by Naomi West
He rises, hands in his pockets again. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Before the words can even settle over us, Patrizzio has risen. He’s speaking in fast Italian to Esposito and the two men and nodding their heads. They don’t smile or shake their heads but then Patrizzio turns his back, and he’s walking toward me.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he says under his breath as he walks past me.
“Stand,” I command Row. “Walk in front of me.”
She follows both my directions and Patrizzio and I flank her, front and back, as we beat it out of the warehouse.
I don’t look back at Esposito.
Chapter Sixteen
Row
I make it to the car, slam the doors and absolutely crow with joy. I reach into the front seat and give each man up there a whopping kiss on the cheek.
“I’m free!” I yell. “My father’s free! Kennedy is free!”
“Drive,” Patrizzio tells Kennedy. “Let’s get to the fucking airport.”
Kennedy steps on it and grins at me in the rearview. “You did so fucking well, professor.”
“You did,” Patrizzio agrees. “He completely bought it. All of it. The pregnancy thing was a nice touch.”
The car swerves as I assume Kennedy is just remembering that piece of information.
“It wasn’t a touch,” I say. “It’s the truth. I took the test last night in the airport.”
Kennedy pulls the car over. “You’re driving,” he tells Patrizzio.
A second later, Kennedy is joining me in the backseat. His arms around me, his lips are on mine and he’s shaking-positively shaking.
“Is this happy shaking?” I ask him.
“Yes,” he says. “And relief that it went alright. And pride, because you did so well. And holy shit. Holy shit. Holy SHIT. You’re pregnant.” He looks like he’s just been smacked in the face with a frying pan.
We spend the rest of the car ride wrapped up in one another. And by the time we’ve made it through the security line at the airport, we’re both a little more back to earth. The adrenaline and intensity of the day is coming off of all three of us.
“Jesus,” Patrizzio says as he hoists a bag over his shoulder. “I’d forgotten what rooms like that feel like. It’s like touching your tongue to an electrical socket.”
“You miss being in the game?” Kennedy asks him.
Patrizzio shakes his head. “I don’t. For the first time since I left prison, I have absolutely no urge to re-enter the hustle. Glad I got one last hurrah though, kid.” He claps a hand on Kennedy’s shoulder. “But tell me something, Row. Are you really going to hand over Tigrinya to Esposito?”
I chuckle. “Hell no. If I even find her, and that’s a big if, there’s so much red tape around artifacts like that, there’s no way in hell Esposito could get his hands on her. We just wanted to dangle a carrot. Something to get us out of that room and him off our backs for a while.”
“And if he’s still bothering us after that,” Kennedy says, shrugging. “I’ll kill him. Then at least we’ll have tried out all our options first.”
I look at him, totally unsure if he’s joking or not, but also not really caring. As long as Kennedy’s not beating himself to hell and back over it, I could care less about Esposito’s longevity of life.
Patrizzio checks his watch and starts to lean in for a quick kiss goodbye. He’s flying back to Ireland tonight, he’s going home, to where his children live. Soon Dare will be heading back to Ireland as well. And Kennedy and I will have to help start new lives for his mother and sister and my father. But for now, we just fly back to our little home in Santorini. We deserve a vacation.
“You ever want to come out to Greece again, Fabrici,” I tell him and kiss him on the cheek.
“I’ll call you, my little turtledove,” he says and then reaches out for a quick hug with Kennedy. The two men have tremendous respect for one another.
We watch Patrizzio walk down the hallway and disappear into the crowd. None of the people suspecting that the well-dressed, handsome man beside them was once the baddest mob boss in the United States.
And the same is true for Kennedy, I realize as we board our own flight. None of the other passengers know that he was a hit man. I lay my head on his shoulder and fall asleep.
Kennedy sprang for a plane ride back to the island, to spare us both the ferry ride. But even so, it’s almost 24 hours before I’m bursting through the doors of the little whitewashed house.
Kennedy locks up after me and tosses our bags to the floor. He drags me to the blue sofa I’ve come to love.
“Row,” he says, holding my hand so tightly. “I want to raise our child near my mother and my sister and your father. I want our kid to have more family than he knows what to do with.”
Tears automatically fill my eyes. “I want to foster our kid’s interests no matter what they are. Science, art, poetry, cooking, I don’t care. I just want her to be passionate.”
He leans his forehead into mine. “I’m going to love you forever.”
My heart skips every beat for the rest of my life. “And back again.”
# # #
6 months later
Kennedy
“Careful. CAREFUL,” Row screeches at me from above.
“Honey, if you say that one more time, I swear I’m gonna ram this tiny ice pick through my own ear.” I look up into the eyes of my extremely pregnant wife and smile a threateningly sweet smile.
“I’m sorry!” she yells, shading her eyes. “But you’re the one who wanted to help and I told you I wasn’t completely comfortable with a civilian helping on my site and-”
“Got it!” Row’s father bellowed from across the site. “He’s coming out!”
Row is up like a shot and sprinting across the site, leaving me to scramble out of the six foot hole I’ve been standing in all day, slowly chipping away at pottery fragments.
I catch up with them the moment a heavy piece of machinery gently lifts out the tiny casket and lays it in the prearranged area. Professor Rourke takes the most delicate little brush and starts to brush the dirt off one of the sides. There’s ancient Greek letters lining the sides.
“Daddy,” Row gasps as she reads the Greek. She gropes behind her for my hand and I thread our fingers. “It’s him. It’s Iairos.”
Her father looks over at her and something is set free between them.
In that moment, I see our future. We’ll rebury Iairos alongside his sister and his heart. Perhaps when our baby can be there with us. My mother and Mara will be there too. My mom and Row’s dad had apparently gotten a little friendly when they were all holed up in Corfu. And now we were all living together in Greece. As close to Iairos as we could be.
There’s so much work to do before we can do that. All the cataloguing and order that comes with Row’s job. And then we’ll have to pack up and move again. On to wherever her next job will be. But that’s just life, I think as I slide an arm around Row’s belly. That’s the good stuff.
The baby kicks against my hand and she looks up at me, smiling, her eyes shining with tears of joy.
“I love you,” she whispers. And then smirking, “Master.”
I smirk back at her. Some of the stricter rules we’ve abandoned. But a lot of it has stuck. And it makes our sex life surprisingly simple. And deeply rewarding.
And actually, that’s the perfect way to describe every moment of my life with Row. Surprisingly simple. Deeply rewarding.
THE END
Books by Naomi West
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Hawk’s Baby: Kings of Chaos MC
He may be a killer, but I can’t say no to his touch.
Hawk Millard is not a good man. He’s a felon, a biker – and maybe even his brother’s killer.
But in the wake of Hugh Millard’s murder, Hawk is the only one who can care for Hugh’s infant son.
As a private investigator
, I’m determined to get to the truth, by any means necessary.
Even if I have to sacrifice my body to Hawk to get there.
Hugh Millard’s death still haunts me.
I was the detective assigned to his case, but the official answers never seemed to hold water.
So I quit the police force and struck out on my own.
I have to know what happened.
And Hugh’s brother seems like a damn good place to start asking questions.
But he’s not a man who takes kindly to strangers.
I move in next door, hoping to sneak my way into his life.
If only I’d known how that would end up.
Before I know it, I’m helping Hawk care for his baby nephew by day.
By night, I’m stifling my moans in dark hallways while Hawk’s hands and mouth roam across my body.
It’s wrong, I know.
But he just does something to me.
Awakens something I can’t control.
Uncages something that refuses to go back inside.
It’s not all fun and games, though.
I’m in too deep, mired in a world where I have no business mucking around.
There are killers out there, and people eager to come after what’s left of the Millard family and fortune.
They’re the kind of people who see someone like me as little more than a roadblock… an obstacle to be disposed of.
The only safety I can find is in Hawk’s arms.
But as I learn more about Hawk and his past, I realize that that might be the most dangerous place of all.
Outlaw’s Baby: Devil’s Edge MC
I want to tie her to the bed and make her beg for my forgiveness.
Ivy Simmons might look like an angel, but she’s just another desperate wreck.
I don’t need more people looking to me for help – caring for my son is enough of a handful.
Then she gets both herself and my boy kidnapped.
Now, I have to hunt down the bastards who took them… and then I’m take her body as payment for my troubles.
This motel is a hellhole, but it’s home for now, ever since my MC’s rivals decided to burn down my house.
My son and I made it out alive, but we’re stuck here until further notice.
It’s not all bad, though.
The girl next door is hot as hell, with an air of vulnerability that only makes my arousal stronger.
Better yet, she wants my help, and I want hers.
She needs cash; I need a babysitter for Josh while I plan next steps with my MC.
It’s a win-win…
Until she’s dumb enough to let my enemies sniff them out and pounce.
Now, I’m hauling ass down the highway, trying to get back my son.
I can only think of one thing:
Once he’s back in my arms, Ivy is going to pay.
She’s going to pay with her mouth.
With her hands.
With those pretty little legs.
She’s going to pay, over and over again, until I’m satisfied.
Hitman’s Promise: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance
She’ll carry my baby as payment for her defiance.
I didn’t travel five thousand g*ddamn miles just to get knocked out and tied up by a girl.
As soon as I manage to get out, I’m going to have my revenge.
She’ll pay for this. She’ll pay with her ripe mouth, with her flawless skin, with her obedience.
That’s a promise.
I’m not a murderer – not anymore, at least.
But Rowena Davenport might make me go back to my old ways.
I’m here to bring her father back to the Esposito crime family. Apparently, the old man owes them lots of money.
Just before I can wrap things up, though, she gets the jump on me and chains me up.
Mired in this sh*thole of a basement, it seems like she has the upper hand.
But one look in my eyes and she knows that these handcuffs will not be enough to tame a beast like me.
We make a deal.
I’ll spare her father… in exchange for her.
Now, the sexy scientist is mine to do with as I please.
I drink in the sight of her naked body stretched before me and can’t help but lick my lips.
This will be fun.
But time is not on our side.
The Espositos have caught wind of my little bargain, and they’re far from pleased.
Men are coming now – men with pasts even darker than mine.
If we’re going to make it out alive, Row will have to answer one question:
Does she trust me?
DARK SEDUCTION: Millennium Mayhem MC
Felice thinks she’s using me, but she doesn’t know the first thing about what that means.
I’ll show her how it feels to be used.
To be touched and teased and bent over my knee, moaning for release.
It’s twisted. It’s wrong.
But I’m going to have her anyways.
FELICE
What they don’t tell you about a fall from grace is that it hurts like hell when you land.
I had everything – the perfect fiancé, the perfect best friend, the perfect life.
Then it all collapsed.
That rat bastard cheated on me and left my heart in flames.
So I took his car and clothes to the middle of the desert and set the whole mess on fire.
Eye for an eye, right?
And just then, right on cue, another opportunity for revenge rolled up on the back of a growling motorcycle.
Pierce Normandy is everything my ex-fiancé is not.
He’s rugged.
Cruel.
And sexy as hell.
I’ll use him to make my ex jealous.
It’s just a fling – nobody plans on falling in love.
What could go wrong?
PIERCE
I was a king.
President of a motorcycle club that no one in their right mind would dare f**k with.
I had women, riches, and the loyalty of every single one of my brothers.
Except for one.
My second in command stabbed me in the back and framed me for a murder I didn’t commit.
I had no choice but to leave it all behind.
I come across an angry little rich girl in the desert.
She looks like she’s got problems, but I’m not one to pry.
I offer her a ride back to her house, and in exchange, she gives me a place to stay for the night.
But Little Miss Priss thinks I’ll be the next tool in her revenge plot.
Think again, honey.
I’ve been used once.
I’m not going to let it happen again.
This time, we’re playing by my rules.
RIP ME: A Dark Romance
I’M ABOUT TO RIP HER TO PIECES.
What is a woman like her to a man like me?
Usable.
Disposable.
Cheap.
I’ve claimed hundreds of girls and I’ll claim hundreds more.
Most nights, I take home whichever hot little b*tch tickles my fancy.
A little fun, a little f*ck, and then boom – tossed aside.
Never to be seen again.
But this sure as hell isn’t most nights.
There’s no room for error, no time to relax.
There is only the job at hand.
When you’re in a line of work like mine, people don’t take kindly to mistakes.
In fact, screwing up this job is pretty much guaranteed to cost me my life.
Which is why I get so pissed when she walks back through the door.
She shouldn’t be here.
She shouldn’t have seen the things she saw.
Heard the things she heard.
But it’s too late now. In this life, there is no escaping the consequences of our actions.
She f*cked me up.
And now i
t’s time for me to do the same to her.
CUFF ME: A Dark Romance
If she wants to be a bad girl, I’ll show her how to do it right.
She’s sneaking out of her father’s house just as I’m breaking in.
She acts like a wild child, but I see right through that façade.
I know exactly what she is.
A princess. A snowflake. A precious little angel, naïve and untouched.
That won’t last long around me.
Besides, I have business to take care of.
Her bastard father, the town sheriff, stole something very important from me: a book of my MC’s clients.
If evidence of our “extracurricular activities” gets out, there will be hell to pay.