute before speaking. “We don’t know where he is. Or what he’s done. If he’s… I guess what I’m saying is that I’d rather have a brother who is loyal than one who isn’t,” she finally finishes. “And I don’t know that Sal is going to be able to make that distinction.”
Ice skates up my spine. “Cat…”
“It would kill him, Gia. If Marco did something really bad and truly betrayed us. It would kill him to see that his hero had done something like that.”
“We don’t know what Marco did or didn’t do,” I say quickly. For a long time, I’ve suspected that Marco might have made some kind of a deal with the Irish. He was the one who was the most set against Elio and I, convinced that we had murdered his parents.
As though we’d kill his parents and our own in the process.
Caterina sighs. “I know. But I’m just saying. For Dino and Sal, Marco was more than just a big brother. He was their world. I’ve always been able to kind of stay in Marco’s good graces, because I’ve been their sister. I got the princess treatment, you know? But Dino and Sal… they got to be his brothers. And if Marco did something really, really irredeemable, then I don’t know that either of them would be able to do what needs to be done.”
I shut my eyes.
“I know, Caterina. And if it comes to that, I’ll be the one to make the right call.”
“I know you will, Gia. You’re one tough cookie,” Caterina laughs.
“That’s the nicest way anyone has ever called me a bitch,” I snort.
“Well. It’s true. You’re tough as nails. And Sal is a lot, but I don’t know that he’s on that same level. You know? At his heart, he’s as much of a softie as the rest of them. Maybe even more so,” Caterina sighs.
If she knew that her brother was a ruthless billionaire in his own right… Nah. Caterina deserves the image she has of her brother.
Plus, Sal’s the one who hides who he is from her. It’s not my place to change that.
“I know, kitty-Cat,” I use a nickname that I know will drive her nuts. “Kiss Luna and my other babies for me.”
“When you have babies of your own, you’re going to know exactly how annoying that sentence is.”
A bolt of ice hits my heart. I’m not built for having kids. I don’t know how I could survive it. Having people who are constantly in my space, constantly close to me? I’ve seen the level of vulnerability it takes from Caterina, who is an amazing mom for Luna.
I don’t know that I could do it.
“We’ll see about that. Love you, sis.”
“Love you too.”
I hang up the phone and wonder if I should tell Sal about Caterina’s thoughts. There is definitely the possibility, still, that Marco has done something truly irredeemable. That he somehow sold the family out to the Irish, and that’s why he’s there.
But something in my gut tells me that’s not right.