Becca.
After gelato, Jas escorted us to a nice study lined with books and scattered with comfortable furniture. Jas poured us so after-dinner drinks—grappa—and we sat on two sofas, Jas next to , Sofia across on another loveseat.
“Are you ready to get up and do all of this again tomorrow?” Sofia asked, winking at us. “There’s a wake at the Cathedral before mass, is there not?”
I groaned and leaned my head against Jas’s shoulder. “My feet are never going to survive.”
“Might I suggest flats?” Jas said.
Sofia and I both looked at him in horror.
“Bite your tongue, sir! Flats. At an Italian funeral. My dear mama is probably rolling in her grave,” Sofia responded, crossing herself.
“I don’t want to sha your uncle at his own funeral by failing to dress appropriately,” I added.
Jas held up his hands. “I give in. Forget I said anything.” He leaned in and kissed my temple. “We’ll find you a nice chair.”
“Thank you,” I replied with a smile.
Sofia let out a soft sigh. “You two are so adorable together. I hope your father cos around.”
“I hope so, too. I wish he could see your better qualities, Jas,” I murmured.
Jas shrugged. “I’ll wiggle my way into his good graces one way or another.”
“I have no idea how you plan to do that, but I hope it works,” I said.
“It will. He’ll have to forgive eventually. And then I’ll grow on him. Like moss,” Jas grinned.
Sofia and I both laughed.
“I don’t know, Becca. Will you wait until he gets formal permission from your father?” Sofia asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Well, I suppose Jas would have to ask first,” I said with wide-eyed innocence. “Who knows what I’LL say.”
Sofia looked sharply at Jas and spoke in rapid Italian.
Jas spoke back, sounding defensive.
“Ack, n.” Sofia shook her head. “Always waiting too long.”
“Well, in Jas’s defense, I honestly don’t know what I’d say if he asked now,” I defended him. “It’s all very complicated.”
Jas nodded and seed about to say sothing when his phone rang. “Excuse , ladies. I need to take this,” he said, frowning at the screen.
Without saying another word, Jas rose and stalked out of the study, speaking in rapid Italian over the phone.
“I do not envy the person he is talking to,” Sofia mumbled, her eyes wide.
****
Jas.
“Greg? How did you get this number?” I asked after the Italian switchboard person connected to him.
“Good evening to you, too,” Greg said, sounding displeased.
“What do you want?” I grunted.
“Well, what I wanted was for you to stay in Japan under the na Lester Johnson, but since that doesn’t appear to be happening, I am calling to officially tell you that you’ve been discharged from WitSec.” Greg’s tone was sour.
I sighed. “Greg, I had my family to think of...”
“You had your family to think of. Yes, I understand they’ve been in a great deal of trouble recently,” Greg replied. “And I suppose if I were in your shoes, I couldn’t fault you, but your ‘returning from the dead’ is going to have consequences, Jas.”
“Are you going to try to extradite and send to prison?” I scoffed.
Greg growled. “Don’t think I couldn’t. Italy has an extradition treaty with the United States, after all. But no, that’s not why I’m calling. Your ‘death’ has been ‘overturned,’ officially, you might say. So now your enemies will know you’re alive.”
“They already figured out I was alive,” I grumbled. “I wouldn’t worry about that. I can take care of myself and my family, thank you very much. So, if there’s nothing else, I’ll thank you for trying and—”
“There is sothing else,” Greg said.
I paused. “Pardon?”
“I said there is sothing else. Alessandro, Becca, and you have been summoned in a custody case. It seems Carter and Cecelia Cartwright are suing for custody of Alessandro,” Greg went on. “You’re going to have to return to New York with Ms. Woods.”
“Says who? Chad signed away his parental rights...” I protested.
“They’re saying he did it under duress, and they have witnesses,” Greg said. “That’s about all I know, though. I’d suggest you contact an attorney.”
“I can’t take Becca and Alessandro away from here! It’s not safe!” I gaped at the phone in my hand.
Greg sighed. “I’m not exactly a custody battle expert, but I do know if you fail to appear, it doesn’t look good for the ho team, you know what I’m saying?”
I banged my forehead against a stone wall and counted to ten. “There isn’t anything you can do to stop this?”
“Like I said, Jas, you screwed yourself out of WitSec. But don’t feel too bad. Even if you’d stayed in, this isn’t our wheelhouse. So... I just wanted to warn you to get yourself here and get a damn good attorney before you lose another mber of your family,” Greg said.
My blood ran cold. “Thank you for putting it so bluntly.”
“There isn’t a lot of ti for to hold your hand and sing kumbaya. Now get on a plane and get your shit in order.”
“Gee, thanks,” I replied. “I feel all warm and fuz—”
Greg hung up on .
****
Becca.
Sofia talked about anything and everything under the sun, especially about the children. By the ti we’d been talking for half an hour, I no longer felt threatened by her. I felt silly for even thinking this woman wanted sothing else with Jas, and I could see why he liked her so much. She was very fun and easy to talk to.
When we hit the one-hour point, I realized she really did regret not having children.
At two hours, however, I began to get worried. “Jas has been gone a long ti.”
“Mhm,” Sofia agreed, also looking concerned. “Maybe we should go find him. I imagine he is in his office. It sounded like a work call to .”
I rose from the sofa, and so did Sofia. We made our way quickly towards Jas’s office.
Tony was standing in the office, shaking his head at Jas and speaking in quick, clipped Italian.
“He’s telling Jas he cannot go sowhere,” Sofia whispered to as we stood away from the open door. “That the climate of the family is bad, and he cannot be gone while there is war brewing.”
“Gone? Where’s he going?” I whispered back.
Sofia listened a while longer, frowned, then paled. “Oh dear. Becca, you must speak to Jas right away.”
“What? Why? He’s talking to Tony. He won’t want interrupting their business—”
Sofia interrupted . “This is much more important than business.” She took my hands and gave a long look. “Becca, Jas is a good man. A good man. You must trust him. And accept him. He will make a good husband.”
“What...?” I asked, confused.
“I must go make so phone calls.” Sofia propelled towards Jas’s door. “You go in and speak with Jas.”
Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and walked into Jas’s office, startling both him and Tony. “What’s going on?” I demanded. “Sofia said you’re going sowhere, Jas?”
“Yes,” Jas said.
“No,” Tony replied at the sa ti. “No. He cannot leave. We will triple the guard outside. Let’s see them try to extradite you.”
“Extrad—Jas, are you in so sort of trouble for leaving Witness Protection?” I gasped.
Jas shook his head. “No. That’s not the problem. It’s a different problem. I’ll be talking to you about it shortly. I just need to impress upon Tony that I’m NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES with regard to my family...”
“You should be worried about the greater family. Ronaldo is still out there, gathering followers. If you leave now, it will weaken your position,” Tony argued.
“Why do you need to leave?” I asked again.
“WE need to leave,” Jas said. “With Alessandro. The Cartwrights have co up with so bogus custody hearing sche, and now we’ve either got to produce Alessandro and go to the hearing, or he’s going to be taken from us.”
“WHAT?!” I shrieked.
Tony winced, and I realized I was standing so close to him that I may have blasted out his eardrum. “They won’t be able to co in here and take him. I’m telling you, Jas, this is the worst possible move you could make right now.”
“It’s the only possible move,” Jas replied. “I won’t have Alessandro given over to those abusive bastards, even on paper. No. I’m going, and that’s final.”
“Go back to the part where the Cartwrights—where Chad—is suing for custody of Tally’s child? OUR child?” I wheezed.
Jas grunted. “I made so calls. Apparently, the dipshit managed to make himself into a quadriplegic by playing Russian roulette on so rich kid’s yacht. The Cartwrights are now concerned they don’t have an heir and have decided, even though Chad signed his rights away as a father, they’re going to sue for custody of Alessandro now.”
“They can’t do that, can they?” I whispered.
“Apparently, they can.” Jas pounded a fist on the desktop. “Goddamn those bastards!”
“Don Valentino...” Tony tried again.
“I’m leaving right after the funeral with Becca and Alessandro. I am going to trust you, Tony, to handle things here to the best of your ability. Can you do that for ?” Jas barked.
Tony must have seen it was a losing battle, because he sighed and nodded his head. “I will do what I can, Don Valentino.”
“Thank you.” Jas raked a hand over his hair. “Shit. F*ck. Goddamn.”
“I’ll tell Layla to get Alessandro packed.” I swallowed, then asked, “Should Layla and Dahlia co with us?”
Jas thought for a mont, then shook his head. “Much as I hate for us to be separated from our baby girl, I just don’t think it’s safe to bring her to the States right now. I have an awful feeling about this custody thing.”
“, too.” I kept my composure, however. Nothing was going to be solved by falling apart. A deep, dark part of wondered if I should have asked Jas to kill Chad instead of Ronaldo. But then, I’d never imagined that asshole would ever co back into the picture.
“Go make sure you and Alessandro are packed. And... I’d make sure to pack for a few weeks, at least. I think this might be a tough battle,” Jas muttered.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Because they’re alleging we’re both unfit parents and that I coerced Chad into signing away his parental rights,” Jas said.
I looked at Jas for a long mont, and my stomach twisted. “Oh God, Jas, DID you?”
“Did I what?” Jas responded.
I put my hands on my hips. “Did you coerce Chad into signing away his parental rights?”
“He was more than happy to do so,” Jas said defensively. “I may have given him a little added incentive...”
I groaned and dropped my face into my hands.
“Jas,” I mumbled, “just how f*cked are we?”
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