Episode Twenty-One
I thrive on winning arguments. I’m in my element when I’m getting people off charges. I fucking love it. I’m tenacious in the courtroom. I don’t go down without giving it my all.
It seems my sons have inherited that trait. I’ve watched these boys grow into the men they are today. They’ve had many arguments… little disagreements over the years. None as stupid as the one they’re currently going at each other for right now, though. I could intervene. I could put a stop to their bickering, but this shit is too fucking entertaining.
“I’ve got ten Gs on Lorenzo,” Theo says from the seat next to mine.
“I don’t know. Enzo’s pretty worked up.” I laugh.
And as if on cue, Enzo throws a right jab at his older brother’s ribs. “You shot my wife at my fucking wedding!”
“It was your dream. It wasn’t even real, fucker.” Lorenzo lands an uppercut to Enzo’s jaw.
“I don’t fucking care. You killed her,” Enzo continues his tirade. “And you ruined our wedding.”
“Bro, you ruined your own fucking wedding by running off with the bride,” Lorenzo counters while dodging Enzo’s fist.
After an hour of listening to them bicker back and forth, I made these assholes get into the ring to sort out their shit. As entertaining as they can be, it’s also fucking annoying.
Lorenzo lands a blow to Enzo’s head, causing him to stumble backwards. “Ouch, that one looks like it hurt,” Theo says.
“Yep,” I agree, waiting to see how Enzo retaliates. I know my sons, and they’re not going to cause any serious injury to each other—no matter how unreasonably angry they are.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Enzo growls before charging forward and pushing his brother into the ropes.
“Why do you guys always have all the fun when I’m not here?” The sound of her sweet voice has me standing and spinning around until my eyes land on my princess.
“Aurora?” I walk over and pull her into my arms. I haven’t seen her in far too fucking long. “What are you doing home? I didn’t know you were coming home. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Daddy. I heard Lorenzo and Kyla were in town, so I thought I’d pop in too.” She squeezes me. After a solid minute, Aurora sighs. “You can let go now.”
“Nope, I’m not ready,” I tell her, holding her tighter.
“Okay,” she says.
I don’t have a favorite child. But if I did, it would be my daughter. She’s literally the light to the darkness in my world. I don’t give a fuck what anyone says about her. She’s fucking angelic, and I won’t hear anyone suggest she’s not.
Can she be unpredictable? Yes. A little reckless? Also yes. But Aurora has a heart of gold, and she loves with all of it. Which is also her downfall and why she’s not currently living under my roof.
“What are you doing here?” Lorenzo jumps down from the ring, followed by Enzo. And I have to let my daughter go. Begrudgingly.
“You can stop looking. I’m not stupid enough to bring him here,” she tells her brothers, who are looking towards the entrance of the gym. She’s referring to Connor, the fucking asshole she’s currently dating and running all over the world with.
“Pity, I’m in the mood for blood,” Enzo grunts while pulling his sister into his chest.
Aurora pushes back from him. “You’re sweaty, and if you want blood, I’ll happily draw yours,” she says with a smile.
“It’s good to see you, Aurora. Stop by the house before you disappear again,” Theo tells her, kissing the top of her head, then turning to me. “I’m out, and you owe me ten grand.”
“Catch you later.” I shake my head before eyeing Aurora again. “Does your mother know you’re home?”
“Not yet. I came here first, because Kyla told me these two idiots were fighting over a dream.” She points to her brothers.
“He shot my wife,” Enzo repeats.
“In a dream, Enzo. Your own dream, by the way,” Aurora reminds him. “Grow up.”
“You weren’t there. It felt real,” Enzo complains.
“Let’s go home. This is done. I don’t want to hear about any more fucking dream shootings again. It didn’t happen. Your wife is alive and well,” I tell Enzo while taking Aurora’s hand in mine. “And straight home, both of you. We’re having a family dinner,” I call out to the boys over a shoulder as I guide her from the room.
The moment I have my daughter safely tucked inside my car, I let out a sigh of relief. I’m tempted to drive off with her, find a tower and lock her away. Then again, it’s Aurora. She’d find a way out.
“How long are you staying?” I ask her.
“A couple of days.”
“Are you doing okay? You need anything?”
“I’m fine, Daddy. Promise,” she says.
Out of all of my children, I worry about Aurora the most. She’s my little girl. I’m supposed to be there to protect her, and I can’t do that when she’s traveling all over the world. “You know you can ask me for anything. I’ll do whatever you need.”
“I know, and we’re going to come home, Dad. Soon,” she says.
It’s the “we” part that has me gripping the steering wheel tighter. I’m not an idiot, though. I’ve learned that the best way to manage the situation is to not mention the elephant in the room. I was hoping the kid would disappear, die, fall off a cliff… anything. So I could have my daughter back.
But it would break her heart, and that’s the last thing I want to see. It’s also the last thing the world wants to see. Aurora with a broken heart? Well, no one would be safe. And honestly, if my daughter is hurting, so am I.
“Your mother is going to be thrilled to see you,” I change the subject.
“I know. Is everyone going to end up at our place tonight?” Aurora asks.
“No. The fuckers can stay away. Tonight is just for us. I’m not having your asshole uncles taking up all your time,” I tell her.
“Good. Can we order pizza?” She flashes me that smile, and I’m taken back to when she was a tiny toddler. This girl has always been able to get whatever she wants out of me.
“We can have whatever you want,” I tell her aloud as we pull into our driveway.
I feel lighter as I walk into my house with my daughter in tow.
“Savvy, I’ve got a surprise for you,” I call out to my wife.
“You know, whenever you say surprise , I’m tempted to run in the opposite direction, Tao,” she calls back. Savvy pauses in the middle of the foyer as soon as her eyes land on our daughter. “Aurora? What? How? Oh my god, get over here now.” My two girls run towards each other. “I missed you so much. Please tell me you’re back for good,” my wife says, and my heart hurts for her.
“I’m just here for a couple of days, Mama,” Aurora replies. “But Dad promised pizza, and he says the uncles are not invited tonight. So it’s just us.”
“Come on, let’s catch up. I’ve just opened a bottle of white.”
“She’s eighteen, Savannah,” I grunt.
“Which is legal in Italy,” my wife counters.
“We’re not in Italy. We’re in America,” I tell her as she leads Aurora into the kitchen.
“We can pretend,” Savvy replies.
The door behind me opens, and the boys walk in. “You do know he’s here somewhere, right? No way is that fucker letting her come all the way here alone,” Lorenzo says.
“I know, but we are not going to hurt your sister like that.” I aim my glare at my sons.
“She’d get over it,” Lorenzo grunts.
“Yeah, would you get over it if something happened to Kyla?” I ask him.
“That’s different.”
“How so?” I might not like the guy, Aurora’s boyfriend, the one she’s fallen for and run off with. But I know her heart is invested in him.
“My wife’s not in the fucking IRA, to start with,” Lorenzo says.
“Okay, this really isn’t going anywhere. Stop trying to kill off your siblings’ partners,” Enzo tells his brother. “I’m going to go find my wife.”
“We’re having pizza for dinner. I expect you all to be out back in an hour. And clean yourselves up. Your mother does not need to see you looking like that.” I point to their faces. Enzo has a split lip, and Lorenzo has an eye that’s swollen and bruised.
“Sure thing, Pops,” they reply at the same time before walking in opposite directions.
Dinner is going to be fun. I head into the kitchen. I’m going to make the most of the time I have with my daughter.