Beneath Her Bastard Boss

Luca didn’t remember much of the drive to Lenox Hill. He was still wound up tight after his face–to–face with Nicole. He just hoped he had scared her enough to make her back off.

He would never let his guard down until she was in jail or gone from the US for good.

There would never be forgiveness. The damage she’d tried to do… to Sutton, to Cyber 10, to Miles—if she’d gotten into the NICU, the consequences would’ve been unimaginable. He hadn’t even let himself consider what might’ve happened if she’d made it past security, if she’d found a way into the NICU. Just the thought made his chest tighten enough to hurt.

But she hadn’t.

His legal team had tipped off her lawyers about his intent was not a good color on Nicole.

press formal charges. He just hoped she’d want to save her skin enough to bolt. Orange

His phone buzzed just as he was pulling into the parking under the hospital.

It was an unknown number, but it was the call he had been waiting for.

Luca swiped the call open, holding the phone to his ear. “Luca speaking.”

“Sir. This is Moore from your security division. Just confirmed visual… Nicole boarded a flight to Rome about twenty minutes ago. Manifest clear. No return ticket logged.”

Luca closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “She went.”

“Yes, sir. She cleared customs. I’m watching the plane now as it makes its way down the runway. She is going,

sir.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, “Keep someone watching her passport, anyway. I want alerts if she so much as connects through New York again.” noveldrama

“Already in place. Do you want follow–up surveillance from the Rome team?”

Luca hesitated.

Then shook his head, though no one could see it.

“There’s no winning outcome there,” he said. “Let her run. Maybe she’d stay hidden.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line clicked and went dead. It might seem like he was letting her escape. However, jail time for Nicole would be only two to three years. By running, she worsened her situation. There was no way she could risk reentering the US.

Luca sat in silence for several more beats before slipping his phone into his jacket and crossing the underground lobby toward the lifts.

Gone. She was gone. If she ever entered the US again, she would be arrested.

When he stepped onto the NICU floor, everything that mattered was on this floor. And now he felt like they were a little safer.

He walked past the nurses‘ station, giving a short nod to one of the staff who had already come to recognize him. They didn’t stop him anymore; he was almost as much a fixture as the medical equipment.

As he approached, he saw them through the window–the three Warner sisters

Keira was leaning forward, one hand on the curved glass, her body language somehow softer than he had seen her before. Blair stood next to Sutton, arms folded across her chest, mouth moving as she spoke.

Luca stepped forward and buzzed himself in.

But as he unwrapped the hospital mandated gown from the wall hook, he pained. He could hear them talking, and they hadn’t realized he was her. He

intruder anyway. hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but he felt

“I have something I want to share with you both,” Blair said.

Keira’s reaction was instant. “What?”

“I’m pregnant,” Blair whispered. “I only found out yesterday. Roman and I are not telling anyone else until we are at 12 weeks. I did tell him I couldn’t keep it from you two and, of course, Luca.”

Luca blinked, frozen. Shit, this was a waited to let Blair finish sharing her news.

“Blair, I’m so happy for you,” Sutton said.

moment, and he had just wrecked it for them. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He still

Blair’s voice broke a little on the next words. “It’s still early. I wasn’t going to tell you at first.”

“Why?” Sutton seemed not to understand why she wouldn’t, but Luca could guess,

and Blair’s next words confirmed what he had thought.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy, over the moon, but I feel stupid being happy while Miles is still… stuck in the hospital. But I didn’t want to slip up, so I thought it was best to say something.”

Keira let out a sound halfway between a sob and a laugh, immediately wrapping her sister in a lopsided one–armed hug.

“Jesus,” Keira managed. “First Sutton, now you. Please tell me, God, this isn’t something I can catch. Because whatever it is, I don’t want it. I’m too young for changing nappies and vomit.”

“I’m terrified as well, Keira,” Blair admitted, her eyes blinking hard. “But also… weirdly calm. Is that normal?”

“In our family?” Keira said. “Absolutely not. Call a doctor.”

“Don’t listen to her. Yes, it’s normal. I would wake up at night while I was pregnant in a cold sweat. When you become pregnant or even have the baby, no one hands you a manual. Because every child is different. There is no one–size–fits–all.”

Luca smiled faintly.

“So, it’s normal…”

He rested the still–folded gown on the counter and leaned back against it, giving them another minute. Because this moment belonged to them first. This was how important the sisters were to each other and how they had supported each other through the years.

“Yes, it’s normal. Don’t worry, I will be here with you every step o Blair,” Sutton said softly.

the way. Plus, Roman will love every minute of it. You are going to be a great mother,

He lifted the gown again and fed his arms through the sleeves slowly, adjusting the collar.

And then, once he was ready, he moved around the curtain.

They looked up as he stepped in.

All three faces turned to him, eyes warm… even keira offered a real smile.

“Hey,” Luca said softly, as he approached the open incubator.

“He was awake a few minutes ago,” Blair said, her eyes a little watery, but her voice strong. “He fell asleep after he was fed.”

“Doesn’t matter, I wanted to be here,” Luca said, stepping up beside Sutton, reaching for her hand before he leaned in and kissed her temple.

And when he kissed the hat on their son’s tiny head, Sutton rested her cheek against his shoulder, content.

“He’s getting stronger every day and stays awake a little longer,” she whispered, “I can’t wait to take him home with us.

Luca nodded. “Soon.”

Keira snorted. “Yeah, and then you will never know a full night’s sleep is.”