Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Lily
Somehow, I get through half my day without texting or emailing Carter again.
I need to finish up my article on the festival.
We do it every year and it lasts for a week.
There’s food and craft vendors that are there every day starting on Monday.
Because it’s Texas, it doesn’t get super cold here.
So holiday festivals are always fun to do.
Last year, it stormed the week of the festival, so this year we’re prepared.
We have a huge tent setup instead of everyone being outside.
It’s like a circus tent and we have fans inside to help with circulation.
As I’m making a list of the vendors and food stalls, my phone chimes.
Carter: I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. The book is great. How long do you need to finish it?
Lily: That’s a relief. I can get the rest of it done in two weeks. Three, tops. Will that work?
Carter: That’s perfect. Thank you again for all this, you’re a great storyteller
Lily: I appreciate that. Thank you. I’ll be in touch soon
It’s such a relief that he’s liking the book so far.
This one is different than what I’ve written for him before.
The other books were ex-military romance.
This one is an assassin that kills the wrong person and then they fall in love with the wife of the person he killed.
It’s definitely interesting and romance has been a fun genre to write.
The other romance authors I work with don’t write dark themes.
Only Carter’s books have killing in them.
After getting his texts, I’m pretty sure that the other texts weren’t from him.
So who the fuck are they from, and what the hell is it about?
Maybe they’ve mistaken me for someone else?
I mean I don’t even write human-interest stories for the paper.
I write about things going on in the community, so those texts must have been a mistake.
I spend the rest of the day getting the article ready and turned in. We don’t work weekends unless there’s something that requires a special edition for the paper.
“Have a great weekend, Lily, see you Monday,” my editor, Jameson, says as I wave goodbye to him.
I pack up my stuff and head out too. I haven’t heard from that weird texter again, so maybe it really was a wrong number. I’m excited to work on Carter’s book this weekend.
Tristan
I don’t know why I’m so nervous to talk to the council.
I know all of them and I doubt they’re going to deny my request. I head to the Cimaruta MC clubhouse, it’s where they have all the council meetings.
I’m also considering prospecting with the MC.
Most of the family is either prospecting or is already a patched member of the MC, even the ones in the Mancini Mafia.
Yep. Mafia. Some days I feel like I live in a TV show.
We have mafia, MC and shifters. Now the shifters were the ones that took me by surprise the most. I mean, come on, if anyone had told me that I would be around real-life shifters?
I would’ve laughed at them. But they’re real, and holy shit I wish I could be one.
The Athanasious are polar bears and the Nikolaidises are white tigers. Both are equally impressive.
Each of the families occupy an area of the property, and in the middle is a huge campground.
There’s a few ponds and trails for hiking.
We even have a sanctuary. Right now we just have otters in it, but I heard there’s plans to bring more animals in.
It’s peaceful and beautiful, every time I take a walk there, I feel like I’m home.
It’s where I want to set down roots and eventually raise a family.
I visit with the otters for a little while before I head to the clubhouse. Spending time with them is calming. And they’re always so happy to see me.
“Okay guys, I’ll come see you again later,” I say to them as they squeak at me.
I make my way to the clubhouse. Every building on the property was built by the families. They’ve made sure everyone has a home.
“Hey, Tristan, if you’re hungry, there’s food on the bar,” Enea Mancini says as he sits down with his plate.
“I’m good, thanks. Leighton made breakfast, it was so good I’m probably going to forget how to take care of myself soon.” I laugh.
“I hear you. I’m not sure I could cook a full meal for myself anymore.” Leonardo laughs.
“Did you want to have a formal meeting?” Giacomo asks.
“I don’t think so. I just have a request, if you’re okay with it, I don’t mind doing it here.”
“If you don’t mind us eating while we talk, it’s fine.”
“Nope, I don’t mind,” I say as I sit on one of the couches.
“So what’s going on? Is everything okay?” Enea asks.
“Everything is good. I want to thank you for letting me stay here. After Levi said that he was getting out, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. But you’ve all given me a home, and that’s something I haven’t had since I lost my parents.”
“We’re glad you’re here, Tristan. And you’re going to make a great deputy.” Antonio smiles.
“I appreciate that. What I wanted to ask is if I could bring my parents here. I know Lake Renegade cemetery is for family and residents. But I would love to have them here with me,” I blurt out as fast as I can.
“Of course you can, you’re a part of our family. You just need to pick out a spot and then talk to Salvatore and Lorenzo to have them do the paperwork that’s needed.”
The relief that floods my body is overwhelming.
“Thank you so much. I really wish they were still around—I know they would have loved Lake Renegade.”
“Well if you believe in the afterlife, they’ll know what you’re doing for them. And I’m sure they’re proud of you and the man you’ve become.” Enea nods at me.
“I appreciate you saying that. I had a good life when I lived with my coach and his family. But it never truly felt like home for me. Even when I joined the Marines, there was always something missing.”
“There’s been quite a few of the family that have said the same things.
And when you meet my papà and my father-in-law, you’ll see why Lake Renegade is so special.
When they came here, they represented two different mafia families.
They chose to come together to create this town.
And then made the decision to change some of their ways,” Enea explains.
“And even when we tried to leave Lake Renegade to start new adventures, we’ve all come home again.” Salvatore chuckles as he comes into the room.
“I can see why you’d come back. If I grew up here, I don’t think I’d leave.” I laugh.
“Most of us that did leave, thought that it would be easier because of our jobs. But Lake Renegade has this way of relaxing you when you’re here. So we all found ourselves coming back on our days off,” Apollo says as he makes a plate.
“Didn’t your mama just make you breakfast?” Zeus says to Eros.
“Yes…but this one was calling my name. It would be rude to ignore it.” He shrugs at his dad.
I laugh at them as Eros and Ares come into the clubhouse.
“I told you I smelled bacon,” Eros says to his brother.
“You showed up back at home with bacon hanging out of your mouth. You were probably smelling that.” Ares rolls his eyes.
“No. Look, there’s bacon.”
“Why are you two here?” Apollo laughs.
“Same reason you are. Food,” Adonis says as he grabs a plate full.
“It’s like we have food elves. There’s always food around.”
“Did you just call us food elves?” Graínne asks as she walks in with another plate of bacon.
“Um. Yes? But I meant it in the most grateful way.”
“Good save.” Lorenzo laughs as he walks in. “I got a text to come to the clubhouse.”
“Tristan needs some help bringing his parents to Lake Renegade,” Leonardo tells them.
“Sure. I can get the paperwork started now, that way you can take it with you. And then you can either have the cemetery ship their urns to us here or you can bring them back with you,” Lorenzo says.
“Thank you, I think it would be easier for them to ship the ashes. I worry that I will drop them or something could happen if I do it.”
“Not a problem. I’ll have the paperwork state all that and you’ll need to pick a plot before you go. That way we can get it ready for them. If you want, we can head over there now.”
“I appreciate it.”
Lorenzo and I head to the Lake Renegade Cemetery. It takes us a few hours to pick out a spot I think my parents would’ve loved. I can’t help but miss them even more right now.
“Thank you for helping me do this. I don’t think I could’ve done it alone.”
“You’re family, Tristan. I don’t know if you know what happened to Giovanna and me when we were little. But our family is what saved us. Now, I have to say that we were loved growing up. But being back here in Lake Renegade healed us.”
“I know that you were taken. I can’t even imagine what that’s like. The person who took you, are they in jail?”
Lorenzo shakes his head. “Dorian Laurent is part of our family now. It’s a long story, which I’ll gladly tell you one day if you want.
What you need to know is that my papà is the best man I know.
Somehow, he found a way to forgive Dorian for taking us.
All because Gia and I asked him. That’s how much he loves us and I’ll never take that for granted. ”
“I wish you could’ve met my parents. Because I know they would’ve loved all of you. One of the things my dad taught me was to be loyal to the ones who deserve it.”
“That’s a good thing. There are definitely people who don’t deserve it. Dorian took us to punish the Mancini family. But in the end, he did love us and raised us to be good people.”
“That’s so different than what you’d think would happen with kidnapping.”
Lorenzo smiles. “Things always seem to work differently in Lake Renegade.”