The Life - Rebirth (The Life 4)

“Stay here, baby girl; daddy’s gonna go get your brothers.” I strapped her in before turning around to close the door and walked right into Gianna. “If you take her outta there…. Don’t test me.”

“You can’t take my children, Gabriel.”

“Why not? You took mine.” How is it possible to be this angry and still feel love at the same time? Even now, though my words were harsh, I didn’t raise my voice to her.

I wasn’t actively trying to see her side, but I have enough training not to go off when my head is this hot. I’m a hundred percent certain that I would never hurt Gianna, not physically, but I may say some awful shit beyond the words I’d already spoken, and some things there’s just no coming back from.

She stayed outside with the baby while I grabbed my two sleeping sons. My knees really did buckle then when the realization hit me. I’m a dad. If things had not progressed this way, I would never have known because tomorrow was supposed to be my death day. I would’ve left my children all alone in this deplorable world, helpless. I’m gutted. They woke up when I stumbled, and their eyes, my eyes, were fully awake.

How is this possible? I now understand why Sal is so hung up on me looking like his father. There’s something about looking into the eyes of your child and seeing you in him. The three of them didn’t have some of my features; they had me, from the curl of their hair to the black dots in the center of their eyes.

I took them outside and strapped them in, totally ignoring their mother, who’d been hovering in the backdoor. My daughter was swinging her legs as if she had no cares in the world. I don’t know anything about kids. I was a kid myself when the twins were born, and no one I know has had kids since I’d grown up. Are kids always this trusting?

The thought of them growing up in a world without me was sobering. “Did you have him near my kids?” I crowded her in the open doorway.

“Who?”

“The fu…the ass… the guy you were planning to marry.”

“Oh, no!”

“You coming? You can stay if you want.”

I walked around to the driver’s side and got in. She jumped in the passenger seat.

GIANNA

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, I’ve never seen Gabriel mad before, never heard him cuss. I mean, I thought he’d been a time or two when dealing with Becky and Victoria, but none of that compared to this. If I was second-guessing this wedding scheme before, I’m triple-guessing it now. He went right for the jugular, no argument. The second he realized the babies were his, they were gone. I honestly didn’t prepare for this step.

Of course, my daughter was supposed to be sleeping with her brothers, but when has she ever done the expected? When has any of them? Hmm, Mr. Hotshot wants to play dad; I give him two hours with these three. Yes, I’m thinking about anything other than what is going on right now.

Gabriel was supposed to come to the house. We’d timed it according to the kids’ naptime, which should’ve run way over the time he was supposed to be there. I was supposed to give him the cold shoulder, blame him for everything that had happened to me, hate him for sending me away yada-yada-yada.

We were gonna argue; I was going to send him away in a fit, throwing my upcoming marriage in his face. He was supposed to give me space because he knew he was wrong. And all of that might’ve happened had Gabriella not left the room.

I was going to work around to telling him about the kids in the next couple of days; once we’d worked things out and I forgave him, how come he has the upper hand now?

LYON

“Whew, that boy, whew!”

“See yourself in him, do ya?” Tyler’s always starting shit. But I was in too good of a mood to care. I’d called a play, and it had gone just as I’d hoped.

“How’d you get the kid to wake up Lyon?” Freaking Mancini thinks he knows me.

“With this!” I held up the little device.

“You tagged the kids?”

“Yep! I’ll give it to their father once those two get their shit together. I’m telling you; you better keep an eye on them starting now, especially the girl.”

“And just so you know, I’m not running herd on your mini squad, fuck that. One of Mengele is enough now you bringing in ringers and shit, fuck…no. What? You and Kat got some kinda deal or some shit to drive me nuts? Her battalion of pain in the ass kids aren’t enough, so you had to go looking for more?”

“She’s your cousin Lyon; what’s this got to do with me?”