What Happens In Italy..._A BWWM Billionaire Romance

by Kendra Riley

  “Oh, I know that you will not hurt either of them or put them in harm’s way. If you do, I will kill you and make it look like an accident. That I swear to you,” he said, looking as though he meant every word of his threat.

  “What are my favorite guys talking about?” Savannah asked as she returned, looking refreshed and wearing such a sweet smile that it was hard to believe the tense situation with Tony had happened only hours before.

  “We are just getting to know each other a bit better,” Sam said with an innocent smile.

  “Yes, after all we have a lot in common. We both love you,” Jake said as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “That is the sweetest thing,” she said with a giggle. Then, she took his hand and led him in to the office responsible for the marriage licenses and on to their new life together.

  The Final Chapter

  The days that followed were exactly what Jake had always dreamed of. He and Savannah were going over every detail of the house, picking out paint colors and furniture. He had enough of his ill-gotten gains left to allow her to pick out anything she wanted, especially since her taste ran more towards the comfortable than the extravagant. Often they worked together, with Brian nearby in a bassinet.

  It was a few days later, when in a rare moment he and Savannah were separated, that things began to unravel. She was off with her mother to pick out a wedding dress. She had insisted that she could wear any of the lighter colored dresses that she already had since it was to be a small affair, but her mother had insisted.

  He was out in their new garage, organizing things to start his motorcycle repair business, when he heard a group of bikes pull in to their driveway. Curious, he wiped his hands on his jeans and headed outside. There, to his surprise, sat his brothers idling on their bikes.

  "Well, did you all miss me that quickly?" he asked with a smile. He was so excited to see them all that he didn't immediately realize the threat they presented to his future.

  "Life was too dull without you, brother," Brian said as he jumped off his bike.

  "Yes, do show us your little slice of paradise," Reese said with a smirk.

  "Come on in," Jake said as he turned for the house, eager to get the motley crew off the street. With their pictures hanging outside of the sheriff's office, there was no telling who might put the clues together and realize who they really were.

  "Where is your family?" asked his youngest brother.

  "Off making wedding plans," he said with a sentimental look on his face that caused all of his brothers to laugh out loud.

  "All ready soft," Reese teased.

  "As whipped as could be," joked another as they all filed in to the living room and made themselves at home.

  "I don't mind a bit," Jake said as he opened the fridge and started passing out beers.

  "You have sure done well for yourself in a short amount of time," Brian observed as he propped up his feet.

  "I think so," Jake said, trying to decide exactly how he would introduce everyone to Savannah when she returned home.

  "We tried a job without you," Brian explained.

  "How did it go?" Jake asked, though he could tell be their faces that it had not gone well.

  "Not well," Brian said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  "Piss poor," Reese added as he cracked open his beer.

  "I'm sorry to hear that," Jake answered, shaking his head.

  "Not as sorry as we were. We made off with two hundred dollars and nearly got clipped by the police twice on our way out of town," Brian said, looking at Jake accusingly. It was then that Jake realized why they had truly come.

  "We need you, kid," Reese added, sounding the most sincere he had in his entire life.

  "I told you guys, I'm out. I have a family. You all told me to go on and have my life," he said defensively.

  "We did and we do want you to be happy," said his youngest brother.

  "But," Brian added, “we thought we could do it without you and we were wrong. Nobody is a better scout than you. Reese tried and almost got us all locked up. We need you to play your part."

  "We all talked about it," another brother added.

  "If you scout and plan for us, you will not have to come on the actual jobs. You will not have to worry about getting arrested or anything."

  "Plus," Reese said, "you're going to need money to keep up this life and make your wife and kid happy."

  "I have a plan for that," Jake said, not sure how to tell his brothers that he would never again help them.

  "And what is that?" Reese demanded.

  "I'm going to open a bike shop," he said, proud to tell them how he planned to spend his future.

  "In this town?" Brian asked skeptically.

  "Yes," Jake said, trying to keep himself calm.

  “They are never going to accept you here. How can you even consider trudging through work every day when you could just keep working with us?” Reese demanded, his eyes bright with anger.

  “I'm going to have my own business. I'm going to be a member of this community. They all love Savannah and they love our son. They will accept me once I prove myself,” Jake said, angry at the suggestion that his dream might be out of his reach.

  “You keep telling yourself that,” Reese said angrily.

  “That is enough fighting. Scout, you know that you belong with us. You would be bored as hell living the same life as these small town people. I'm not saying that you should not build a life with your woman and your son. I'm saying that you will be able to build a better life if you keep working with us. Think it over,” Brian advised, his hand on Jake’s shoulder.

  “When do you want my answer?” he asked, considering for the first time that it might be the best way to support his family.

  “We are going to do the job that we originally planned in this town and we are going to do it tomorrow night. We need you with us. You know this town better than any of us could in such a short amount of time,” Brian explained, his expression stony and cold.

  “I thought that you didn't need me to go on the actual jobs with you?” Jake asked, realizing that they were never going to let him move on from the life of crime that they had all enjoyed for so long.

  “This job is different. We need you with us on this one. The rest you can just do recon. It isn't like anyone will be the wiser. Do this for us and the rest will be a piece of cake. You will only need to plan. You will never have to participate again,” he said, so sincerely that Jake almost believed him.

  He thought, then, of Savannah and of her family. Her brother would realize in a second if he was involved and Savannah’s ex, Tony, was a cop too. He would fill him with bullets and spit on his corpse to get him out of Savannah’s life.

  “I will think it over. You all need to go, though. Savannah will be home soon and I don't want her asking too many questions. If I do this, she can never know about it. It would hurt her too much,” he said thoughtfully.

  “We understand that completely,” Brian answered. “When can we meet your woman and my namesake, though?”

  “The wedding is in a few days. I would like you all to be there and I know that she would like it too. It's going to be at an old abandoned church outside of town. Let me write down the address and the time for all of you,” he said as he reached for a notebook.

  “Your woman and her family will not mind us crashing?” another brother asked.

  “No, she has been feeling bad for days that I wasn't going to have any family there. Besides, her family are religious folks. They wouldn't forbid anyone from coming to a church,” he explained.

  “Why is it in an abandoned church and not the church in the town? Do they not allow sinners there?” Reese asked with a laugh.

  “It's a special place for Savannah and I,” he said, reluctant to say more. He wanted to keep what was between Savannah and him in that church private.

  “We look forward to meeting her and your son,” Brian said. “I hope that you will be with us tomo
rrow night. Meet us at the motel. You know the one. It will all be fine and we will all be able to give you quite the wedding present.”

  “I will consider it,” he said as they all walked towards the door. As his brothers mounted their bikes and drove off, he couldn't help but think about how much easier things would be for him if he rode with them the next day. He would never be short of money and he could give Savannah and their son all the best of what life had to offer.

  More importantly, though, he wouldn't lose his brothers. He wasn't foolish enough to think that their relationship wouldn't change completely if he didn't join them the next day. He couldn't imagine a life without his brothers, but he wasn't sure that he was prepared to risk his future with Savannah for anything, even them.

  Minutes later, Savannah returned. She parked her car and pulled Brian from his car seat. Jake walked over to meet her and kissed her passionately before taking Brian from her arms and kissing him on the cheek.

  “What was that for,” she asked with a laugh.

  “I just missed you,” he said with a sigh.

  “Maybe I should spend time away more often if that is the kind of reception that I get when I come home,” she said, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

  “No, I don't like it when you're not here. Everything feels wrong,” he admitted, his voice heavy with emotions.

  “What is wrong?” she asked, concern in her beautiful eyes.

  “I just saw my brothers,” he said, studying her face as he spoke to see what her reaction would be. All he saw, though, was disappointment.

  “I cannot believe that I missed them. I wanted to know them and I was so eager for them to meet our son. Have they left town already?” she asked. There was no suspicion or anger in her voice. Only a desire to know those who he loved.

  “They have, but they are coming back. I invited them to the wedding and they are going to try to be there,” he said, relieved by the broad smile that spread across her face as he spoke.

  “That is the best news! Oh Jake, I'm so happy! Will they be your groomsmen?” she asked, her eyes sparking with tears of joy. She knew what his brothers meant to him and she respected that. All she wanted was his happiness and that made him love her even more.

  “They are not really the groomsmen type,” he said with a laugh, picturing his brothers in suits standing at the altar with him.

  “But they are coming,” she said with a sigh of relief.

  “Have I told you lately how much I love you?” he asked as he bent down to kiss her again.

  “You told me this morning, but I never tire of hear it,” she teased as she lifted the baby from her arms and kissed him on the cheek.

  “I love you,” he said as he watched her there, holding their baby in her arms in front of their home.

  “And I love you. Are you sure nothing is wrong? Your thoughts feel far away,” she said, looking deep in to his eyes as she spoke.

  “Everything is fine,” he said, taking her hand in his.

  “You know that I have all the faith in the world in you, right?” she asked, studying his expression.

  “I'm not entirely sure that I deserve that,” he whispered.

  “You don't have to be sure. I'm sure. That is all that matters,” she said with a smile that lit up his entire world. In that moment, he knew that he couldn't join his brothers the next day. He couldn't jeopardize his relationship with Savannah for anything. His brothers were his family, but she and his son were his whole world.

  “I don't know what I did to deserve you,” he said with a smile as he pulled her and his son close.

  “You deserve to be happy. After a hard life, I think the universe is rewarding you for being the amazing person that you are,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder. It was then that he knew that he couldn't just stay away from his brothers.

  He owed her more than that. He owed the town that was now his home more than that. He needed to protect his new home and his relationships there. It had not occurred to him before that someone could get hurt if things went sideways and that person could very well be her brother.

  “I promise to make you as happy as you make me,” he promised.

  “You already do,” she said with a smile.

  “I think I need to make some peace with your brother. Where could I find him?” he asked, knowing what he needed to do.

  “I don't know that is the best idea,” she said, clearly nervous about what they might both say to each other without her there to keep the peace.

  “It is. I promise you, it's for the best,” he said, kissing her on top of the head.

  “I'm glad that you're going to reach out to him. He will respect that,” she said with a hopeful look on her face.

  “Let’s hope that you still feel that way when it's done,” he said with a chuckle.

  “This time of day, he is probably at his house. He has a workshop out back where he does his woodworking. That is probably where you will find him,” she explained.

  “Well, I better get going before I lose my nerve,” he said, unable to believe what he was really about to do. He was actually going to go to an officer of the law and rat out his brothers. He wasn't at all sure what he would say, but he knew that it had to be done.

  With that, he went to his bike and took off. If he delayed any more, he knew that he would lose his will to do it entirely. The entire ride to her brother’s house, he thought over and over what he would say. He didn't want to betray his brothers and have them arrested.

  He just needed to make sure that they didn't pull off a job in his town. Jake still had not come up with a plan when he arrived at Sam’s house, but he parked his bike and headed around back anyway.

  It didn't take him long to find Sam in his workshop, exactly where Savannah had told him he would be.

  “Samuel,” he called out as he knocked on the door.

  “Jake?” Sam asked, rather shocked to see his sister’s fiancé standing at his doorway.

  “Can we talk?” he asked, still not sure what to say.

  “Come on in,” Sam said, confused about what Jake might have to talk to him about.

  “Thanks,” he said, walking over and leaning against Samuel’s work bench.

  “Can I get you a drink or something?” he asked, taking his seat again and waiting for Jake to start whatever conversation he had come to have.

  “No, I'm good,” Jake said, running his hand through his hair as he prepared to speak.

  “Look, if you're here to get my blessing before your marriage, you don't need it. I trust Savannah. You and I might not know each other, but I know her and I trust her. That is all that I need to accept her decision,” Samuel explained.

  “Thank you for that, but that isn't why I'm here,” he answered, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he tried to find the words to explain what he knew.

  “Then what?” he asked, looking suspicious. It was then that Jake realized just what he needed to say to keep both his town and his brothers safe.

  “Look, you know I'm opening a bike shop, right?” he asked.

  “Sure. My mom and sister were telling me about it the other day. It's a good plan. Nobody in town really services bikes,” he said, looking confused.

  “Well, a group of riders came through today. I'm not sure how they found out about me. I don't even have a sign up yet. They needed a few of their bikes serviced. I overheard them talking about trying to rob the bank in town tomorrow night. I figured you were the right person to tell about it,” he said, forgiving himself for the small lie. Other than how the men had come to his home, it was the truth.

  “They talked about it boldly, right in front of you?” Sam asked, his suspicions not eased.

  “Yes. Maybe they were legitimate or maybe they were full of hot air. I just couldn't sit by and do nothing,” Jake said, unwilling to provide any more details.

  “It's worth being safe,” Sam admitted. “I will talk to the sheriff and see if we can’t increase patrols around the
bank for the next few days.”

  “Thanks,” Jake said, relieved. He knew his brothers well enough to know that they wouldn't try the job if they noticed any policemen in the area.

  “Why didn’t you come to see me at the office?” Sam asked.

  “I wasn't eager to run in to your friend Tony again,” he explained.

  “I cannot blame you for that,” he said, shaking his head at the memory of what had happened at the courthouse a few days before.

  “Well, I better get back to the house. Savannah is over there with Brian. We are working on the nursery,” he said, turning and heading for the door.

  “Before you go, there is something that I want you to know,” Sam said.

  “What is that?” he asked, stopping at the door.

  “I'm glad that my sister has you. I might not be thrilled about the way you two came together, but I know you love her,” he answered.

  “Thank you,” Jake said, stunned by Sam’s words. The entire ride home, he thought about what his brother-in-law had said. The acceptance that he felt shook him to his core.

  The next day, he and Savannah continued to work away at the nursery. However, his thoughts were consumed by his brothers and what was to come that night. He knew they would be hurt when he didn't come to meet them, but that wouldn't have been enough to deter them from committing their robbery. He had done what he needed to do to prevent it, now all he could hope for was that they were smart enough to walk away from the robbery and not land themselves in jail.

  It wasn't until late that night when his phone rang that he got his answer. He had expected it to be Brian, calling him out for his betrayal. Instead, it was Samuel’s voice on the other end of the line when he answered.

  “Hello,” Jake said when he answered.

  “Jake?” the voice on the other end asked.

  “Yes,” he said, not entirely sure what else to say.

  “This is Sam. I just wanted to let you know what happened tonight,” he said.