Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
He groans my name, shuddering on top of me.
"Te amo," I moan as he slips my panties to the side, filling me in one deep thrust. "Te amo."
"Sei la mia vita," he whispers back. I know he means it. I am his life.
And he's mine.
My king.
My world.
My everything.
Epilogue
Rafe
Five Years Later
"What do you think?" I ask, glancing at my brothers, Diego, and Mattia. We're cloistered together in the corner of the dining room, discussing our options. "Can we take them?"
They eye me sideways, doubt hanging heavy in the air around them. I can practically smell the defeat wafting from them. They don't think we can win this war. They've given up. For a long moment, no one says anything though. No one wants to be the one to break the news to me. They glance at each other, waiting for someone else to step up and deliver the blow.
Mattia cracks first. "They're killing us man," he says, his lip curling in disgust. "It's time to admit defeat, Rafe."
"True story," Gabe agrees, reaching for his beer. He peers around Mattia, staring at the cards spread across the table in rife suspicion. "I think they're cheating."
"They aren't cheating," Nico says. "They're just fucking smarter than we are."
Luca snorts. "They aren't smarter than we are. Coda just sucks at giving us hints." He glances at me, frowning. "Does everything boil down to murder and the mafia to him?"
I shrug. "The man knows what he knows."
Mattia snorts. He doesn't disagree though. We both know he can't.
"I vote we put anyone other than Coda in charge of clues next time," Diego says, raising his voice so it carries to Coda. "I still don't know how the fuck Gambino Bambino relates to anything on that fucking board."
"Seconded," Luca says immediately.
"Motion passed," Mattia agrees.
Coda flips them off from his seat at the table, laughing quietly. "I'd like to see any of you do any better," he calls out. "Assholes."
Nico was right. The girls are smarter than we are. How the hell they're beating us at a goddamn spy game though, I don't know. Aside from him, every man in this room is a Made man. We've sworn our oaths and we all live by the same code. Our wives don't. Aside from Luca's wife, none of them grew up in this world. We should be mopping the floor with them right now.
Instead, they're one card away from victory…and we're one card from total annihilation. Literally. We've got one damn agent uncovered. The board is an uninterrupted sea of blue.
They're kicking our asses.
"Time's up," Amalia announces.
We all turn to find them watching us from their side of the table, matching looks of amusement on their faces. They know they have us beaten, and they're loving every minute of it. It's impossible to be mad about it when they're as cute as they are. Amalia's grinning from ear to ear, her hand on her belly. Her bump is only just beginning to show. Norah's practically dancing in her chair in excitement. Luca and Gabe's wives are arm in arm, fighting laughter. Mattia's wife is quieter, more subdued, but she's smiling too. Diego's wife is on the opposite side of the table beside Coda, playing spymaster for their team.
It's odd. Five years ago, my family was broken. This house was a mausoleum exactly like Amalia called it, cold and devoid of life. Nico never stepped foot through the door. Neither did Gabe if he could avoid it. Luca spent as little time here as he could too. Now, they never seem to leave. Our family is bigger than it ever was before, stronger than it ever was. I know I have Amalia to thank for that.
She refused to rest until she stitched us back together again. It wasn't easy. We've all had our own shit to deal with over the years. We've all had our own journeys to make. There have been battles to fight and wars to win and a thousand problems along the way. But somehow, we've managed to face them together.
Nico and I are good now. We aren't perfect and I doubt we ever will be. He is who he is and I am who I am. But we understand each other. He knows that I do the things I do to protect this family. He doesn't have to agree with them. He doesn't even have to like them. But I made my choice a long time ago. I made it again when I asked Amalia to marry me. It's different this time though. I'm not playing by my father's rules anymore. This time, I'm making my own.
I'm not sure that Diego will ever entirely forgive me for killing Dario, but he's Amalia's family, and that makes him part of my family. It took a long time for me to learn to trust him with her. I still keep an eye on him just in case he ever decides he wants to start talking to the FBI again. If that day comes, well, we'll cross that bridge then. But I think that's in the past now.