Epilogue
KINSLEY
Nix and I lie on the couch watching a crime documentary, pretending to be fully invested in it. We are not.
“He chopped up their body and fed it to the hogs,” the narrator says.
“That’s stupid.” Nix rolls her eyes. “You don’t need to chop them up. Work smarter, not harder.” I snort a laugh.
“How do you girls watch this shit?” Jax asks, sitting down at the end of the couch and putting my feet into his lap. What the hell is he doing? He said he was going to meet up with his brothers this afternoon after I’d told him Nix and I would be hanging out.
It’s a typical Wednesday, which means my mother-in-law has our baby boy till tomorrow.
Wednesdays are grandparents' day in the Marino family.
We often spend that night staying in the city.
We still switch between our condo, or whatever you call this renovated warehouse, and the family home.
The time is pretty evenly split now that Bowen is getting older.
“You don’t have to watch it,” I tell him.
“Yeah, I thought you had somewhere to be,” Nix adds. I'm sure she’s having the same thought I am. We’re on a timetable here, and Jax is going to throw us all the way off.
"I'm not watching it." Jax's hands rub up and down my calf. The man is obsessed with my legs. "I'm watching my wife." I'd tease him that he's already going to get lucky, so he doesn't need to lay it on so thick, but the reality is, this is who he is when it comes to me.
One would think with time that the need to be together all the time would temper down, but that's not the case. In fact, I think Jax is worse when it comes to his obsession with me. Not that I'm complaining, well, until right now.
“When you come back, will you stop at Nino’s Diner?” Nix asks. “We’re craving one of their meatball subs.”
“Are you hungry?” Jax directs his question at me.
“Not now; I think she means for later.”
“All right,” Jax says, putting my feet back down on the couch. “I’ll be back in a few hours. I need to go over some shit with Damon and Eros.” I nod.
Jax is a numbers man. That's about all I know because I am not a numbers person. He does a lot of the books for the family. He even has those fancy money-machine counters. He also still does field work. That's what I call it.
He comes to me, leaning down. “Be a good girl.” Jax presses his mouth to mine. I let out a happy sigh and kiss him back. We have been talking about baby number two. If we’re going to have a couple, I want them to be close together like all the other cousins are.
A throat clears. “I’m right here,” Nix says. “Everyone has someone these days. Bullshit.”
“Sorry,” I tell her. Nix is a romantic at heart, and I know she’s ready to fall in love. I’m not sure who will be able to handle her, though. She’s like her mother’s mini-me but on steroids.
“You be good, too.” Jax points at his sister. Nix sticks her tongue out at him.
We both sit in silence. Out of everyone, I’m the closest with Nix.
That’s probably why Cosima and I get along so well, too.
Their personalities just click with me, and I spend the most time with them.
Not that we don’t hang with Mac and Naomi.
I’m just not sure they would be down for our little plan.
Mac would kill it before it began with her fancy computer work. That takes all the fun out of it.
Nix picks up her phone, checking the time. “It’s been five minutes.”
“Let’s go.” I jump up, grabbing my sweater, and put on my tennis shoes. Nix does the same. I grab one of my notebooks and my camera.
I’m still my nosy self, and Nix is just as hungry for information as I am. I started my own blog, writing stories whenever the mood struck me. After all the loose ends got tied up with the high school drug fiasco, I decided that I didn’t want to be front and center for that kind of action.
Luckily, my mom was able to get the information about the drug to the right people in order to help Trent out. He made a full recovery. The same can’t be said for the Bianco family. It’s one of the only times I didn’t ask for specific details.
I have always loved investigating things and writing.
I think that is something I picked up from my mom.
That’s really one of the only qualities of hers I have.
We’re still not super close when I compare our relationship to the Marinos, but we’re closer than before.
I’m good with that, honestly. I love how my life is turning out, and I wouldn't change anything.
Everything happened the way it was supposed to, leading me to Jax.
I was content with doing my blog here and there until the other day, when Nix was being nosy scrolling Reddit, she came across a group where people bust their spouses cheating.
It all happened so fast. One second, we’re reading horror stories, and the next, Nix is volunteering us to watch one of the women’s husbands in the act.
I told her she was crazy, but she could tell I was curious, so here we are, about to be up to no good. That’s the only kind of good we’re going to be right now. Not when there are assholes out there to bust!
“We have to be quick.” It’s only a matter of time before Jax knows we left. These Marino men take our security very seriously. That’s why we needed to cover all our bases if we had any chance of sneaking off.
“Mac said she'd cover us.” We had asked her to. She pushed, wanting to know what we were up to, but Nix talked her into it in the end. It’s Nix’s superpower, I swear. Not many people are able or willing to tell her no. Her persistence is unmatched.
“She did, but these Marinos are insane. Jax probably LoJacked me in my sleep. I saw a movie where they did that. It was like a shot.” Nix laughs. “I’m not joking!”
“I know. That’s why it’s so funny.” She grabs my forearm, tugging me. “Let’s go.”
We don’t make it two feet out the door before we’re busted. Leaning up against a matte black SUV are Naomi and Mac.
“Going somewhere?” Mac asks as Naomi takes both Nix and me in. I swear, even after all this time, she still scares me a bit.
“Not with Naomi’s hair looking like that,” Nix deadpans. I burst out laughing. Some things never change. Nix doesn’t miss an opportunity to jab at Naomi about her hair.
There is really nothing wrong with her hair. It's in a tight bun. Honestly, it is functional. My baby is always tugging on my hair. Shit hurts. I should do one of those buns, but then I’d miss out on Jax playing with it all the time. The man can even braid it at this point.
Naomi stares at us with an emotionless expression that can send a chill down your spine. I would hate to be on her bad side.
“Okay, we’re going to bust a cheater,” I tell them, holding up my camera.
“What year is it?” Mac asks Naomi, who almost cracks a smile.
“Get in,” Naomi orders us.
“Shotgun!” I call out.
“Hey,” Nix groans.
“I’ve got the camera.” Obviously, I should be in the front seat.
“Fine,” she huffs, and we all hurry in. I tell them the address, and Naomi guns it, taking off through the gates.
“Holy shit, speed demon.” Naomi loves cars, and she’s freaky good at driving them.
The girl moves the car like it’s a part of her.
She can come a breath away from hitting something and not flinch.
“So what’s the plan?” Nix leans up, asking.
“He’s at The Mayfield.”
“Mac!” both Nix and I say at the same time. We didn’t even give her a freaking name. This is why we didn’t tell her to begin with, knowing she would dig up everything and give us all the details. We wanted to be spontaneous and go on a mission.
“We know all about him. His wife says he eats at the restaurant all the time and hangs at their bar.” Both of these are in the lobby of the hotel. It’s rather convenient and not far from his office. I glance back at Mac, who has a laptop on her lap. Where did that even come from?
“I’m only letting you know he’s there already.” Mac holds her hands up.
“Let me,” Nix says, reaching over and closing the Mac computer. “I’ll take that.” She slides it out of her lap. I can tell Mac wants to grab it back, but she controls herself.
“Who is going to tell her the news if he is cheating?” Mac asks.
“I think she might be hoping he is. But if he is cheating, the prenup is done for.”
“Prenup.” Naomi shakes her head. “I’d never need one. I’d simply kill him.” She glances over to me. “Can we kill him? Is that an option? Will she pay extra for that?”
“We’re not being paid,” I admit.
“We’re in it for the thrill!” Nix shouts from the back seat.
“Naomi?” We’re closing in on the hotel, and she is not slowing down. “Naomi!” I grab the "oh shit" bar as she jerks to the left. We all scream as she slides into a spot between two other cars, parallel parking it perfectly. “Oh my God.” I hold my hand to my chest.
“What?” She shrugs. “I was giving you a thrill. Isn’t that what you were looking for?” I snort a laugh.
We all pile out of the car, heading toward the entrance. At the door, a man who works here starts to ask us a question but cuts off with one glance from Naomi.
“Come on,” I whisper when we get inside.
“Why are we whispering?” Mac asks.
“I don’t know. Seems right?”
“If you say so.” She shrugs. “You want to know where he is?” Of course, she knows.
“The bar?” I guess. Mac nods. “See, and I didn’t have to hack anything.”
“I only hack people.” Naomi deadpans a joke, taking us all out.
“Stop laughing,” Nix says through the giggles, smacking our arms. “We’re drawing attention.” I press my lips together, getting under control before we sneak toward the bar.
It doesn’t take long to spot the cheating husband at the bar with a beautiful woman. She’s all over him. They are a very cliché couple.
“She’s from his office,” Mac informs us. She just can’t help herself.
“Of course she is.” Nix rolls her eyes.
We all turn around when the woman gets out of her seat and heads toward the bathroom.
“I’m going in,” I tell them.
“What?” Mac tries to grab my arm to stop me, but I’m already heading toward the short man in the fancy suit. It doesn’t matter how much money you have; you can still look like a jackass even in a five-thousand-dollar suit.
I slip into the chair next to him, having already gotten good shots of him. I make sure my phone is recording.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asks.
“Allow me,” the man says, turning toward me. The smell of his strong cologne assaults me. "She'll have a Cosmo." So that wasn’t a question. This man is a double dick. He’ll cheat on his wife and mistress. I’m also guessing he thinks the price of a drink gets him whatever he wants from a woman.
“Sorry, but…” I hold my hand to show him my wedding ring.
I haven’t taken it off since Jax put it on my finger.
I didn’t care that we were only in high school at the time.
It was inevitable. We didn’t wait long after graduation to get married and spent the summer traveling before we came back home, where he started working full-time for the family, and I did online courses for my bachelor's in English lit.
The dickhead reaches into his pocket, pulling his ring out to show me. “So am I.” Gross. I open my mouth to tell him as much, but one second he’s standing there and the next his head is being slammed into the bar top, making all the glasses on it shake.
He starts to fall, but Jax’s hand wraps around the man’s throat. “Dead men aren’t married.” I’m not sure that’s true, but I keep my mouth shut. The man’s face starts to turn a bright red and then a blue color. “Give her the divorce and get the fuck out of my city,” Jax tells him. “You got it?”
“I, ah, don’t think he can talk,” I tell my husband, my eyes lingering on his forearms, all the muscles flexing as he chokes the life out of this douche canoe. You can see the outline of every muscle. The man sputters, snapping me back to his impending possible death.
“Blink twice if you got it, or I can drag you out of here and toss you into the Brewen river.”
“That would get him out of the city, too.” Not sure I’m helping, but fuck 'em.
The man blinks twice, and Jax releases his hold. He crumples to the floor and starts coughing and crying.
All Jax’s attention swings to me. I turn to get backup from the girls, and those brats are all gone!
“I guess I’m taking the fall for this one.” In fairness, Blair took the last one. Pretty sure she’s still on house arrest.
“You are.” I don’t fight it when Jax reaches for me, tossing me right over his shoulder. He doesn’t carry me out of the place. Nope, he heads for an elevator.
“What are you doing?”
“Quiet, Bunny.” He smacks my ass. I’m draped over his shoulder, so I smack his right back. A few seconds later, he is striding out of the elevator and entering a suite.
“How the hell?” I laugh when he tosses me onto a bed.
“I got a room when I walked in. I knew we’d need one.” I laugh harder, but it cuts off when he comes pouncing down over me. “You’ve been a naughty girl.”
“I know,” I huff. “I should be punished with orgasms and room service."
My husband brushes a few hairs that slipped from my braid out of my face. He stares down at me with so much love and adoration that my chest tightens. I’m so getting orgasms, room service, and so much more.
“You’re going to give me another baby tonight.” He leans in, kissing my neck gently. “Aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I breathe out. I feel him smile against my skin. I’d give this man anything because he’ll give me the world.
I hope you loved the first book in the Kings & Queens Will Rise Series.