Undressed By The Mafia God

He bent and kissed her hair. "One minute."

"Fine," Vee grumbled.

Luca chuckled and walked towards the seed vendor, but his eyes never fully left his wife and Matteo. "One bag of seeds, please."

The vendor handed one over. Luca reached for his wallet, and that was when he noticed the patrol vehicle parked near the curb.

Two officers were inside. Their attention was not on the road. Not on the park in general. Their eyes were locked on the bench where Vee sat with Matteo.

Luca smiled. Another little kindness from Valentina’s panic. How stupid could one little girl be? At this point, she did not even need help exposing herself to her sister. She was practically building the gallows. Val must have panicked the second he left with the child.

That amused him. Valentina was afraid he would hurt Matteo, his own nephew, not by blood but still. Marco considered the baby his, Vee adored the child. Did the girl not know him at all? Yes, he may have sounded a bit threatening at the house but God...

He really thought the girl would consider the fragility of her sister’s situation and at least back down. Vee was pregnant. Happy. Any sister with sense would have kept the peace until the child inside Veronica was stronger or at least born.

But it seemed Valentina had chosen to continue. If Valentina thought he would deliver the news of her treachery to Vee while she was pregnant and still healing, then she was delusional.

He handed the cash to the vendor and picked up the bag of seeds. The patrol officers were still watching. He headed back to Vee and sat down beside her, opening the bag. "I want to say you have weird hobbies," Vee said, watching the doves waddle closer with shameless interest, "but then I find it cute."

Luca paused with his hand inside the paper bag of seeds. His head turned slowly. "Any other word but cute, please...You make me sound like Matteo."

Vee looked at Matteo, who was currently smacking the tray of his walker with both palms, absolutely thrilled by the existence of birds. Then she looked back at Luca.

"Adorable?"

"God, no."

"Soft-hearted?"

"Will you just stop?!"

"Animal-loving mafia boss?"

"That sounds like a headline."

Vee smiled. The same man who would burn a city for her could not walk past hungry animals without feeding them.

That tenderness would always be the hope she clung to. It proved there were pieces of Luca untouched by the darkness around him.

He threw a few seeds onto the ground. The doves came quickly. Within seconds, they were surrounded by bold little creatures with bobbing heads. Matteo let out a delighted squeal, kicking his legs against the walker.

Vee looked down at the doves as they gathered around the bench, pecking at seeds and shuffling over one another. The smell of food from a nearby cart drifted across the path, and her stomach chose that moment to growl.

His eyes flicked to her stomach with instant concern. "Hungry?"

"I’m not sure but I have been eating a lot in bits and pieces." She stood carefully. "Would you watch the baby? I want to get a hot dog."

He nodded. "Go."

"Do not let him eat seeds."

"Go! I will watch the baby."

Vee narrowed her eyes, then leaned down and kissed Matteo’s head. "Be good for Uncle Luca." She turned towards the hot dog cart, leaving Luca seated on the bench with the birds at his feet and Matteo pulled close beside him.

Normally, Luca would have watched his wife. But this time, he kept his attention on the park. He looked down at Matteo.

The baby was still fascinated by the doves, his mouth open in wonder.

"Wanna play a little game of count the cops?" Luca asked him.

Matteo ignored him and continued making excited sounds at the birds.

Luca smiled. "Fair. Babies and animals. Why do I always envy your lives?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocketknife. He pulled Matteo’s walker even closer.

The baby rolled a little nearer. Luca flipped the knife open. He had barely made any gesture before the reaction came.

"Stop! NYPD!"

Voices tore through the calm. The doves scattered first, wings bursting upward. Matteo startled, blinking at the sudden chaos.

The two cops from the patrol car were already running towards him. The plainclothes officer that had blended into the park dropped the act entirely and lifted his gun, aiming it at Luca with both hands.

Around them, the park changed instantly. Parents grabbed children. Vee, halfway through ordering, spun around so fast her hair flew over one shoulder.

"Drop the weapon!"

Luca lifted both hands slowly, palms open. The knife slipped from his grip and fell to the ground with a small, harmless sound. His eyes stayed on Matteo who was beginning to sound like he was going to cry. Luca smiled. "You got three cops watching you, Matteo. How cool is that?"

"Get on your knees," the cop ordered.

That was when Vee arrived. She came fast, one hand holding a hot dog, her eyes blazing.

"You guys want to aim those things away from my husband and nephew?" she snapped.

Luca turned his head slightly. And he was reminded again just how much he loved her. Her instinct to protect.

One of the officers kept his gun trained on Luca. "Ma’am, stand back."

"He was going to hurt the baby!" another said.

Luca’s brows rose. "I was trying to rip the band of my wristwatch off. It’s stuck."

That was an outrageous lie. Vee knew it, she also did not care. There were times to interrogate one’s husband about why he had decided to provoke armed police. This was not one of those times. This was the time to make sure no trigger-happy idiot mistook Luca’s smug face for probable cause.

Vee stepped forward. "You people have nothing better to do?"

"Stand back, ma’am, now!"