Nico (The Rossi Mafia)

Chapter 20 - Nico

I now felt like I was leading a double life.

Our baby was on the way. Kennedy was excited and so was I. We were both looking forward to bringing home our little bundle of joy. The more time I spent with her, the more I realized how important she was to me. Exactly what she meant to me. I was in love with Kennedy and there was no denying it anymore.

Soon after that night in her apartment, when I'd failed in convincing her to run away with me; I suggested that she should move in with me.

I wanted her to live in a better home. I was going to make sure that our baby grew up in a decent neighborhood. Besides, keeping Kennedy close to me was the only way I could keep an eye on her. Know exactly where she was at all times.

I knew I was growing more paranoid by the day, but I couldn't help it. Things with the family business hadn't improved either. My father was still running operations the way he always did.

Our enemies threatened us day and night, and my father started fights with them to egg them on. Dead bodies were turning up everywhere. The new accountant who'd been hired was found murdered in his home. Two of our men were already lost to a shootout.

Just as many of our men and connections died, the same number of our enemies died too. My father made sure of it.

It seemed like it was never going to end. Everyone was out on a revenge-thirst against us and every day that I woke up; I was afraid for Kennedy and the baby that was growing inside her.

She had told me she didn't want to hear anything about my work and I kept it that way. I was carrying the burden of our safety alone on my shoulders. Kennedy had enough things to worry about. If our baby would be healthy, what we were going to name him or her, what kind of mother she wanted to be.

I spent my days watching her, helping her paint the nursery in our apartment and fill it up with all the things she thought our baby would need. I was happy to see her happy.

When I was around her, I forgot about my other life for some time. I didn't want her to see how stressed I was and how afraid I was for her safety. We'd spend the nights together in each other's arms, dreaming about our baby's future and making love.

Then in the morning, after I had safely dropped her off at her office building, I'd drive to wherever my father needed me. I'd threatened him with leaving once, but I wasn't going to do it again. Not unless I really meant it this time. I was just going to have to wait and see if things improved or convince Kennedy to leave town with me.

As happy as I was with Kennedy, and as blissful as our home was—it was getting harder to keep her a secret.

My father and the men I worked with every day, had started to notice that something was going on with me. I was usually late to the job sites these days and too quick to leave. I was never interested in going on drinking binges with the men anymore. Neither was I keen on picking fights with my father.

Before I found out about the baby, I didn't give a shit.

Now, I wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible. I was never going to win any battle that I started with my dad. The only thing I could do was wait and hope for the best. Maybe he thought I'd given up. That I'd finally accepted the way he conducted business. But I hadn't.

Keeping Kennedy and the baby a secret from the family was hard already. I didn't know how I was going to handle it once our child was born. She was living in my apartment. We had a life together. It wouldn't be long before my father or someone from the family spotted us somewhere and put the pieces together.