I run my hand through her hair as I talk. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Do you know how long we’ve waited for this day? Hmm?”
Larisa shrugs, glancing out the window past me. “I dunno.”
“So long! We’re so excited to have you home, and you don’t just get to meet your mom today. Your Aunt Katya will be there, and then we have your Uncle Dmitri. He’s not my biggest fan, though.” I nudge her in her ribs, joking around with her.
“Why doesn’t he like you?” Her question is adorable, little voice filled with curiosity. I decide to play with her a little bit.
“I stole his cereal one time. He loves his cereal.”
“Oh? I love cereal too! Maybe we can eat breakfast together.”
I smile down at the little girl who seems to be adjusting just fine. “Yeah, sweetie. I think he’d really like that.”
I open my door and tug her along with me. The two of us get out of the car around the same time my brother’s do. The front door swings open and standing in its doorway is Ksenia, holding her belly with one arm while her other hand is covering her mouth. She’s either in pure shock, or overwhelmed with happiness.
“Is that her?” Larisa asks and I nod.
“She looks just like you. Doesn’t she?”
“Kinda. And my baby brother will be here in a couple months?”
“You got it.”
Larisa and I approach Ksenia and the beauty that unfolds before my eyes is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. She runs up to her mother and wraps her arms around her. I hear sobs from the both of them, relieved from finally being reunited once again. I can’t imagine the pain that Ksenia has felt over all these years being away from her.
“Whoa, kid. You can’t be giving her all the attention.” I hear Katya laugh, causing Ksenia and Larisa to pull away from one another. Larisa rushes up to Katya and all I hear is the small chit chatter between those two. It gives me the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted since the moment I boarded the plane.
I wrap my arms around Ksenia, “I’m sorry for how I treated you. I had to work through a few things and I shouldn’t have done what I did. I should have talked to you about it and vocalized how I was feeling.”
“Yes, you should have.” She grumbles out, kissing me gently on the corner of my lips.
“It won’t ever happen again.” I say, making this promise to her.
“Damn straight it won’t.” She says it with a fire in her tone and I know that given anything, she and I will be able to overcome it. Our story is just starting, and I can’t wait to see the outcome.
42
“Your story has ended, but our story is just beginning.”
-Lorenzo Moretti
Ksenia
Months later . . .
For the last week, I have woken up every single day and felt like it has been nothing but a dream. Sometimes I feel like I am trapped in some sort of limbo – as if my day to day life is fake, and I’m only really here when I’m asleep. I know it’s complicated. Sometimes even I have a hard time wrapping my head around it. I simply have to let go and embrace everything that has happened over the last few months.
I’m no longer lost, feeling like I don’t belong. Every part of my life has changed for the better. I am a girlfriend, well, ol’lady. I am a mother of two beautiful children, except one of them just can’t help but scream his little head off every time his father leaves the room. I knew Kane would be born eventually, but I didn’t know it would feel like this. It just . . . feels like I belong. Like my life finally has some sort of higher purpose.
Sadly, things didn’t go quite as smoothly. I ended up having to get a hysterectomy when Kane was born. I will never have the ability to have any more children, but as I look at my two children, I know that they’re all I need.
Larisa hasn’t had the roughest time acclimating to life here. She still doesn’t speak too much, being very reserved after having so much change, but I know it will one day be different. She just needs time, so I will give her time. But what surprises me more than anything is that she loves being here at the club and more than that, she loves being in this house with Enzo, her little brother and I. She was raised by nanny’s, never having a mother figure and that still makes me sad. She never knew what that type of love is, and I hope that she feels it now. I hope that she knows just how much I care about her.
Larisa prefers to stay in the living room, usually reading a sci-fi book while Kane is in his bassinet. She likes to watch over her little brother and that warms my heart. “You alright?” Enzo asks me, walking in the front door.
I swear, he’s going to keep driving me insane if he continues to ask me this. “I promise, I’m not going to break.”
“You are a bit frail.” Larisa speaks up, her accent coming out thick.
I raise my eyebrows, “And you are one smart mouthed little girl.”
“No, she just understands that her dad is worried about her mom and agrees.” Enzo goes over behind the couch and gives her a kiss on the forehead. The bond that those two have is something special, more than I could have ever hoped. They’ve really opened up to one another over the last few weeks and I’m grateful that my family is together. For so long we have been missing a piece, and now that she’s here – everything in my life is complete.
“So, I was thinking you and I could run to the store and get some massive cake, you know, since we missed your birthday.” Enzo winks at Larisa, and from the way her smile grows, you’d assume she’s just like any other kid.
“Really?”
“Yes, silly goose. C’mon, let’s go raid the store for some cake and crappy food your mom can’t yell at us for! Quick! Before she tells us no!” Larisa’s out the door before he even finishes his sentence and I’m left with Enzo staring down at me with doting eyes. “You going to be okay while we go to the store?”
“I will be fine. Kane just ate and he’s bound to sleep for an hour or so. You two will be back before then, but if you could bring me back some of those peanut butter cups I would really appreciate it.”
“Peanut butter cups. Got it. Anything else?”
I think hard for a moment, “No, I think that’s really all I want. If they have meat on sale, get some though. I really want to make some steaks tomorrow.”
“Steaks, huh?”
“Yes, I want to chew on some nice, thick, beef.”
“I won’t give ya something to chew on, but ya can suck on it.” He grabs his crotch and I break out into laughter.
“You are too much for me sometimes.”
“No, sweetie. I’m just enough. I love you, and we’ll be back in a bit. You know what? I’ll grab some ice cream and fudge too, just in case we wanna live off the edge and go really deep into the sugary depths of hell.”
“Fine, bring back all the sugary, horrible stuff so the three of us can eat it. I can really go for some sort of cakey sundae. Oh!”
“That ‘oh’ means you thought of something better.”
I giggle, “Can you bring back chocolate chip cookies? I’ll crumble them over the ice cream and make a chocolate chunk sundae.”
“Shit, that does sound pretty good.”
“Now you’ve thought of something.” I say, getting a smile out of him.
“Yep. I’m thinking of mint chocolate chip ice cream with double chocolate cookie chunks.”
“Just make sure you don’t forget the whipped cream.” I add.
Enzo starts for the door, “Hey! You forgot something!”
“Oh, yep.” He comes back over to me and plants a fiery kiss on my lips before going out to meet our daughter. Our daughter, it feels so good to say that. It still amazes me how Larisa asked Enzo if he was her father and he said yes. He may have lied to her in a way, but he made sure she understood every way that he is her father and that the biological aspect will never matter.
It’s exactly why I fell in love with him.
Epilogue
Only you know what you’ve truly be
en through
-Unknown
Ksenia
Years later . . .
I’m sitting on the steps of my front porch, overlooking the rambunctious teenagers. Ryder is sitting on top of a picnic table, smoking a cigarette, looking like he owns the place. He looks just like Seamus, with Daisy’s dark hair. Next to him is Torment, Maria, Pain and Chaos’ child . . . but I’m one of the few who truly know who his biological father is. You’d never know Torment Isn’t Chaos’ or Pain’s because he looks just like them, even has that small curve in his nose like they do.
River is walking down the path with the trouble triplets, Remi, Skye, and bratty Page. Teenagers I tell you, they’re the worst. Always think they’re right and nothing they ever do is wrong. The four girls shout out a “Yeah!” and I see Tamsin, Daisy and Seamus’ daughter come running up behind them. She’s a few years younger, just a pre-teen and so badly wants to fit in with the older girls. She’s at that weird stage where she’s considered a baby by the older ones, but too old to play with Bane or the younger kids. Although, I see her knight in shining armor coming up behind her as the older girls run off, leaving her in their dust.
Brooks, Trick and Angel’s oldest has the biggest crush on this girl. Has been since they were wee little ones. If my guess is right, those two will be married by the time they’re thirty. “You watching everyone again?” His voice booms just like his father’s and half the time I can’t tell who it is I’m talking to. I turn my head and see Kane, who is the spitting image of his father with my white blonde hair. I often wonder what a girl would have looked like with these light locks, but since my delivery was rough, I was unable to find out. The doctor’s completed an emergency hysterectomy on the day Kade was born. Larisa is in New York, taking over the world . . . but she has the darkest hair you’d ever see on a human being. I swear it’s darker than midnight black.
“Yes. There used to be a time where I couldn’t enjoy small moments like this.” I say to Kane as he takes a seat beside me.
“It’s kinda creepy how you wanna look at all of us.”
I wrap my arm around my son and kiss his cheek. “No, sweetheart. It isn’t. I love watching you all grow up. Your all our legacy, the second generation of our club.”
“Your mother is right.” Enzo grumbles out. I didn’t even know he was already out here, around the other side of the house. “You all will keep our club alive. Each of you will have a part in it.”
“I highly doubt it. Reed won’t be putting the gavel down for a long time. Even if he does, I don’t think it’ll be me who he chooses to be Prez.”
Enzo and I share a look. Kane always does this. He puts himself down. “You don’t know that Ryder will earn the title, son. That is what will happen, it will be earned, and you still have time to prove yourself. In a year, you will start prospecting for the club just as Ryder is now. There is no rush. You just have to prove yourself.” From what I understand, it’s generally a custom that the male heir of a Prez continues the legacy of his father, but Reed and Elena have one daughter. A daughter who has stated she wants nothing to do with the club when she’s old enough to leave. I know that has to hurt her parents deeply, because the club is their entire life.
Although, I suppose we all want different things when we’re her age.
“You always say that shit to me, Dad.”
“’Cause I’m right and you damn well know it, so get off your ass and go prove yourself. Ryder surely isn’t impressing Reed if he keeps smokin’ and fuckin’ around all the time.”
“You mean fuckin’ around with River.” Kane mutters under his breath and shoots of the stairs, but I grab his arm and yank it back. There’s no way I just heard what I thought I did.
“What did you say?” I ask him in a low tone, looking back to Enzo and him.
“Shit . . . ma please don’t tell anyone. Dad, please don’t.” He looks like a terrified teenager who spit out words the second he thought of them. What he doesn’t realize is that his mistake is safe with us, but he can’t continue to let his lips move faster than his brain. “He’s been fuckin’ around with River for a bit. Alright? Pisses me off.”
“Why does that piss you off?” I ask, not really understanding it. I know teenagers have sex. In fact, Enzo and I made sure to have conversations with both Larisa and Kane when the time came. We knew it was inevitable and wanted them to have safe sex.
Enzo and Kane share a look, one that tells me they’ve both kept something from me. “Spit it out.” I demand, “Before I grab you both by the ears and make fools out of you.”
Enzo speaks before our son has the opportunity to. “Kane and River might’ve lost their . . . uh . . . cherries together.”
I avert my attention back to our son and stare at him. “Why would you not tell me that?”
“Jesus ma! It’s no one’s business where I’m sticking my goods.” He sounds terribly irritated, and a bit pissed. I bet I would be too if my father had just blabbed on me.
“Watch your tone with your mother.” Enzo snaps out.
Kane shrugs, “Sorry. I just don’t like talking about this stuff. I just hate how Ryder sits down there and acts like tough shit when he’s just using her for sex. She’s been all over his tough guy exterior.” As Kane continues speaking, it’s crazy to me how my husband, who was known as a manwhore didn’t have his certain characteristics flow into our son. It blows my mind!
“Oh, sweetie. You’re both sixteen. You have so much time in the world and you never know how things will turn out for either of you. Give it a few years, and you’ll see how things might change.”
“Yeah, what your mother said. Plus, the trouble triplets all have the hots for you. They just wanna run their fingers through – “
“Jesus! STOP!” Kane shoots off the front porch and rushes down to the clubhouse, escaping his father’s torture.
Shaking my head, I smirk, “You just love doing that to him.”
Enzo comes over to me, slides his hands under my ass and lifts me up. Our lips are barely touching as he responds, “It’s kinda my job. Just like it’s my job to do this.” He presses his lips against mine, in a soft, fluttering kiss. Lorenzo Moretti is a lot of things, but the one thing that has always surprised me about him is the fact he is a hopeless romantic. After all these years, I’m a firm believer that he is my own twisted version of a happily ever after.
I wouldn’t have ever imagined any of this, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Dear Readers
Thank you so much for your support with this series. I can’t believe ten books later and the Skulls Renegade first generation is complete. Stay tuned for the full boxset which will be releasing in just a few weeks, with the bonus content story you’ve been waiting for – Rectified.
We’re not done yet, though.
Many of you have asked, and I will be writing about everyone’s children. Although, it won’t be for a few years down the line. I estimate the first book will be out in sometime late 2021- early 2022.
- Liz
Retribution: Skulls Renegade MC Book #10 Page 17