The Secret The Italian Claims. Jennie Lucas

you all right? Is he being nice?

      From Tess.

      Did he agree to pay child support? How much?

      From Lola.

      Why aren’t you answering?

      Are you being held hostage?

      Should we call the police?

      Quickly Hallie typed out a response to them both.

      All well. Just got a paternity test. He says he wants to be a father to Jack. More later.

      She tucked her phone away. Rolling down her car window, Hallie took a deep breath, looking out into the warm, humid July night as their SUV drove into the Lower East Side. She felt sick at the thought of seeing her landlord, who wasn’t a proper landlord at all, just a guy who’d been willing to rent her a room in his apartment at a cut-rate price.

      But the man had made it clear to her that morning that he expected her to pay in other, less tangible ways. She gulped. She never would have wanted to come back here, except she’d left behind all her most precious possessions. Her old family photos from West Virginia. Her grandmother’s homemade quilt. Her father’s watch. It was everything she had left of her family now.

      Hallie took a deep breath. She’d just pay the landlord off, take all her stuff and then she and the baby could check into a hotel.

      “Um...” Hallie bit her lip. “Do you think we could stop somewhere so I could cash my check?”

      “You waste no time.” The corners of Cristiano’s lips twitched. “You think some check-cashing store is going to count you out a hundred thousand dollars in twenty-dollar bills?”

      “Maybe a bank...”