Chapter 36 – The Mafia Nanny (Davina & Gabriel) Novel Free

Davina

I awoke to the sound of Michele’s laughter.

It was filled with such joy that it pulled me out of bed.

My feet landed on the floor, as the events of the previous night came to me. From the incredible fiasco with my mother and to my conversation with Gabriel thereafter, it all felt unreal. It was as if I was peering through a looking glass at someone else’s life.

Pulling on a pair of jeans, I headed over to the window where the sound was coming from. She was indeed having a swell time, but with someone I didn’t recognize.

He had a sparse head of thinning white hair and was pushing her on the swings, as high as she could possibly go. It made me nervous, so I hurried downstairs and out to the garden behind the house.

She squealed even louder when she saw me, and urged for the swing to come to a stop, so she could come over to give me a hug. Running over to me she grabbed my hand and looked up into my eyes.

I brushed her hair away from her face. She was still in her nightwear. “You haven’t had a bath.” I pinched lightly at her nose. “I must have overslept.”

She looked slightly guilty.

I figured she must have come to my room, saw me still asleep, and tiptoed back out. I smiled at the lovely child and lifted my head to the stranger she seemed so comfortable with.

“I’m Ivan Angelini,” he said, his eyes a chilling blue just like Gabriel’s despite the wide smile on his face. “You must be the new nanny that my niece is so in love with.”

I blushed with pleasure and accepted the hand he offered. I wondered if he could be one of Gabriel’s older brothers, but the lines around his eyes and the grey at his temples aged him too much for that. He seemed to be in his late sixties.

“I’m her grand uncle,” he explained.

I nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’ve been away in the US handling the family business, so I haven’t been able to see Michele for almost two months. I’ve missed her so much.”

The smile that Michele flashed up at him was open and trusting. A marked contrast to the way she treated Gabriel.

“Will she be able to have breakfast with me before I have to leave?”

“There is absolutely no reason why not,” I replied with a big smile. I liked him. He was polite and more importantly, he was the first person Michele seemed to adore. “I’ll quickly wash her up and we’ll be down in a bit.

Half an hour later, we were all seated in the dining room with Ivan right by Michele’s side and constantly offering up bits of his food to her. He had asked for fried tomatoes and she usually never had those, but because he had ordered them, she decided she wanted some too. He gave her bites and nibbles from his fork to her absolute delight.

I watched them and wondered why she was never this way when Gabriel was around.

As if on cue, all the hair at the back of my neck stood, and I knew that he must be approaching. When I looked up to his face, I had the answer to my question. His presence wasn’t cold, at least to me, but he was just intimidating. Very. Unlike his uncle who just seemed like a gentle, kind, caring man.

At the entrance to the breakfast room he stopped. His face was cold and closed. He said something to his uncle in Russian and turned away to take his leave.

With a smile at Michele, Ivan rose to his feet. He spoke to her in Russian and she nodded happily. I guess he must have promised he’d be right back.

I always poured the coffee for Gabriel. It was always the first thing he consumed before he ate. “What do you think, Michele? Shall I take some coffee in for your uncle?

She nodded.

I poured the coffee and carried it out to his study. I had just placed my knuckles on the heavy oak door to knock on it when I heard crashing sounds from within the room.

My heart jumped in my chest, as I staggered, the hot dark roast spilling all over my hands. I dropped the cup and it shattered into pieces on the granite floor. “Shit,” I cursed and instantly bent down and began to pick it up.

At that moment the door was pulled open and I looked up to see Ivan standing in the doorway. To my shock he was swaying unsteadily, his face was pale, and his lip was busted.

“Are you okay?” he asked me, even though he was the one who was bleeding.

In my peripheral vision, I could see Gabriel taking his seat calmly. It confused me so much that my hand tightened on a shard of porcelain cutting my finger. A soft cry escaped my lips.

Instantly, Gabriel pushed out of his chair and started striding towards me.

However, Ivan was already crouching down to help me.

“Davina,” Gabriel called urgently. He looked anxious.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” I replied and rose up.

“Show me,” he ordered, with a frown.

“It’s nothing. It’s just a little cut,” I said, aware of Ivan watching me. I didn’t want him to know that Gabriel and I were lovers.

“I’ll get one of the maids to clean it up,” I said and hurried away.

As I went, I heard Ivan roar out something in anger. I turned around to see that three of his security had appeared out of nowhere. They handled Ivan with less grace than should have been given to a grand uncle and in shock, I turned to gaze at Gabriel.

He was watching me without any expression at all.

This is one of the reasons we can’t be together. Your world is terrifying.

Later that night, both Michele and I were packed, awaiting our ride to the airport. Soon an entourage of a Mercedes Benz backed by two SUVs arrived and the both of us were ushered into the Benz by Alex.

Gabriel drove us personally, while the other two vehicles escorted us and in no time, we were at the airport. The door was pulled open by Brain. Waiting on the tarmac was a private plane, two air hostesses, and a pilot.

I saw another side of Alex then. Despite his enormous size, he jumped out of the car and kept an eagle eye on our transfer from the cars to the plane. Through the doorway, I could see two more security men present. It made me wonder why Gabriel always had to have so much security around him. Was this all for Michele’s benefit? He did seem to be paranoid about her safety. Perhaps for the rich, the risk of being kidnapped was always foremost in their minds.

We were welcomed aboard and ushered to our seats by a pristinely polished hostess with a flawless bun, and dark red lipstick.

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