Page 49 of Sandro

“Franco is gone. It appears that he’s gone into hiding, but his brother was seen in Florence.”

Realization hit me like a brick. “Either they or someone from the pride told where Leo is.”

Master Vincent nodded. “Most likely. Rio will be back tomorrow. He’s been gone a little longer because he was also looking into something else for me. I’ll be thinking on this a bit more, but there will be a coven meeting soon about our place of residence.”

I took a deep breath. “Leo and I can leave. The coven⁠—”

“No,” Master Vincent said, cutting me off. “You will remain here with us. You are part of our family and always will be.” Master Vincent leaned forward and placed his hands on his desk. “This has been coming for longer than I want to admit. We’ve been here too long, and even the fate Thomas told me it was time to get my family out of Italy. It will be a drastic change, but we have more to think about than ourselves now. There are innocent beloveds and babies that need us to put them first.”

I was going to argue again that I could take and leave with Leo. We could be happy in Canada, where we’d had our matemoon, as Abel called it. It was fitting, to be honest. “If it’s just the fact that Alfio’s men are after Leo, I can take him to Canada,” I suggested.

“It’s not. Marcello’s twins are here. Naldo’s son is here. Alfio killed his own son to get to Leo. He will kill any of those children to get to Leo, or your baby once he or she arrives. I’m doing this to protect everyone.”

The phone rang, and Master Vincent held up a finger before answering. “Ciao, Nikolai. Un momento.”

I knew without him even saying anything further that this was a private call. At least for the time being. I held up my hand, waving off the fact that he needed to ask me to leave.

“Thank you, Master Vincent,” I said quietly before nodding once and then leaving. I pulled the door closed behind me and stood in the hallway for a moment. How was I going to tell Leo that apparently his grandfather had been told he was here? Should I? Perhaps not just yet.

Chapter 20

Leonardo

“Ihave news for both of you, and of course, the ultrasound,” Rio said as we sat in the office. “I’m surprised that Sandro didn’t do the ultrasound already.”

I grinned. “He has. He did one with the machine over there, but Abel and Mazzi both said I need to experience a magical one.” I shrugged. “I still got to see the baby, and Sandro said everything looked wonderful with our little one, but he couldn’t get the speaker to work, so I didn’t get to hear the heartbeat. That was a sad moment.”

Rio’s attention shifted to Sandro. “Really?”

“I did try. I even unplugged the machine and plugged everything back in. I’m not sure what is going on with it. The transducer and screen were working. The speakers weren’t. I couldn’t tell you the last time it was used though, so maybe it needs calibrated or an update or something. I kept trying, but Leo saw how frustrated I was becoming, and he said it was no big deal. We saw the baby, and he was happy with that.”

“I was. But I can hear the baby now though? You can do that, right? Sandro said the baby is developing as everything should and the progress is where it should also be.”

“Of course,” Rio said. “Have Sandro help you get up on the exam table and get comfortable.”

Rio went over to the ultrasound machine that Sandro had used and turned it on. Rio started tapping on the wand thingy that Sandro had put on my stomach, and he pushed several keys on the keyboard until he finally sent a little green ball of magic into the system and shook his head.

“I’m not sure what was wrong with it,” he said to us. “It’s working now, but I agree, there was some issue with the speakers. A loose wire inside or something of the sort.” Rio smiled at me. “Do you wish for an ultrasound with the machine now?” he asked, pointing to the machine. “Or the magical kind? You mentioned that the others said you needed to experience the magical ultrasound, so I thought to ask. It is a bit more comfortable because there is no gel to cool, nor do you need to lift your shirt.”

“Oh, that would be nice,” I said. I looked over at Sandro. “I liked it when you did the ultrasound too though. It was such a sweet moment between us. We got our first look at the baby together, just the two of us.” I smiled at my mate, hoping he wasn’t upset with me for wanting the magical ultrasound. Abel and Mazzi both recommended it. They said it was so much more realistic than the machine, which made sense since it was, in fact, a form of magic.

“I’m not upset with you at all, mio amato. I, too, am excited about seeing our little one in the magical sense.”

“All right. Are we finding out what you’re having? I’m asking now before I let anything slip.”

I shrugged. “I’m happy either way. I want to know, but I also wouldn’t be upset if I couldn’t find out because the baby is hiding things.” I knew deep down, Sandro wanted to know. “If the baby is obviously showing things, can you let us know?”

Rio grinned at me. “Sure, but I already know what you’re having. Both the gender and the species.”

I blinked at Rio. “Seriously?” I looked up at Sandro. “Do you want to know?” I knew he did; the question was, would he say so?

“Only if you do. I’m happy as long as you are.”

I sighed. Of course he was going to be like that. “Okay. Tell us what we’re having,” I said.

Rio grinned. “You are having a little vampire, and it is going to be another boy for the coven, leaving poor Luci the only girl still.”

I felt the breath leave my body. A boy. We were having a little boy. I was going to give Sandro a son. My happiness was fleeting, though, as another thought snuck in. What if my grandfather found out? What if he somehow was able to kidnap the baby?