"Hey! Hey you shrimp-dick motherfucker! I bet you did fuck your mother, didn't you, you fucking piece of shit," Sully yells.
It's the perfect distraction. Benny switches his focus to him, and with a hand on the floor for balance, I gain a few precious seconds to beg the room to stop spinning.
I push to my feet, leaning to the right before shaking my head to clear some of the dizziness. Benny advances on Sully, and it feels like time slows down.
In a second, I see what my life would've been like had I not kissed Rush or met Wolf at Summer Knoll or reconnected with Sully. Or worse, what my life would've been if Benny succeeded.
"Stop!" I scream the word, splitting the air with the impact. Both men freeze, though Sully wasn't moving much anyway. "Turn around. Slowly."
Benny spins on his heel, raising his arms up, palms facing me. The look on his face spells murder. He takes a step toward me. "Give me the gun, Alaina. I'll take care of him."
I widen my stance and throw my shoulders back. "I said stop, Aeron."
I watch the fake polite mask fall away and the monster he is looks back at me. It's not the same kind of darkness that my men have—the kind that will bend and make room for me, the kind that has some boundaries even if they aren't conventional.
No, this is the kind of darkness that's solid, impenetrable. Oily and laced with poison so once you're ensnared, you'll never be able to leave. Benny will never be free of his darkness. It's been rotting him from the womb.
He tips his head down and looks at me from underneath his furrowed brow as he takes another step toward me, blocking my view of Sully. "I told you to call me Benny."
I don't back up, even if my instincts are screaming at me to move. “Why? Is it because calling you Aeron Briggsby reminds you that your father is my grandfather? Because ‘Benny’ makes you feel as normal as you can. But you’re not normal, Aeron. You’re a sick fuck.”
The light above me buzzes before flaring and dying with a pop, plunging us into more darkness. I glance at the darkened area above my head and back to Benny, who’s inching toward me. "I will shoot you if you don't stop moving."
Back-lit by the spotlight on the floor behind Sully, Benny slides toward me, his moves serpentine. He cocks his head to the side as he stares at me. "No, I don't think you wi—”
A crack fills the air, echoing off the metal walls around us. Bright red blooms on Benny's light-blue shirt on his chest. Surprise colors his face, his jaw slackening.
High-pitched ringing fills my ears, and everything feels like it’s in half-time.
Benny stumbles back a few steps, dragging his hand to his chest. He presses against it as he stares at me with betrayal in his gaze.
“How could you, Alaina? You’re mine.” He stumbles another couple of steps to the side. “We were meant to be together.”
I keep the gun trained on him as I try my best to ignore my quivering muscles.
Tattooed fingers cover my hand and gently push the gun down. I follow the familiar tattoos until I see the familiar espresso-brown eyes I love.
“Shh. It’s alright, baby girl. You did good,” he murmurs.
It’s like his words unplug the dam, and I feel my body sigh, pitching to the left. He catches my stumble and wraps his arms around me. I bury my face in his chest and breath in his familiar sandalwood scent.
He takes the gun from me and clicks the safety on before tucking it in his pants. It’s only then I see Rush cutting Sully’s zip ties. Benny lies still on the concrete floor, his lifeblood slowly spreading out around him. I can’t seem to tear my gaze from the widening red stain.
Sully runs to me and scoops me up into his arms. “Jesus Christ, princess. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” He puts me back on my feet and runs his hands up and down my arms, his gaze scanning my body almost frantically. “You’re okay?”
“I’ll be okay. Are you hurt?”
He pulls me in for another bone-crushing hug and I squeeze him with my arms around his middle. “I’m fine. You did good, Lainey. I’m so proud of you.”
Rush joins us with his phone to his ear, murmuring something too low for me to hear. My head pounds loud enough that it’s drowning out a lot of other noise, making it hard for me to concentrate.
Rush tucks his phone into his pocket as he looks me over while Sully’s arms are still wrapped around me. “Called in an order for donuts. Quinn owes me one.”
My brow furrows. Donuts?
“Good. Let’s get the fuck outta here. I’m ready to go home,” Wolf grumbles, leading the way out of the warehouse.
“What about Gallagher Industries? What are we gonna do about that?” Sully asks.
Rush looks at me for a moment. “That’s up to Alaina. But she doesn’t have to make a decision now. I bought us some time.”
“Another favor to Quinn?” Wolf asks.
“Nah. I set Roisin free on their servers. She’s going to freeze everything until we’re ready to make a decision. What’s left of the legitimate board has already been informed of the change.”
I nod, grateful for that. I don’t know what I’m going to do with a company I didn’t know existed until a few weeks ago. And I’m in no condition to make that kind of decision.
“Take me home, Rush.”
He leans forward and brushes his lips against my head. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Three months later
Alaina
The summer flew by.
When we got back from Ireland, I spent three days recovering at their apartment. It mostly consisted of sleeping and eating and processing—and making good use of those luxury showers they all have.
A week after that, we spread my mother’s ashes in the ocean per her request. We held a small gathering for just our family and mom’s closest friends. I visited her headstone for the first time last week. It’s in a nice cemetery overlooking some hills. And I had one made for my dad too.
I spent the rest of the summer enjoying the hell out of life. Time with Mary and Maddie—neither of which will spill any details on their summer flings. Time with the King sisters when they were around. I’ve learned so much from each of them, and we’ve all grown close over the last couple of months. And lots of time with my men. I spent every night with them at their apartment, and many, many hours in their beds. I think I convinced them to order a custom-made bed that will comfortably sleep all of us last night.
I truly went through a sort of sexual awakening, and it lit a fire in me that I don’t ever see going out. Not while these three crazy-hot men are mine.
After Roisin froze everything with Gallagher Industries, and Rush helped me understand all the reports she gave us, I decided to dissolve the company. I didn’t agree with the way they conducted business, and I don’t want any part of a company that Aeron manipulated and used to terrorize me. I’m still in the process of everything, but I think after it’s all said and done, I’m going to donate a healthy chunk to a local mental health charity.
Even though my craziness has calmed down considerably, things are still crazy but not in the I’m-getting-kidnapped kind of way. More like I-have-three-boyfriends-who-all-do-questionable-things way. And oh, I have three boyfriends.
That’s something that’s hard to believe sometimes. Every day I feel lucky that I get to call them mine, and that’s only increased tenfold since we got back from Ireland.
“You’re awfully quiet. Get that good dick last night?” Maddie asks as she waggles her brows at me.
“Jesus, Maddie!”
“What?” She shrugs. “You’ve got three super-hot boyfriends. You should be getting some every time you turn around.” Her smile is mischievous as she seals another box closed.
“Are you speaking from experience?” I tease Maddie with a twist of my lips. “How are those Rossi boys these days?”
“Men.” Maddie sighs. “They’re men, and they’re—” She fans her face dramatically.
Mary scoffs. “Ever since the
couple weeks you spent with Matteo, you’ve been different. More . . .”
“It’s called a sexual awakening, Mary. I highly recommend it. Wouldn’t you, Lainey?” Maddie looks at me with her eyebrow raised and her fist on her hip.
“I’m not getting in the middle of this,” I say as I fold the top of the last box over and tape it closed.
I tune out my cousins’ banter as I take in our dorm suite that we shared for the last six years. We’d planned to share it for college too, but I’ve decided to move into the apartment the guys share. A decision that was proposed by Rush, of course, but Wolf and Sully were both quickly onboard.
After spending most nights this summer with them, the thought of staying at my dorm room most nights sent a pang of anxiety through me.
I’ll still attend classes here, so it’s not like I’ll never see them. Plus, the apartment isn’t that far away. But it’ll be weird not to live with them anymore. The university already assigned them another roommate, and today’s the day she moves in, so I have to get the rest of my stuff out.
All that’s left are these two boxes. Rush and Wolf already took the small rental trailer over, and Sully’s here helping me pack up and move the last few boxes before we follow them.
The man in question pushes open the door with a finger, his dark-blond hair hanging over his forehead in that messy way that makes me a little crazy.
“Just these two, princess?”
“Yep. Last two. Careful though, that one’s heavy. It’s all my books,” I tell him as he bends down to pick it up.
He flashes me a cocky grin. “I’ll be back for the last one in a few minutes.”
“Alright.” Patting the top of the closed box, I turn to face my cousins. They’re quiet now, both them facing me with matching expressions of sadness on their faces.
“We’re going to miss you,” they say at the same time.
A smile curves up the corners of my lips. “You guys know I love it when you do your twin mojo thing.”
“We know,” they answer together again. Maddie rolls her eyes with a smile.
“I’m just across the city. And we’ll still see each other during the day for classes like usual.”
Mary nods a few times, and my sinuses tingle, threatening tears. We look at each other for a moment before all three of us stride toward one another. We meet in the middle and throw our arms around one another for our favorite triangle-style hug.
A watery laugh breaks free from my lips. “I don’t know why I’m upset. I’m happy, excited even, to move in with them. I just . . . I’m just going to miss living with you guys.”
“Us too, Lainey. But you’re right. We’ll still see each other all the time,” Maddie says with a sniff.
A knock on the open door breaks our moment up, and as one, we turn to face the doorway. A girl with long lavender hair stands in the doorway, a duffel thrown over her shoulder and a suitcase in her hand. But what captures my attention is the person behind her.
“Diesel? What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Alaina. This is Edie, my baby sister.” He gestures to the girl in front of him.
Edie rolls her eyes and steps inside the suite with an outstretched hand. “Hey.” Maddie’s the first one to reach her, bypassing her hand and pulling her into a hug. “Okay then. So you’re the hugging type.”
Maddie pulls back with a grin. “Sure am. I’m Maddie, and this is my sister, Mary.”
It’s not until I turn my head and look at Mary that I notice all the color drained from her face. “Are you okay?”
“Hm? I’m fine.”
“It’s good to see you, Mary,” Diesel says, his gaze roaming all over my cousin.
My brow raises and then I remember. “That’s right. You two spent time together earlier this summer.”
“Not really.” Mary’s reply is too quick, her voice high-pitched. “I, uh, forgot something.” She turns on her heel and all but runs down the hallway to her room, slamming the door.
“Okay . . .” I drag out the word as I turn to look at Diesel. A smile twists his lips, but otherwise, he doesn’t say anything.
Sully walks in then, breaking up this awkward moment. They do that guy greeting thing where they shake hands and half hug with chin lifts.
I turn toward Maddie and Edie. “Hey, I’m Alaina. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, I know all about you, girl,” Edie says with a teasing smile.
I tilt my head to the side. “Good things, I hope.”
She steps closer to me and lowers her voice. “Is it true you have three boyfriends?”
Mirth dances in my veins as I answer, “Sure is.”
Edie whistles. “Damn. Teach me your ways!”
“Ready, princess?” Sully asks from next to me. He’s holding the last box, and I take a moment to admire his muscles stretching his Clash tee.
“No, really. Please teach me how to get that,” Edie murmurs, her gaze going hazy as she stares at Sully.
I get it. He’s a walking wet dream. It’s probably good that she didn’t come earlier when Wolf and Rush were here.
I laugh. “I think you’ll fit in here just fine, Edie. And I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots of each other.
“Count on it!”
I walk out of the place I called home for the last six years with a light heart and a bittersweet smile.
I’m ready for the next adventure life throws at me. I know with all three Fitzgerald boys at my side, it’s going to be one amazing ride.
Epilogue
Three years later
Alaina
“Congratulations, graduating class! It’s my absolute pleasure to be the first to wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors. And may you use all your knowledge that you acquired to live a long and prosperous life.”
I tune out the guest speaker’s words. Honestly, I don’t find them all that inspiring. These days, I have something else that inspires me.
I let my gaze wander the massive crowd as I discreetly wipe the bead of sweat rolling down the side of my face. These polyester caps are the worst, and when it’s ninety degrees outside, it feels like I’ve got my head in an oven.
There, sitting off to the side, are the faces I was searching for. Mary and Maddie sit next to some familiar faces. I look forward to next year when our positions are switched, and they’re roasting in these polyester saunas while I cheer them on from the stands. All those extra classes paid off, and I graduated early.
The Kings take up an entire section with their entourage. All five sisters insisted on receiving four tickets each, and somehow, they figured it out.
Wolf leans back against the bleacher seat behind him, spreading his legs wide. And Sully scowls at the people sitting down the bench from them, despite the wide berth surrounding all of them.
But Rush—Rush stares right back at me, a small smile playing around his lips, eyes twinkling.
I have a sneaky suspicion that he knows my secret, but he would never tell them before I’m ready.
The guest speaker asks everyone to rise and move our tassels from one side to the other to signify change.
And with a hand on my slightly rounded stomach, I move my tassel to the other side.
I’m ready to begin my next journey, and with Wolf, Rush, and Sully next to me, I know it’s going to be the best thing I’ve ever experienced. A once-in-a-lifetime sort of cosmic love.
A Note to Readers
I cried a little when I wrote the end at the end of this book, but I absolutely love how their story turned out, and I hope you do too! These characters will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for joining me on their journey.
I can’t thank you enough for taking a chance on a new author and a new series. And I hope you stick around, because I already have the next series planned!
*drumroll*
Maddie’s getting a series next! I left some breadcrumbs throughout Alaina’s trilogy, so I’
m sure you have an inkling who her love interests will be. It’s Gossip Girl meets Sopranos, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
I would be honored if you had the time to leave a brief review of this book! Reviews are the lifeblood of a book, and I would appreciate it so much.
xoxo
—pen
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to my readers! Thank you for hanging in there with me on all those cliffs too, sending all of you air hugs for that!
To all the bookstagrammers and bloggers and readers that send me messages and create beautiful edits for my books—I’m still in awe. Thank you so, so much. On my most insecure days, I pull up your edits and kind words and never fails to reignite my spark.
Thank you to my husband who’s always the first one to champion me. I don’t know what I’d do without you! And I love that you’re always shouting, “My wife’s a romance author!” with pride to anyone you pass on the street. I’m so grateful for you—and your delicious food!
To my tiny humans: I love you both more than all the stars in the sky. And you have to wait until you’re older to read Mommy’s books.
To my wonderful family who’s encouraged and supported me—thank you, thank you! And thank you to each and every one of you who read my books—I’m lookin’ at you, Grandma + Grandpa!
To my amazing beta readers Claire, Tracey, and Savy. I’m so thankful for each of you. Your kindness and support means the world to me.
To Say—I’d be lost without you, girl. One day, I’m going to hop on a plane and then tackle-hug you.
Sully: An Irish Mafia Romance (The Brotherhood Book 3) Page 25