Chapter Forty-Three
About a month later
"Ready?" Althea laughs while holding a Spiderman cake in one hand, and a lighter in the other. She lights up the five candles, her excited face making me laugh.
It's almost six in the morning, the cold morning of October making us shiver. We are in front of Vince's bedroom, waiting for the perfect moment to barge into and scare the shit out of him.
"I've waited for this day since I met him." I grab the confetti thing from my back pocket, stealing a kiss from Althea.
"We aren't going to scare him on his birthday, Everest!" She demands, looking sexy as hell.
That's what she thinks.
I take out a mini trumpet also from my back pocket, smirking like crazy. He's going to be so mad at me, and I can't wait to see his reaction when he realizes that we are back.
The first two weeks after Althea left from the hospital were full of laughter, joy and everything more. We are living on a cloud and I'm ready to fight tooth and nail to keep us like this. Last week, until now, I stole Althea and left for a week and a half in our
well-deserved honeymoon.
I flew her to Egypt since she always was passioned about its culture. Besides the fact that I almost killed a gang of Egyptians because they wanted to buy my wife with some fucking camels, I almost lost her to that fucker Anubis.
But she made it to me by letting me rent the whole pyramid and fuck her on one of the tombs.
Best damn vacation.
But Vincent wasn't as happy as we were. He didn't cry like we expected, no, the little shit ignored us for the whole week and a half, letting us burn with worry and guilt. Althea was more on the guild side, I was fucking ecstatic that I had my wife all to myself.
We landed four hours ago and came as fast as we could so we can wake up Vincent with presents and cake. Something inside me tells me that he won't be as forgiving as we think.
"He's already mad at us. Scare him and you'll have a medal for the worst father of the year." I flick my hand at her, making her shut up and look at me with a face that says 'you're on your own'.
I hold the door knock and slowly, I open it and peak inside, seeing Vince snoring his little nose off. My body begs me to forget about the scare and just go and hug him until my arms go numb.
I missed this little boy so much that I almost flew back to him after two days. I'm a sucker for him, but it's the best feeling in the world.
I enter his room with Althea behind me, sneaking so we don't scare Scarface. That fucker would kill me in a blink. I put the trumpet in my mouth, and both of my hands are holding the confetti, ready to surprise my bug.
I look at Althea who looks at me with disappointment, and she starts counting to three.
One, she mouths.
I tighten my hands on the confetti.
Two, again.
And fuck, I can't wait anymore. I need that damn hug even if he's mad at me.
I blow in the trumpet and the deadliest sound makes us cringe, Vincent waking up with a scream that's louder than the instrument. I pop the confetti and another yell comes out of his little mouth.
I lean over, putting my hands on my knees when laughter shakes my body. Althea lets the cake on his desk, murmuring 'fucker' and goes to calm down our son.
Vincent will always consider Althea his sister, but I know he sees in her a mother too. Althea doesn't need the title to know that Vincent is her son as much as he is mine.
After all the confetti settles down on the carpet, I finally see my bug. His eyes are wide, angry tears making down his cheeks. My heart squeezes tightly and I decide to let all the funny things aside.
I go next to his bed, sitting on his blue sheets. Vincent's head is buried in Althea's neck, ignoring me at all costs.
"Come on, bug. That was a good way to wake you up on your birthday." I try to take him in my arms but he is glued to my wife. "Don't be a brat and hug me."
I hear him mimic me and I smile at his behavior.
"You left me again!"
He's angry at both of us, but he hugs the shit out of Althea while I get the cold shoulder. He's playing favorites, and I hate being second place.
"I left with my wife on our honeymoon, you jealous brat." But he doesn't care.
I sigh and look at Althea who smiles while looking at us. Ugh, how can I be mad at her when she looks this happy with Vincent in her arms?
"I want my hug," I sound like a desperate cat mom.
"No." He murmurs from his sister's neck.
He's going to make me beg.
"Didn't you miss me?" Because I did.
"No."
I put my hands over my face, rubbing my frustration away. Good fucking job, Everette. You just ruined your relationship with your son.
It lasted a damn month.
"I'll buy you whatever you want."
Vincent's hand peaks out of Althea's neck. Oh, now I have his attention.
"I want a white tiger." My head turns so fast toward him that I feel my neck crack.
"Absolutely fucking not." I don't care that I'm cursing in front of him.
I won't fucking have a wild zoo in my damn house.
I look at Althea for help, but her eyes show interest in Vincent's request. I move my eyes elsewhere because I can say 'no' to Vince just fine, but to Althea?
I'm too whipped to refuse her.
"I want to go with Allan in the city."
Again, fucking no. He's going to break my child.
"Try again, bug."
He looks furious, but it's not my fault he asks for impossible things.
"I want my own car." At that, my mouth turns into an evil smile.
Now he sounds like my son.
I can give him all the cars in the world if that can make him hug me already.
"The one that Iron Man has." I have no idea what car he has, but I don't care.
"Deal."
"What? No!" Althea interrupts us and I ignore her, just as she ignored me when I wanted help with Vince.
I open my arms and wait for my boy to hug me, his smile making it clear that he wanted to hug me just as much. He just likes to make things complicated.
"And a jet." I let my head fall back when a laugh makes its way out of me.
That's my fucking boy.
I grunt when Vince slams his body to mine, clinging to me like spider monkey. I squeeze him in my arms,
letting my lips kiss his temple.
We stay like for another minutes, and then Althea comes back to us with the cake. The candles are almost gone, but Vincent has enough time to make a wish and blow them.
I hold him in my lap, his eyes excited when he sees his Spiderman cake. He looks at me and Althea with sparkles in his eyes while we softly sing him happy birthday.
"Come on, bug. Make a wish." Althea whispers with tears in her eyes.
He closes his eyes, murmuring softly his wish.
I look at Althea and she looks at me. We smile at the boy in my arms and I know we both feel the love
between us. The peace that makes us enjoy Vincent's fifth birthday.
And the rest of them.
Vincent blows as hard as he can in the candles, smiling proudly at us.
"Happy birthday, bug." I say to him and kiss his cheek.
"Thank you, Dad." Doesn't matter how many times he calls me that because my heart always melts.
Two knocks and then another breaks the bubble we were in and this is my cue.
I lean slightly and kiss Althea, putting Vincent on the bed. He already starting eating the cake with his fists anyway.
"I'll be right back."
I leave them in the room and I go straight outside where Venus is waiting for me. Even though that it's cold, she wears a black top that lets her tattoos on display and a pair of skinny jeans that makes her legs kilometric.
"You call, I come." She greets me.
I don't like what I will ask her, but I need to be careful with whom I trust. And I need to fucking know that I'm wrong once in my life.
Venus is the best huntress in the world and the only person who can hunt a hunter. And the only one who can help me put my mind at ease.
"I have a job for you." Her body tenses and she looks at me dead in the eyes.
"Who?"
"I don't want you to kill him. I want you to watch and make sure he is one of the good ones." I feel the refection, so I throw immediately. "I'll pay you double."
"Keaton,"
"I need to know I'm not paranoic about one of my only friends." I snap and that makes her shut up.
"Allan?" She asks and I shake my head.
"Orion Hale." Venus inhales and her face turns curious. "I want to know where he goes when he's alone. I want to know with whom he's meeting. I want to know that I trusted the right person."
"For how long?" Her whisper makes me frown. She's stressed, like this subject upsets her.
"Until you can give me a clear answer."
Venus nods and leaves without a second word. I let out a sigh, fucking hoping that I'm wrong about Orion.
It's not that he's quiet. It's the fact that he seems like he's watching me and Althea since we married. I feel his eyes all the time and there's something about him that makes me doubt him.
Don't fucking disappoint me, Orion.
I hear car door slam behind me, making me clear my head about Orion. I look back and frown when I see ten men looking at me like they waited for this moment for a long time.
"Althea?" I yell for her when the men don't have an intention to talk or to move.
Do they know English?
I've been taking my Italian lessons, but I'm not that fucking far.
"Yeah?" She comes next to me with Vincent holding her hand. "Cazzo." She groans when she sees them.
The ten Captains of Famiglia.
Althea raises Vincent in her arms, the boy hiding in her neck. She looks up at me and I slide my arm around her middle.
"We are here for our Donna." Michael Rossi, Vincent's grandfather, declares.
I look at them, showing that I don't give a fuck why they are here.
They are on my territory. They bow to me.
"Who are they?" Vincent's little voice makes us focus on him.
"That," Althea accentuates, "Is your kingdom."
I smirk when I hear her words. The world isn't ready for the power they will bring.
Althea looks at me again, a smile on her face. She reaches for my lips, and I bow immediately.
I capture her mouth in a hard kiss, feeling the world at our feet. I'm the Beast of Outfit and I showed that anyone who messes with my family will deal with my wrath. My wife is the future Empress and the next Donna of Famiglia, making her the most powerful woman on earth. And Vincent is the heir that will make people bow at his feet.
"I love you, Little Fox." I murmur and her lips are showing me that she loves me too, but not as much.
Because the love I have for her consumes us both.
I look in her eyes and see our happy ending that just began. There's no one better for me than Althea Seraphina Moretti.
My savior.
My little fox.
My wife.
The love of my goddamn life.