“Rafe!” Angelo yelled, running towards them. “You’re suffocating him!”Rafe knew exactly what he was doing. He held onto his brother as Renaldo fought, clawing at his hand and arm as he struggled to free himself. Rafe spread his legs further to strengthen his stand.Just a few more seconds, Rafe thought with sinister intent as he listened to his brother begin to gasp for air.“Basta, Rafe, stop!” Angelo yelled, holding onto Renaldo’s arms as if trying to keep him from fighting.“Non, let him fight. He’ll suffocate faster!”“Rafael, per favore basta!” his mother screamed, running down the back steps of the main house towards them.Rafe lowered his head until his lips reached Renaldo’s ear. “I’ll let you go if you promise to tell me the truth. If not, fratello minore, I swear I will drown you, lei cap

Cool it hormones. Pregnancy had her emotions on overdrive, including—a recent development—her libido.What was he still doing here? She turned and her eye caught his belt, it lay on the far end of the couch with his suit jacket socks and watch. He’d gotten comfortable, which meant he’d had no intention of going anywhere after he’d tucked her into bed. The alcohol made sure of it. But, he just lived a short elevator ride down, surely he would have been able to make it?“What are you doing here Rafe?”He raised—no, he pulled up one arm, judging by how heavy it looked as he raised it—and pointed to the ceiling, with one finger, his hand bobbing as his wrist struggled to hold it up. “Carrie moved in,” he said with a slight slur.She sighed, exasperated, “Yes, I know. She’s in the spare bedroom.”Talia didn’t like dealing with drunks, no matte

 “Say that again, he did what?” Carrie’s eyes bugged out of their sockets, ready to fall into her lap. Talia understood her reaction, she was still in shock.“Besides falling asleep in my bed and leaving me with no choice but to sleep next to him? He woke up this morning and went about his business like everything was normal and nothing had happened between us.”She pointed to the island that separated the kitchen from the living room, “He sat across from me, had his breakfast, asked about my plans for the day. Then he reminded me to stay off my feet as much as possible and then left saying ‘see you in the evening’ and if I wanted him to bring something for dinner!”Carrie blinked shaking her head. “Take a breath.”Talia did as instructed, feeling some of the anxiety leave her. She felt like she was in the twilight zone. There was this anxious fear at the familiarity of the wh

“This is a bad idea, Rafe. Think about what you are about to do,” Angelo repeated as he pulled into the driveway of the DeLuca mansion. “You’re not in the right state of mind.”Rafe fisted his hands, pressing them to his thighs to keep from reaching for his cousin and ripping his tongue out. He’d been repeating those words like a broken record since the moment Rafe woke up and blurted out his intention. When he wouldn’t relent and had demanded for his car keys, Angelo finally gave in, offering to drive him to his destination. Though his rage was burning strong and growing with every second, his body was still weak from shock.Never in his life had Rafe ever blacked out, besides that one time he had a panic attack over a year ago. The fear of losing Talia was so strong, it had robbed him of all his senses. It was like his mind and body agreed to shut down and hide because he couldn’t handle the thought of Talia dying.

Months later…Talia waited until they were a few feet away from the nursery before she spoke. “You know you don’t have to come back to Boston with me.”Carrie pouted. “How can I not? You’re my best friend, and I love you.”“But you love him too.”She nodded with a heavy sigh.Who would have thought Carrie and Angelo would fall for each other? They were complete opposites with nothing in common. He was always serious, and Carrie was only serious at work, the rest of the time Talia always wondered if she was auditioning for court jester.But their friends with benefits relationship that had begun when she was in a coma, knowing Carrie maybe before—Carrie had always used sex to forget situations that scared her, ever since her parents’ died in a car accident—had blossomed into a serious relationship. They were genuinely happy together. And that was to end just bec