Revenge (Love in London #3)

Epilogue

Four Years Later

Susannah again . Only this time I was happy. I was twenty-four, I had a life, a career, friends and shit just got good. And I was blissfully in love.

Was I worried that Suki’s new husband was a borderline psycho? Nope. Not anymore. I had finally come to terms with the fact that my mother was big enough and ugly enough to look after herself. And if she was having an off day, and couldn’t cope; Cillian was always there to pick up the pieces. The ex-hitman worshipped the ground she walked on.

Suki had the perfect other half, her own villain who would never let anyone fuck with her.

Said villain was also my stepfather as of two hours ago. As I said, shit got good but there was still a fucked-up element in the mix. I smiled as I watched people on the dancefloor paying their respects to the newlyweds. The guy may have hung up his gun, but everyone still kissed his arse.

“You promised you wouldn’t work today,” I scolded with a frown, casting Kai and his lawyer, Gabriel a look of reproach. Gabriel Knight was finally on the Kinlan payroll, after years of trying to get the man on side.

He was a fantastic lawyer with a high success rate in the courtroom and was now Kai’s chief legal advisor. The straw that broke the camel’s back after countless negotiations to tempt Gabriel to work with a Kilan was that one word; legitimate.

“I’ve signed three documents, that would hardly qualify as work, my love,” Kai replied with a killer smile. He was well-practised at getting himself out of the shit. The man could still charm the pants off anyone. His dark hair was cropped shorter than usual. But he still looked more dangerous than polished.

I rolled my eyes as Kai signed the last piece of paper; something to do with a property acquisition that clearly couldn’t wait. I was surprised he’d found a space to lean on as our table was littered with empty bottles of beer and half-full wine glasses. It was a party and we were supposed to be letting our hair down; something Kai rarely did. He always made time for business.

“You’ve been distracted most of the day and I know that was your phone that went off during the ceremony,” I stated, smoothing down my bridesmaid's dress. It was made of black satin, and fitted with a heart-shaped neckline and spaghetti straps. It showed just the right amount of cleavage. Too much and Kai would kick off, it just wasn’t worth it. He was so possessive of me and I loved it.

“I’ll make it up to you later,” Kai promised handing the last paper back to Gabriel. I watched the lawyer’s lips curl to one side as he listened to Kai’s promises.

Kai was good at winding me around his little finger, but when I put my foot down. He listened. We had an understanding. We were equal partners, just like I had always wanted.

“Do you want to check the other deeds now?” Gabriel said and my ears pricked up. Clearing my throat, both men, turned to look down at me. We had a table at the side of the dancefloor.

“Better not, or I’ll be in trouble,” Kai replied, glancing between us.

“I’ll leave you the lot and you can check them later,” the workaholic lawyer said, rolling his eyes. Gabriel opened a briefcase which he’d perched on an empty chair before sliding the documents inside “I must say I never thought I’d see the day when the great Kai Kinlan bowed down to a woman.”

Kai chuckled as he lowered himself into the seat beside me, “You’ve seen how she handles a weapon, Gabe.”

Gabriel slid the case onto the floor and under the table, “Good point.”

And of course, the lawyer had been there the day at the vault when I had shot Kai.

A flutter of pale blonde hair captured my focus from behind Gabriel as his wife, Leonie, wrapped her arms around his waist.

“You said you’d dance with me,” she cooed, pushing up on tip toes to whisper into his ear. His entire body came alive. Gabriel was the least animated of the men who worked with Kai. He was a card close to the chest man like all lawyers.

Leonie was possibly the sweetest female I knew. She was a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet and she and I had become friends over the last year. The fact that our men lived in each other’s pockets was a contributing factor.

I never thought Gabriel and Kai would have an allegiance given their history. Gabriel’s father used to be one of the meanest criminal defence attorneys in the city. His son, like Kai, decided not to follow in his father’s footsteps and work with criminals.

The two men were now tight. It had taken Kai’s decision to go straight, to convince Gabriel to get on board. Now they were busy making shit loads of money together, legitimately .

There it was, that word again.

Gabriel was Kai’s right-hand man now for all things legal.

I glanced around the school hall decorated to the hilt. My mother’s wedding reception was lavish, and she was dressed in an ivory dress with a black sash (a clear statement of good versus evil).

People from all walks of life were eating buffet, dancing, chatting, or sitting around shooting the shit. It was refreshing to see hardened criminals and regular people getting along.

Before Kai started to run things legally, normal law-abiding people weren’t allowed anywhere near mafia folk. Now things were much more watered down. Kai still had to work to make every venture clean, and Gabriel was helping him do that. Coming out from that darker side of the business was a gradual endeavour.

“I’ll come by the house after the weekend to collect the case, so as not to piss off your better half,” Gabriel said before Leonie dragged him away towards the dance floor.

I could see my mother attempting to get Cillian to dance. He’d mellowed and didn’t work as a contract killer anymore but as head of security, he still didn’t let his guard down easily. No pun intended.

“I swear to God, that boy becomes more pussy whipped, every day,” Max Hunter snorted as he watched Gabriel being ushered away. “Shall I go to the bar?”

“Ever heard the saying happy wife, happy life?” Max’s girlfriend Amber said.

“Now there’s a myth if I ever heard one. You women are never happy, married or otherwise,” Max chuckled.

“You're clearly doing something wrong then, Max,” Amber batted back. I felt a bit sorry for him, the man had his work cut out with Lady Swift. Amber was nice enough but boy was she high maintenance. A titled Lady, Max had to work his arse off to stay in her good books. And for someone like Max, who was usually so relaxed he was almost asleep, that was no easy feat.

He used to be part of an underground fight club which helped him offload, now he had Amber. She more than allowed him to do that. Theirs was a fiery relationship. Amber’s hair was flame red and she had the temper to match.

My eyes tangled with Max’s and he shook his head, rolling his eyes.

“You didn’t seem to think I was doing anything wrong last night,” Max said with a wink in my direction. He was sitting opposite the table with his legs crossed at the ankle. Even sitting the man was huge. Max was solidly built, tattooed everywhere and as mean as they come when someone pissed him off.

“I don’t remember,” Amber replied, sipping her champagne.

“You don’t remember, yet you were so vocal about it, my sweet. You even called out to God at one point.”

Here we go, he loved getting a rise out of Amber. And to be honest, it didn’t take much. She was highly strung and didn’t smile much but she loved Max, wholeheartedly.

“By all means, blow your own trumpet, Max. See where that gets you?”

Kai started to chuckle from beside me, his fingers skimming up and down my leg as I watched the show. He was listening but his focus was on his phone, as usual.

“As far as I remember, there was no blowing of any kind, unfortunately ,” Max said with a grin as colour flared into Lady Swift's cheeks. Bingo.

Kai and I exchanged a look.

“I’d quit while you’re ahead mate,” Kai smirked.

“Talking of head,” Max puffed out with a sly look towards his girlfriend who raised a hand to cut him off.

“I think that’s enough for one night, Max,” Amber said, pushing to her feet. “I’ll go to the bar. We’ll all have passed out from thirst before you get your arse in gear.” It was Max’s round.

We all exchanged a look as Amber stropped off towards the bar, several lustful eyes following her. Max grunted as he watched her go and then scowled as he saw the attention she was getting from some of the male wedding guests.

“Better go do some damage control,” he muttered, “The chances of getting my end away later just radically dropped I’d say.” After shooting us a cheeky grin he charged off after her.

“Remind me why I do business with that clown again,” Kai huffed, pushing his phone into the pocket of his tux trousers.

Max owned a construction company and his services had been brought on board for the new casino Kai was building; Capones.

I shrugged, “Because he’s good at what he does. You only surround yourself with the best remember,” I pointed out, pushing to my feet, turning, and then slotting myself between his legs.

Kai ran his hands up my thighs and heat fizzed through me. Fuck, he looked amazing. I loved my boyfriend in a tux.

“Oh, I know I only surround myself with the best.” He grinned sexily pushing to his feet, his hand sliding to my waist.

As Kai towered over me, he bent his head, kissed my nose, and slid his mouth to my throat. A flutter of pleasure ran down my spine as he started kissing and nibbling my neck. I felt his hand leave my waist as he motioned to someone behind me.

Kai drew away as Sam appeared, “Boss?”

“Keep an eye on that case. If you leave, it goes with you. Understand?”

“I’ll guard it with my life, Kai.”

Sam then took the case and returned to the main doors with the other security men. They all answered to Cillian now.

“I see Sam still has a flair for the dramatic,” Kai said walking us onto the dancefloor.

I placed my hands around his neck and smiled into his perfect face. Getting him to dance at any event was like attempting to bite your own neck, impossible .

“He’s eager to please,” I replied.

Kai’s eyes narrowed and a flare of jealousy swept over his features. “Is he now?”

I laughed as he tugged me closer against his frame, “Not like that.”

“Good. Keep it that way.”

“Hey sweetie,” Suki said as she and Cillian moved in beside us. My mother was now in business with Max’s partner Amber. They ran a party planning business and were extremely successful. Amber too had a flare for events and her contact list was immense; we are talking celebrities, politicians; and members of the upper crust who loved to parade their pedigrees.

And then there was me, after enrolling on an adult college course in business. I was now the manager of Pacino’s, taking over from Kai as he concentrated on setting up his new casino Capones. It turned out I had a great head for numbers and problem-solving.

Capones was a sister business and the building was being refurbished. Hunter Construction, Max’s company was responsible for that side of things.

Yep. Things were going well. Suki and I shared a private joke about Cillian as he woodenly moved to the music. He wasn’t devoid of emotion and you occasionally saw a glimpse of amusement. Humour to one side, he worshipped my mother. That was good enough for me.

Before I knew what was happening, one of my favourite songs started playing. The band on stage were managing to keep people on the dancefloor. Not always easy at weddings.

Kai suddenly spun me around and I placed my hands over his arms as he slid them around my middle and pulled me back against his chest. Resting his chin on my shoulder he focused on my mother and her new husband.

“So how do you feel?” he said, whispering against my ear.

I twisted my head slightly to glance at him, “About the wedding?”

He chuckled, “No. About having Cillian as a stepdad.” I turned to look at Cillian as he stood with my mother, looking out of place.

Smiling, I replied, “I suppose under normal circumstances I would have been terrified, but rumour has it, my boyfriend is much worse.”

A shiver skimmed across my arms as Kai moved his mouth to my earlobe and nibbled it before saying, “Really? Says who?”

I shrugged, “The grapevine.”

His tone betrayed his amusement, “Ah, the grapevine. But surely, I’m seen as a good boy now?”

“You could never be a good boy, Kai. You have bad boy threaded through you like the seaside name in a stick of rock.”

Kai chuckled, “I see your metaphors still need some work, my love.”

I took his comment on the chin, as he was right, my metaphors sucked.

Swaying to the music, I twisted my head to the side, becoming serious.

“I’m proud of you, Kai,” I whispered. My man’s business enterprises were becoming more honest as each month passed by, but he was still a badass.

He turned me in his arms so we faced each other, “Thanks, I guess. And you’re aware, I’m not one for the sappy shit. But I must say, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

I beamed at him, before admitting, “I’m just happy we’ve got rid of the basement and that you aren’t tying people up anymore.”

Kai grinned, “I thought you liked the tying-up side of my skills.” My eyes widened as I shushed him. What can I say, our sex life was far from vanilla. Kai had introduced me to the wild side, and what we shared in the bedroom was mind-blowing.

“You’ll pay for that one later.”

“Oh, I do hope so,” he said with a wolfish smile.

Glancing around the dancefloor, my eyes fell upon the stage and my focus was drawn to that special space; not where the band were, but the hidden section beneath.

The venue was popular with weddings and it was the same place where my mother had married Alisdair Wilkinson. I had thought she’d want somewhere fresh, but she explained how she had been genuinely happy that day. She wanted to relive it but this time, with Cillian; aka the one .

That hidden section underneath the stage was where Kai and I first met.

I had been a child back then, a young girl tormented by bullies and Kai had been the one to save me. It felt like fate, being back in the building under such different circumstances. It was almost like our relationship had come full circle.

As Kai wrapped his arm around me, he whispered, “I know what you’re thinking.”

Pulling back, I looked at him, “OK. Since, you know me so well, Mr Kinlan. What am I thinking?”

“You’re thinking about the day we first met and how it must have been destiny. Love at first sight; although we didn’t know it back then.

But something did click that day. Being brought together under circumstances beyond our control, a place where neither of us wanted to be. We were at different stages in our lives. But that didn’t stop us.

We were and always have been soulmates.

And we belong together.

I know that because that’s exactly what I am thinking.”

Kai’s words as that boy echoed exactly what was inside my head. He had been right. I had at last found my happy ever after .

And that boy from my past, who had made me that promise, had become the man of my future.

THE END