A/N

Hey! Thank you for the reviews. I'm back with another one. I hope you like this one as well. That's all I have to say. Enjoy!

CHAD POV

When I heard her voice weeks ago, my heart dropped into my stomach. I could sense the worry in her voice. I'll be over there soon. Very soon I hope. Since my house was destroyed in the attempt of trying to get to Sonny and trying to rattle me, I stayed at a hotel in Montauk. I had my lawyer sitting next to me at the desk in the suite, reading over a contract I had drawn up a couple of days ago. He hadn't said a word about anything yet but he had a highlighter in his hand and was circling items throughout the papers. If this really works out and Scott signs and dates this in two days, I'll be over in Tuscany faster than light. But like I said, he's not going to go for it and I've been prepared to do whatever it takes to get this job done. I sat back in my seat, twirling a pen in my hand and stared out into the rainy, grey sky. Right now, Sonny would be asleep. The rain puts her to sleep like she's a child. It made me laugh but I forced the thought out of my head. I told Louis to get her to move on just in case something bad happened. Granted, I don't want her dating or sleeping with anyone else but if something was to happen to me, I'd know that she's living her life and not dwelling the entire time. I don't know what Louis said to her, I know he made something up. I inhaled deeply and reached into my pocket when my phone vibrated. It was a text message from Scott.

7:30pm under the V. Just you and me. Closed discussion.

Alright. By 7:30 tonight, this contract should be signed or one of us will be dead. I tapped my phone on my lips and looked at Nicholas as he was focused on one of the appendixes in the contract. Sonny was all over that contract. As well as her family and anyone she becomes in contact with. I've gotten so deep with protection that in the future the 7th generation would be protected. Nicholas furrowed his brows.

"It seems pretty solid." His scratchy voice started. He's seventy three now and still a heavy cigar smoker. "There are some clauses that need to be tweaked because of the chance of loopholes."

"Okay." He looked up. "How long can that take?"

"Um... I can have it done by eight thirty tonight." I nodded in agreement.

"This is urgent, Nick. I need this by six o clock tonight."

He rubbed his forehead and tapped the pen on the paper. "I'll see what I could do. For an adjustable fee of course." Of course.

"Hopefully this is the last contract you have to fix."

"Chad, I've been writing your families paper work since before you were born. This definitely isn't the last." He gruffly laughed and started to pack up his briefcase. "I'll give you a call tomorrow to see how everything works out."

"Alright." He patted my shoulder and fixed the lapels on his suit.

I saw him out and pulled my phone out of my pockets. I was so tempted to call her. I wanted to hear her voice again but just stared at the picture of us on my phone. There were other options that of contact that she's tried. She's written me a letter or two. She told me that she missed me and that she's feeling alright. I knew that it was hard for here to write them because after a while, they got shorter. I never wrote back. I didn't need her address being traced. I'm messing up with her big time. I know that. But it was too risky. Everything is too risky, I say that all the time but I couldn't put her in anymore danger than I already have. Absentmindedly, I dialed her number but erased it when I almost hit send. I'll call Louis after my meeting with Scott.

SONNY POV

"How are the breasts? Tender?" The doctor asked, motioning for me to lift my arms. Once I did, he pressed on them and examined them, making sure there weren't any harmful changes.

17 weeks. I'm having a boy. 17 weeks. Still no messages from Chad. There weren't any return letters from him either. I've written him three times but the last one I sent was returned to me. Each day I was getting a little bit easier sleeping in the bed by myself. Each day, a piece of my heart would patch itself. Each day I enjoyed Tuscany more and more. Every day that little bug kicked I was happier and happier. My stomach protruded more and more every week. I enjoyed laying in bed and eating ice cream and watching him react to the cold. It was like an alien in my stomach. I knew Chad would enjoy this but he's not here and I kind of like having this moment to myself. It was a connection with my baby that I couldn't explain. He's mommy's little boy and I couldn't be more happy. I hadn't thought of names at all. Initially, I thought about naming him Chad Jr. But I want him to be his own person. I want him to have a powerful name that would describe him perfectly. I couldn't think of one yet so he was still my little bug.

"They're a little tender." I said lowly, putting my arms down. "I'm hot all the time."

"Are you hot when you're moving or even just sitting down?" He then asked.

"Sitting down."

"Oh... That's normal. Your hormones are trying to regulate your body. But I'm going to check your temperature." He pulled out an ear thermometer and stuck it in my ear.

I've gotten to know my neighbors but we don't have dinner or anything together. They're just people that I say hi to if I see them. They have three little girls, Maria, Anabella, and Allegra, they're really cute. Sometimes if their home and they bake something they bring me some of what they make. I've been teaching them English and they've been teaching me Italian. I'm practically fluent.

"So, where is the father?" The doctor asked.

"The States."

"Ah, you are doing this alone?" Hopefully not.

"Yeah." He pulled the thermometer out and looked at the temperature. "You have a slight fever. Very tiny. I want you on a lot of fluids." He ordered. "Water, orange juice. You can have a glass of wine but no more than three ounce." I nodded. "Also, I give you more prenatal pills so you can pick them up from the market. Please lie back." I did as I was told again and stared at the ceiling. He used three fingers are pushed into my lower abdomen, massaging the area to feel for anything unusual. "You have pain here?"
"No." I shook my head.

"You can sit up."

I didn't want to be here but Louis drove me here without telling me I had an appointment today. He handed me a prescription paper and smiled. I gave a fake smile back and watched him leave the room so I could get dressed. Louis like usual, was standing outside the door in a professional stance. You would think I was famous with a bodyguard with me all the time. I slipped on my panties, then my tan dress and my sandals. I slung my bag over my shoulder and put the paper inside. When I opened the door, Louis pushed himself off the wall and held his arm out for me to take. I always feel woozy after these appointments. Woozy because I'm pregnant and alone. Because... I make myself sick worrying about my idiot boyfriend and because... I was feeling unsure about being pregnant. It was a cooler, clouded day than most which was nice. I held onto Louis' arm as he guided me down the street to where he parked.

"What'd the doctor say?"

"Fevers are normal in this trimester." I pulled my hair from underneath my bag strap. "Can we walk around for a while?"

"Yeah." Instead of heading towards the car, we headed towards a small cafe that had a few chairs outside. I wanted to sit inside where the fan was just in case I got hot again. Louis sat across from me. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm always hungry." I joked and looked at the small menu this place had. I wanted gelato. So that's what I'm getting. I pulled one of my legs underneath me and rested my chin on my hands.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. If I talk about it, I'm going to cry and I don't feel like crying right now." He ordered my gelato for me and then ordered a sandwich for himself. "Have you heard anything?"

"No. Last time I spoke to him was when you came in the room." Liar.

"He called me weeks ago." I can't help but talk about him. "I tried to tell him I was pregnant but he hung up before I got the chance. I even wrote him but I didn't want to tell him about his son that that way..."

"I'm sorry." I just shrugged. "At least you got to know he's alright." I shrugged again.

"Bellissima." The waiter put down my gelato and then Louis' sandwich.

"Due acque per favore?" Louis looked at the man. The man smiled graciously and walked away. I looked at him and laughed, spooning the sweet, rich chocolate into my mouth. "What?" He grinned.

"How'd you learn to speak the language so fast? I still don't know how to say good morning."

"I'm good at picking things up."

"Is there anything you aren't good at?"

"Math." I laughed again and leaned back in my seat. "I'll teach you if you want."

"I want to learn. It'll be a good past time." I agreed. He nodded as well and leaned forward to eat over his plate. "So what did you ask him for?"

"Two waters."

"Ah... Okay."

"I'll only speak to you in Italian. It'll help you learn faster."

"Ha! Yeah right. You should've seen me in high school when I tried learn Spanish." He chuckled quietly and looked over by the door. As he did, I tuned into the small TV the cafe has. I put more gelato in my mouth when the Hampton's was mentioned. The connection in the TV kept tuning in and out so I couldn't really pick up what they were saying. It sounded like it was an entertainment news channel and not the regular news. When the Hamptons were mentioned it was a shock. I've lived in the Hamptons for a while and never heard of who they were talking about. "Hey, Louis, who are the Bigs?" I lowered my voice as much as I could.

His smile dropped and the chewing of his food slowed. "Why?"

"They're on TV." He turned around swiftly and watched the TV as interested as I did.

"The Bigs are the be all and end all. Insanely rich." He used the napkin to wipe his mouth and reached into his pocket for cash. Uh man, now we have to go. I followed Louis lead out of the cafe, trying to keep up with his steps.

"So, obviously they're connected to Chad." There wasn't a response. He opened up the car door for me and closed it once I was inside. He got in on the other side and started up the small car. "Can I at least know about them? I won't ask questions about Chad."

"They're... The Bigs." He accentuated. "If they felt Chad or Scott weren't doing a good job, they can shut all their shit down." So they're the bosses boss. "They're the foreign ties. They're part of the reason you can't get hurt over here. All of the drugs, all of the money..."

"They control the flow." I remembered when Graham said he was watching the books and the money wasn't right. He knew. He always knew.

"Was Graham a Big?"

"Yes."

"He's not foreign." I said under my breath. Or at least... he didn't look like it. "But Scott killed him." I blurted out. "How is that... okay? If Scott killed a Big..."

"It means Scott's in deep shit and with nothing to lose..." I'm going to vomit. "We're going to stay inside for a couple of days." He told me. "Have some bonding time." He patted my shoulder, trying to reassure me. I looked out the window and watched as we passed people who had normal happy lives with no clue of what was going on. Unlike those people, I'm living in this life and still have no idea of what the hell is going on.

"What exactly do the Bigs own that they're in the news?"

"Real Estate. Tons of real estate. They work out of there. They became socialites to fit in but are still in control of all cash flow between the businesses." He looked at me for a moment. "Please don't freak out."

"I'm not. I'm fine. I'm fine." I'm not so fine. I'm so confused. What does this have to do with Chad? What does that really mean with Scott? "Why're they even called Bigs? Aren't people in the mafia called Dons?" The question left my mouth before I could process what I was asking. I could hear Louis laughing but I didn't want to look at him.

"You watch too much of the Godfather."

"I've only seen it once." I mumbled.

"No one knows why they're called Bigs or what they do or when they plan on changing orders. They're just..." Ghosts that fuck things up if they don't like what you're doing. "A figment until they need to intervene."

"Have you seen them?"

"Yes."

"How many are there?"

"There are six but there's five now. One is Chad's Uncle and one is Scott's distant cousin."

"Wait-" I closed my eyes for a moment. Wouldn't that mean that this feud between Chad and Scott is pointless is those two men are on each other's side? "There's one from each side? So technically is everyone family? The news looks at them as family"

"Along with others that we don't deal with but yes. Technically, they aren't considered family to anyone. They cut off ties several years ago. They might be connected by members within the family but do not take part in the family if that makes sense. And no, they're not related. When Chad's father was killed, Graham couldn't do anything about it. And he knew that." I was stunned and so fucking confused that I could feel a headache coming on. So, Graham was trying to regulate what was going on when I first met him? That's why he was here. "It's like a government. A democracy." More like a hierarchy.

Louis turned down the road that we lived on and pulled into our secluded roundabout driveway. I let myself out with the house keys in my hand and let myself in. He was right behind me, locking up the front door like he usually does. I wanted a bottle of Pellegrino. All this mob talk was making me thirsty.

I watched Louis spin once on his toes, slowly moving his hips to the best of the music. It sounded like the saxophone but more sultry. Watching Louis have fun always made me laugh. It's like he forgets he's Chad's minion when we're in the house. It's comforting.

"You going stand there and watch me or join?" Crap, I didn't think he'd see me.

"What're you doing?" I came from behind the archway and grinned. "You cook and dance? Why aren't you dating?"

"Women don't come with the territory." He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the open area. "Try not to step on my toes."

"I'm not that great of a dancer."

"Oh please, I don't believe that." He placed his hand high on my back and held my other. "You've gone to Chads' club plenty of times before you two dated."

"How do you know?"

"Credit card history." He shrugged, leading me around the room. I should've known that Chad would hunt me down the moment he'd met me.

"How much of me do you know, Louis?"

"Well... besides your family history, I know that you had the chicken pox when you were ten. You're not allergic to anything."

"You guys know my medical history." He nodded. "That's so creepy."

"Your first job when you turned eighteen was at McDonalds, you were in a car accident at nineteen with your friend Tawni. That's all I could remember." He spun me, bringing me back to him and then swaying lightly.

"You guys are creepy. That's technically stalking."

"Chad wanted to know everything about you." Creepy and controlling.

I shook my head. "What's my favorite food?"

"I don't know."

"What's my favorite color?" He shrugged again. I guess only Chad knows the personal details. "How do I take my coffee?" Another shrug. "You don't know what counts." I teased, looking down at our feet.

"Don't look at your feet, it'll make you dizzy." He said. I put my gaze back on his. I never danced like this with Chad and I probably never will. My stomach turned over at the thought.

"I know enough." He looked down with a small smile.

"What's your favorite color?"

"I don't know." He stepped back, then pulled me closer again. "I never thought about it."

"You wear a lot of black. You also eat a lot of pizza and that was before we came to Italy. You're right handed but do a lot of things with your left." His grin turned into a smile and then he laughed.

"Are you watching me?"

"I live with you. It's not hard pick up on."

"Hm... so you see the little things but not everything."

"What do you mean?" With a quick spin, he spun me several times before dipping me very low and holding me there. "Whoa." I breathed out, holding onto his arms so I don't fall.

"There's a lot more to what meets the eye." He murmured. For a split second, we looked at each other like there was an attraction. When there was barely any space left between my lips, my breath caught. It was the slight shift of hand that made our lips touch. It felt nice. My hand touched his face, feeling the soft straight hairs of his beard. His lips were softer than I assumed they be. Wait what am I doing? What're we doing? Don't get me wrong, Louis is a very good looking guy. And as nice as this felt, it wouldn't be right. I guess he felt it to because he stood me up fast and stepped back a few feet. "I'm going to go... walk the perimeter."

Nodding and partly feeling guilty, I retreated to my room for a needed shower. I tried pushing what just happened to the back of my mind. I even tried rationalizing it. I'm very vulnerable; he's good looking and comforting to be around. I had a moment and forgot that I had a boyfriend. My hair was damp and the sweats pants and t shirt I had on still fit. Soon, nothing is going to fit. I knew dinner was ready by the sound of plates moving around. I jogged down the steps and entered the dining room. I was thankful for just soup and salad and bread. I could barely keep anything down lately. I sat at my setting and couldn't bring myself to look up at him. He ate silently, resting his elbows on the table and looking forward.

This soup was really good. It had navy beans, kale, chunks of chicken in a really good broth. The salad was basic and the baguette we had along with it was toasted. It warmed me up since it was cool outside. "The soup's good."

"Thank you." He muttered, lifting his glass of water to take a sip. "I'm sorry for kissing you."

I frowned. "There's no need to be sorry. We both had a moment of weakness." I looked at him. "So, it was cool." He snorted a laugh. "And now in the past."

"And never to be mentioned." I nodded.

"Exactly." Chad definitely doesn't need to know about what happened. That's never leaving my lips. I dipped the bread in my soup and took a bite. "I want to see other parts of Italy." I mentioned. "Like Venice, Florence and Rome."

"Okay. Maybe I can arrange something for the end of this week. How long did you want to stay?"

"I don't know. Two days in each place."

"You can't see Rome in two days." He pointed out. "But yeah, I'll arrange some stuff."

"I'd like to go alone." Looking at him, he had a smirk on his face. "You know I can handle myself."

"I can't let you go alone." He shook his head. "Chad would kill me."

"He doesn't know what's going on over here and at this point, it doesn't seem like he cares too much." I folded my legs in the chair and reached for my drink. "It'd give you a chance to bring a girl here. Get laid for a change."

He laughed loudly, leaning back in the chair and looked at me. "Now you're very informal, Sonny." Oops. I probably shouldn't have said anything. "You think I don't have sex?"

"I mean, you're with me all the time playing guard."

"I have a very healthy sex life, for your information."

"Doesn't seem like it." I grumbled, taking a sip. "But it's none of my business."

"Definitely isn't your business." He grinned again and shook his head. I put my drink down. "I mean, what about you? It's been months said you've gotten any."

"My situation is different." My hands pressed to my chest. "My boyfriend is overseas, probably shooting people. So, I can't have sex. On top of that, I'm pregnant and no one wants to sleep with a pregnant woman if it's not their child."

"That's not true. Some guys love sleeping with pregnant women."

"Ew." We both laughed. "I wouldn't sleep with anyone. Not until I actually know I'm completely single." He nodded slowly, looking down at the table. Smiling, I slapped his chest. "Maybe you'll get laid in Rome."

"We're not talking about this anymore." He chuckled. "End of discussion."

CHAD POV

I knew that this moment would decide whether or not I would live peacefully or not. I paced with my hands in my pockets. There was a chance I could be killed. There's a chance I could kill him. I was surely going to kill him before he killed me. After all he's done to me. To Sonny. Making her live in fear. My jaw tightened. Meeting him alone was a long shot. Granted, I'm fully loaded with two nines but I've never been more nervous. I didn't know if I was going to make my flight Saturday night over to Italy. I haven't spoken to her... and I regret not talking to her. If I could talk to her one more time, I would tell her that I love her. And I always will. I sighed, pausing in my tracks to wipe down my face. I feel like I fucked up with her big time or that I'm a big disappointment to her. I started pacing again, trying to keep my head level. I heard him before I could see him. His boots were heavy on the ground, making me aware of his presence. I stopped walking and waited for him. His crisp black wife beater warned me he was ready for a fight. But the perspiration told me he was just as nervous as I was.

Scott stormed in; knocking over the chairs in his way and making me square my chest. "What is this? Don't you know who I am?" He swung at me hard, missing when I swiftly moved out of the way and pushing him to the ground. He got up quickly, drawing his gun. I tackled him to the ground before he could get any use of it, knocking the firearm out of his hand. He smells of alcohol. His elbow hit my temple, making me stumble back.

"It's a peace offering. I'm done with this shit, Scott." He turned around. I should just kick his ass. "I want out."

"Out? You can never get out. All the shit that you've taken from me. I'm not some pussy you screw over."

I scoffed. "You've taken shit from me, man! All I wanted was for my girl to be safe but you couldn't let that go." I scowled. "It was childish."

"Bullshit, Cooper. You knew that it would come to this. You knew the moment you fucked over my father that it would come to this."

"I never wanted it to come to this." I balled my fists up. "You're just to coward to walk away like a man."

"Who the fuck do you think you are trying to reprimand me like a child? You can't send me away." He partially slurred. "I'm Scott fucking McCarty!" He yelled, thrusting his hands in the air as if he was triumphant. "I've got nothing to lose." He charged at me again. We crashed into the table, breaking the glass into pieces and landing on the floor. "If you actually fucking think," He punched me hard, grabbing my shirt and pulling me up again. "I'm signing some bullshit contract!" He landed another punch in my face. "You've fucking thought wrong, Chad." He sneered. It felt like I had collided with a brick wall. I was getting my ass handed to me with every punch. But with every blow, I saw Sonny's face. Her smile. Her happy tears. Her laugh. The way she'd scrunch up her nose when she didn't understand something. The way she'd look at me when we were watching a movie. Then I saw the sadness in his eyes, mixed with the fury. Fuck, I wasn't going down like this.

When he drew back his fist, I pushed him off me throwing him a couple of feet back. I scrambled to my feet to where he was and kicked him in the stomach before he could get up. I channeled all my rage from what he's done over the past couple of years.

He coughed, pushing himself on his hands again. "Son of a bitch." I kicked him once more but instead it was his face. I watched the blood drip from his mouth as he lay on the ground. My father, my mother, my girl, Grady. God, my best friend. "Get up!" I growled. I kicked him again. "Get up!" I screamed, wiping the blood that was dripping from my dripping nose. "Get up and fight McCarty! Since you're so badass." Using my foot, I rolled him over on his back. I got down on top of him and lifted him by his shirt. He was bleeding hard from his mouth. I had knocked some of his teeth out. "You ruined my life. You fucking-" I grunted, curling my fingers in his shirt tighter so I can hold him in place. The sound of cracking permeated my ears. He took both my parents from me. I punched him in the jaw, hitting all the life I could out of him. "My best friend." Another punch. The blood started beading on my knuckles. I grunted again, hitting him again. All the energy I had was going into these punches. The red inferno that was in my eyes grew hotter. His eyes could barely stay open. They were full and wouldn't look away from mine. So I punched him in one. "Say something!" I punched him once more, listening to him chuckle painfully.

"F-Fuck You..." He stuttered out, driving something sharp into me. It was a piece of broken glass, and it was in my side, lower than my lungs but high enough to make me bleed profusely. I didn't want to pull it out but my adrenaline wouldn't all me to feel it. I pushed him down, got up and walked over to the gun that was strewn on the side of the floor. I checked the case before stepping over him, placing my feet at each side of his hips.

"You know, you're father died on his back." I chuckled breathlessly, aiming at his head. I felt a twinge of pain from the glass that was in me. "You look just like him..." I pulled the trigger, putting a bullet in between his eyes. "Weak, bitch." I grumbled.

A/N

So, what'd you think? Leave a review if you can and let me know if you liked it or not? I don't know when they next time I'm going to update. Hopefully it'll be soon but my inspiration for chapters comes in bursts and then completely disappears. Anyway… thanks for reading!