Mafia's Desire

34

I woke up to the sound of Ermanno's voice. It was quiet and a few feet away and he was talking to someone I couldn't hear. He must've been on the phone.

The conversation went on for a few moments longer before Ermanno placed his phone on the bedside table and walked around the bed to stand next to me.

"You're awake, Fiore," he said, stroking his pointer finger down my cheek.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Dante," he said. I recognized that name as one of their men.

He sat down on the bed next to me and moved so his head was over mine. "We are leaving the apartment," he said.

I sighed, anticipating that. I hoped that he, Violet, and I would stay here until the end of my year lease when we would all move back into Ermanno's house.

But, given the circumstances, I understood why it would be safer to be at Ermanno's house now. I hadn't been there in quite some time so if Michael had somehow been tracking me, he probably wouldn't have known about Ermanno's house.

In the entire time I'd been here, he hadn't been alerted of any unknown vehicles or people visiting his property.

Ermanno's house was safe.

"When are we leaving?" I asked.

"As soon as you get up and we pack," he said.

I nodded and raised myself into a seated position. "What about the nursery?" I asked. I had worked so hard to make a beautiful space for Violet and me after she was born.

"I will send people back here in a few days to move all the furniture and decorations. We can make a new nursery at the house."

I nodded, though I was disappointed by this entire situation. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Ermanno held my hands and helped me up from the bed. We spent the next half an hour packing all the things I wanted to bring.

Then, he escorted me to a car and slid into the driver's seat next to me. Reaching over, I grabbed his hand and held it tightly. He circled his arm around my shoulders and pulled me as close as he could, pressing a kiss to my temple.

"I love you," he said against the top of my head.

"I love you, too."

When we left, another black vehicle followed a distance behind us. Georgio was in that vehicle. Two others stayed at the apartment complex where they'd continue to monitor the area for any suspicious people or vehicles.

When we arrived at Ermanno's house, Arsenio and two other men who I'd never seen before were there to greet us.

"Carry everything up to the bedroom," Ermanno said when one of the guys opened the trunk.

They grabbed my bags of clothes and other belongings that I was able to pack that morning and pulled them from the car.

Ermanno and Arsenio discussed security measures or something, I wasn't too sure, I was distracted by the defeat I felt.