Mafia Obsession

Alicia

My dad hasn’t left my side since he agreed to fly me back to Philadelphia. All I want right now is to be near Rick, but at least Dad didn’t succeed in tearing us apart. Rick has stayed

away from me since we got on his plane, and I know my father is the reason.

The medic patched me up as best he could in the ambulance, and I feel better now I’m not slowly bleeding to death. Once we get to the Romano mansion, Rick has a hospital and on-site doctor who can tend to me.

“How are you feeling?” Dad asks. I glare at him. “Fine.”

He shakes his head. “Alicia, you put me through hell while you were gone.” His voice breaks slightly, and it’s only at that moment, I notice the dark rings around his eyes. He hasn’t been sleeping. A heaviness falls on my chest.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice, and falling in love with Rick wasn’t something I foresaw.”

He runs his hand over the back of his neck at the mention of Rick. “I want the best for you, princess. The thought of you living so far away is horrible.”

I grab my dad’s hand. “Maybe you and Janice could move to Philly?” His brow furrows. “We can’t move. What about my business?”

“If you combine forces with Rick, then you can run any business you want from there.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t trust him.” He seems to notice the hurt on my face. “Not yet, anyway. I don’t know him, other than his infamous reputation.”

I smile. “Once you get to know him, I’m sure you’ll both get on. He’s not as brutal as the rumors suggest.”

He gives me a disbelieving look. “That’s not how it looked when he beat the shit out of Austin.”

I sigh heavily. Dad is right. Rick is brutal, but then so is my father. “Don’t tell me you haven’t done things like that in your past. I know you have.”

“I have, but I never wanted you to find a man like me, sweetheart.” He squeezes my hand. “I wanted you to settle down with a nice boy, like your friend, Harry. A boy who has nothing to do with the mafia or crime.”

“I can’t help who I fell in love with.”

He brushes a single hair from my face and tucks it behind my ear. “You remind me so much of your mother.”

The mention of my mom makes my chest ache and my heart pound hard. My dad rarely talks about her. He still, to this day, blames himself for her death, which is ridiculous.

She died of cancer, but they caught it late. He insisted that if he had been more attentive to her, they would have found it before it was too late.

He loved her so much. I’m not sure why he married Janice two years ago. Perhaps it was loneliness, but I know he doesn’t love her like he loved my mom. She died when I was ten years old, and I still have so many memories of her. It hurts so much to think about her.

“She was as beautiful and strong as you.”

Tears prickle my eyes. “You will make me cry.”

The plane dips suddenly, and my heart leaps into my throat. “What the hell was that?”

My dad sighs. “Turbulence. You even inherited your mother’s dislike of flying.”

I clear my throat. “Why don’t you ever talk about Mom?”

His eyes are filled with pain as he looks at me. “It hurts too much, but when I see you with Rick, it reminds me of what true love is like.” He shakes his head. “I know what Janice and I have is not a patch on it.”

I feel such relief hearing him say that. The last thing I want is for him to hate Rick because of the odd way we got together. “You deserve to be happy again, Dad.”

He smiles sadly. “Don’t get me wrong, I care for Janice, but it’s not the love that you share with Rick or that I had with your mom.” He shakes his head. “That is a once in a lifetime love.”

Someone clears their throat in the doorway of the small bedroom cabin, and I glance up to see Rick standing there. “Can I have a word?”

Dad nods, before leaving us alone.

“How are you holding up?” He cocks his head to the side, remaining by the door.

“Holding up fine.” I hold out a hand for him to take, wanting him to be close.

He glances at my hand with a conflicted look. “You could have died because of me.” He walks toward me and our hands touch.

“Let’s not talk about that.” I pull him close. “Kiss me instead.”

He glances out of the bedroom door, which is still open, searching for any sign of my dad. When he looks back at me, his eyes are glimmering. He shifts toward me and cups my face in his hands, bringing his lips near. His breath teases against my lips as he waits a moment, teasing me.

I whimper in anticipation, waiting obediently for him to close the gap. Finally, he kisses me soft and tender. The pain of my wound easing slightly as I finally feel whole again.

HELEN, the doctor, approaches us warily. My dad is standing on one side of my hospital bed and Rick on the other. The tension in the air is high, and the look on her face makes me anxious. Perhaps the bullet did more damage than we expected.

“I’ve got your results back,” she says. I swallow hard. “Is there a problem?”

She shakes her head. “No, it’s a flesh wound, and the bullet didn’t hit any bone material.” Her brow furrows, and she walks forward. “I assume you already know that you are…” she trails off, searching my face for the answer.

“That I’m what?” I ask.

Her eyes narrow, and she glances down at her clipboard, tapping her pen against it. She looks between Rick and my father. “Perhaps you’d prefer it if

I speak with you alone?”

I shake my head. “Anything you need to say can be said in front of Rick and my dad.”

She takes in a deep breath. “I assumed you already knew you were pregnant.” She glances between Rick and me.

It feels like my world falls out from beneath me, and I spiral downward.

Pregnant?

I knew there was a risk, obviously, as we didn’t take precautions. The thing is no one ever expects it to happen. We’d been making love every day since the first time. I can’t understand why the news shocks me far more than it should. “Is the baby okay?”

The doctor nods. “Yes, I believe so, but as you’re only a few weeks pregnant, I want to monitor your vitals for two days.

Rick squeezes my hand, making me glance at him. My heart aches to see tears gathering in his eyes. A man so powerful brought to tears by news of our baby. “Pregnant,” he breathes.

I laugh and squeeze his hand back. “It’s rather unexpected.”

He nods, cupping my chin in his hands. “Yes, but good news.”

I glance at my dad, who has gone a little pale. He isn’t smiling. In fact, he looks shell shocked. “Dad, are you okay?”

He shakes his head. “I’m going to be a grandfather.” Dad smiles, surprising me. “I can’t believe it.”

Rick looks as shocked as me as I glance back at him.

“I may not be happy yet with this arrangement, but I am happy that I will have a grandchild to spoil.” He gives me a tight hug.

The doctor clears her throat. “It’s still very early days.” She glances at her clipboard. “Your health is good, but I must have regular checkups after I’ve kept you in for monitoring.”

“Every week,” Rick says.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

She nods her head. “Of course, sir.” I watch as she notes it down. “Perfect.” She clutches the clipboard to her chest. “Get some rest, and I’ll check in with you in a few hours.”

“Okay, thank you, Doctor.” I watch her as she turns to leave.

I glance at Rick once she is out of earshot. “Isn’t every week a bit extreme?”

Rick shakes his head. “Nope, we’ve got an on-site doctor. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a quick checkup every week to make sure everything is okay.”

“I agree,” Dad says.

I shrug. “Fair enough.” I glance at my dad. “Do you mind giving Rick and me some time alone?”

My dad glares at Rick for a moment before sighing. “Fine, get some rest, and I’ll be back to check on you later.” He kisses me on the cheek.

“Thanks.” I watch him as he walks stiffly out of the home hospital.

Rick kisses me the moment he’s gone. I finally feel right again the moment he touches me. “I won’t deny that whenever we had sex, I secretly hoped you’d get pregnant,” he says.

My eyes widen. “I never even thought about it until after the second time.” I shake my head. “Even then, I assumed it wasn’t too much of a risk since you had said nothing.”

He laughs. “You are so innocent. I’ve corrupted you, haven’t I?” “I’m not innocent.” I pout at him.

He brushes his lips over mine gently. “You are, and I love it. I never thought about starting a family until I met you.” He moves back to stare into my eyes. “In fact, I never thought about getting emotionally involved with a woman at all.”

My stomach flutters. “I must be a lucky woman then.”

He grabs my hand and presses it to his lips. “I’m the lucky one, not you.” He shakes his head. “I still can’t believe you jumped in front of a bullet for me.”

“Thank God I did.”

He swallows hard, and his eyes move down to my belly. “If you had died or lost the baby…”

I grab his hand. “I didn’t, so don’t waste another thought on it.” It must be difficult for a man like him to accept that I took a bullet for him. He probably wishes it was the other way around.

He nods and straightens his back, eyes glazing over. “You’re right.” He sets his hand on my stomach. “From now on, I will protect you and our baby with all I’ve got. I promise.”

I can’t help but smile at the man who captured my heart. The meeting with my father didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped. Getting shot was never something I’d contemplated. It brings home how dangerous this life can be.

Bringing a baby into a world like ours is even more frightening. A child who we both will cherish, but have to protect from such a terrible aspect of our lives. All that matters is that we are together and alive. We will figure everything else out in time.