Epilogue #2
He’s taking me away for the weekend but won’t tell me to where. After the first few chaotic months of our marriage, I was done with surprises, but Nero had other ideas.
Life has a way of forcing your hand.
Sometimes, so do psychiatrists.
“Not yet.” I pull a pair of wire-rimmed glasses from my pocket.
It’s not because I need them. After the tenth time of Renzo ripping my glasses off and trying to eat them as a baby, I switched to contact lenses, despite Gianni’s very vocal protests. My argument was based on practicality. His argument was based on his dick.
I won.
However, I bought this pair strictly to watch that vein twitch at his temple.
His eyes darken as I slide them on my face. “Our session isn’t over yet, Mr. Malone.”
Gianni drags his tongue along the back of his teeth, his breathing ragged and heavy. “Is that right? I don’t recall booking a session with you, Dr. Brennan.”
I give him a slow, daring smile. “Then we need to work on your time management skills. This may take a while. You may not make your flight.”
“Fuck the flight.” Grabbing me, he crushes his lips against mine, his hard, demanding kiss almost causing me to ruin the fantasy and drag him into the nearest room.
Pulling away is a struggle, but I force myself to press my palms to his chest and put space between us. “Patience, Mr. Malone. Go to my office. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Doc.”
“I learned from the best,” I say with a sultry wink.
He turns and lumbers up the stairs, tension radiating off him like a live wire.
I stare after him, waiting until I hear him hit the third level before climbing my first step.
I unbutton the top of my blouse, my smile widening as I pass paintings of colorful landscapes and vibrant images lining the wall.
None of them are behind glass.
If there’s anything I learned from the tragedy of both my and Gianni’s childhoods, it’s that sin can’t be hidden behind stone walls or glass frames. Eventually, both crack, and the longer you’ve kept them locked away, the harder they’ll try to break you.
And the redder everything bleeds.
As I reach the second level, I glance down at my wedding band and run the pad of my thumb across the layer that hides the inscription against my skin.
L'amore è una macchia indelebile sull'anima.
Love, fate, and sin. All three are irreversible stains on the soul…
And all three will find you, whether you want them to or not.
“Hey, Doc. Think fast.”
I look up just in time to see Gianni launch a bright red apple from the third-floor landing. I catch it, my lips pulling back in a smirk. “Interesting strategy, Mr. Malone. Haven’t you heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away?”
“Then it’s a good thing I married her, too.” He leans across the banister, the muscles in his forearms tense with restraint. “You have thirty seconds, Dr. Brennan. I suggest you don’t keep me waiting. ”
“Is that a threat?”
He flashes a lethally wicked smile that tells me his demons are coming out to play. “Oh, no, beloved. That’s a promise, and as you know, Johnny Malone always keeps his promises.”
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, watching as he turns and disappears down the hallway. I start to follow, then pause as a reflection in the second-story window catches my eye.
It’s a different vantage point from up here, almost like I’m looking down from Heaven.
My heart aches as I think of all the people taken way too soon: my mother, my father, Gianni’s mother, Jack … even Victoria. I hope they know how hard we fought to bring them justice. It doesn’t erase the pain of their loss, but somehow, it stings a little less to imagine this as their view.
When one life ends, another begins.
I stare down at the family I never thought I’d have with the man I never saw coming. It’s a bittersweet feeling to raise our children in the same world that tried to destroy us. It scares me to know that fifteen years after Gianni defeated my monsters, theirs still lurk in the shadows.
Watching…
Waiting…
For destiny to come for Nero and Renzo, ascending them to a throne where darkness dwells. For Rosalia to carve her own path, oblivious to the predators that lie in wait. My only hope is for her to meet a man who’ll fight them as fiercely as her father did mine.
Because I meant what I said…
Sometimes, the bravest heroes don’t wear white. They wear black. They’re arrogant. They tell lies. They disappear in the middle of the night. They’ll even make you cry.
But they’ll show up for you every single time.
There’s a reason people say, “A hero will sacrifice you to save the world, but a villain will sacrifice the world to save you.” It’s because a villain puts no one above the woman he loves. She’s his anchor, his home, his light, his world, and his only weakness.
For she was the one brave enough to walk through fire and love him in the dark.
The End
If you enjoyed the Marchesi Empire, you’ll love the second generation in the already live City of Thieves ( Renzo’s story ), and Bullets and Thorns, ( Rosalia’s story ) coming late 2025.
You met cartel heir, Valentin Carrera , in the Marchesi Empire. Read his volatile rise to power and tumultuous love story with his bartender-turned-prisoner, Eden, in Blurred Red Lines or dive into the four-book Carrera Cartel Collection .
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