Page 19 of I Remember Moscato

“I was three when they were taken, so I don?t remember that part. They’ve been back with us for a few years now. They were raised by another mafia family and luckily they were raised with a lot of love. But because of their kidnapping, our women have guards. We don?t take chances with them. Or anyone in the family. Because Quinn is part of the MC family, I think it might be good for her to have one too. In fact it?s been brought up for all the girls to have one.”

Listening to Salvatore talk makes me wonder if he?s right. Hearing about mafias and MCs is so different from the way I was raised.

“My dad had security when he had gigs. But never for everyday life.”

“I have a feeling you?re going to need it like we do. Some mafia families don?t give up the grudge.”

I sigh. “I wanna know what they want my girl for.”

“I do too. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Quinn. She?s become family to us and I?m glad you’ve found each other. I?m sure you got the big brother talk from Celestino and Francesco. But I have to throw my two cents in. Quinn’s a part of our families and I want to make sure you’re going to take care of her the way she deserves.”

I chuckle at him. “There’s nothing I won’t do for her. Nothing. I would take anyone out if they hurt her. And I’m not a violent man. But for her? I would burn the world down.”

Salvatore nods. “That’s good to know.”

Chapter Eleven

Jagger

When we get to the bakery, I head straight to my Quinn and wrap her in my arms.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Quinn whispers as she burrows into my hug.

“Are you okay? Tell me what’s going on.”

“That woman over there? She’s saying she’s my birth mother. And that she knows who’s behind the letters.”

“Do you believe her?”

“I don’t know. But I didn’t want to be alone with her.”

“You’re never alone, Quinn. Now let’s hear her story and see if she’s telling the truth.”

“You said that you’re Quinn’s birth mother? And you know who’s behind the threats that Jagger and Quinn are getting?” Salvatore asks Veronica.

“It’s a long story. And I need to start before Quinn was born. My family is the Portside Mafia, my father is the boss, Vincent Burrows. He’s never been a good man and he’s never treated me or my siblings well. From my earliest memories, he’s treated my mom badly too.”

“What does that have to do with you abandoning me?”

Veronica looks sad. “I promise it will all make sense. I didn’t want to leave you. I wanted to keep you. But I did what I had to do to make sure you survived.”

“I almost died!” Quinn yells at her.

I take Quinn’s hand, I can feel her trembling.

“Baby, I know it’s hard, but we need to hear her out,” I whisper to her.

Quinlan

Jagger taking my hand and talking to me helps me to calm down. Because he’s right. I need to listen to what Veronica has to say. This could give us the information we need to fight back. I turn and look at Veronica.

“When I was sixteen, my father’s second-in-command, Elmer Woodman, raped me. I had known him my whole life, and when that happened, I had no idea what to do. When my father found out, he killed Elmer. And then we found out that I was pregnant. My father tried to get me to abort you, but I was already six months along. So my only option was to have you. I was told that once I gave birth, I wouldn’t be allowed to keep you.”

I have to give Veronica a lot of credit. She’s telling this story in front of all of us.

“I felt that since I had to give you up, I wanted to choose where you would go. So I ran away. My older brother, Vincent Jr. and my older sister Victoria came with me. We knew the consequences if and when we were caught. But I had to try. We grew up in Portland, and I knew we couldn’t go too far. Vinnie was eighteen and Vicky was seventeen. We started our journey and agreed that we would stop when the town felt right. We stopped in Portwalden for a few days and I ended up going into labor. I was only eight months along. I had you at the hospital in Portwalden. And the next morning, Vinnie helped me sneak you out. That night we tried to figure out what to do. Vinnie had spent the day before walking around the town. He said it was a cute town and maybe this is where you would be safe.”

Listening to Veronica talk, I can’t help the tears that are falling. I had convinced myself that the woman who gave birth to me abandoned me. That she didn’t care about me at all. But seeing her and the pain on her face as she’s telling us her story…I don’t know what to think anymore.