Page 134 of Poison and Wine
“Exactly. I agreed to only three.”
He kissed my fingers again. “I’ll hold you to it, Kitten.”
“Can I hold you to letting me give our daughter an Italian first name?”
Callum raised his brows at me. “Does that mean our sons get Irish names?”
“Only if they’re ones without crazy Irish spellings that they’ll have to explain to everyone how to pronounce.”
He grinned. “I can work with that.”
As I tried pushing myself up in the bed, I winced. “How long have I been out?”
“Fuck, Kitten, I don’t know. It seems like forever. They gave you something for the pain that kept you asleep.”
“It wasn’t anything unsafe for the baby, was it?”
“No, it was fine.”
“Thank goodness.” As I thought about my time in the warehouse, my father’s face flashed before my mind. “Is he dead?” I questioned softly.
“Aye.”
“By your hand?”
Callum shifted in his seat. “Do you really want to know?”
“I do.”
He grimaced. “While I wanted his death to come by my hands, I honored Rafe’s request.”
My hand flew to my mouth in surprise. “Please tell me he didn’t.”
Callum’s brows popped wide. “Would you rather it had been me, Kitten?”
I shook my head. “No. I wouldn’t wish it for any of you.”
A ragged sigh echoed through Callum’s chest. “Although I wanted my own hands to take Alessio’s life, Rafe needed to do it.” He gave me a pointed look. “Just as I did.”
Although I wanted to disagree, I knew he was right. My father had gone too far for too long. As long as he was allowed to live, Rafe, along with Leandro and Gianni, would’ve been in danger just as much as I was. “What about Carmine?”
Pure evil flashed in Callum’s blue eyes. “I will take care of him”
A shiver ran down my spine. “He’s still alive?”
“He only breathes because I refused to leave your side. Now that you’re awake, I’ll take care of him.”
“Will you torture him?” I whispered.
Tilting his head at me, Callum questioned, “Don’t tell me you’re asking to spare him?”
“My faith tells me to spare him to spare you. That all life–even one as odious as his–is precious.” I slowly shook my head. “But I’d rather be a sinner. I want you to make him suffer because he was going to rape me.” My eyes narrowed. “You should cause him agony because he almost cost us our child’s life.”
“I plan on torturing him for all of it, Kitten.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
Callum leaned over and brought his lips gently to mine. When he pulled away, his intense gaze bore into me. “I love you more than life itself, Kitten.”