Chapter Twenty-One
W atching Aribella sleep is not calming me down. Every time I see her move, I get another glimpse of a wound or bruise.
"Vincent."
I look up and see Kronos standing before me with a child in his arms. A young woman is next to him and I realize that she's Charlotte.
"We are going to watch over her while you go get some food from the cafeteria." The woman says shyly, and I raise an eyebrow.
Kronos laughs and pulls her closer. "This is my wife, Charlotte. These two kiddos are our identical twin daughters. If she says you are going to eat, that means get up and go eat."
Choosing to ignore him, I sigh and look at the babies. An image of Aribella and I having children floors me and I cave. "Fine. Fine. I'm going."
"Good. I'd hate to have to escort your ass downstairs."
Getting up, one of the girls reaches for me and I swallow back my emotions.
"Sorry," Charlotte says. "They are used to their Daddies." She hands the girl she was holding over to me and I gasp.
Kronos laughs. "They both are." He hands me the other girl and I look at them, flabbergasted.
Have I become family to them? Holy fuck. The anxiety of being responsible for a child is eating at me, but this is huge. They trust me and if I’m being honest with myself, I need this. To feel close to something other than death.
"You're family now and that means babysitting duty."
Charlotte grins at me as Kronos kisses her on the forehead. "Oh hush. You know this is the favor you'll be pulling now that we are all getting along."
Staring at them, I get jealous. There's so much love in their eyes it makes me woozy with need.
"Ayres and Hypnos will be outside waiting for their babies. But you are totally going to babysit one day when Aribella is well."
Grinning, I laugh and leave to get some food. Seeing Hypnos and Ayres standing against the wall opposite the door, I laugh.
"There's our girls," Ayres says and grabs the baby out of my arms from the left. Hypnos takes the one on the right.
Fuck me, jealousy really is eating me alive.
"How dare you let Vinnie hold you," Hypnos teases the girls as he winks at me.
"Unka Benny," one of the girls says and my heart does somersaults.
"Unka Pen Pen," the other says and I stand there, straightening my shirt and grunting to keep from taking the babies and running back into the room.
"Oh yeah, he's a softy," Ayres says to Hypnos.
Walking away from the room, the guys tell them about me, and I growl. "Don't push it."
Hypnos and Ayres laugh as they follow me. The fuckers are going to get it.
Right. You know you are turning soft. My mind argues as we all gather at the elevator.
Once we step in, the elevator moves down a floor and I think about how I'm going to win mi reina back. The elevator lights flicker and the air inside the area turns off.
We are almost to the next floor, but the elevator is stuck between the second and third floor. The elevator stops abruptly and everything goes dark.
The babies scream, and Hypnos immediately uses his phone's flashlight to light up the shaft. "Shh, babies, it's alright. You are here with Daddy Ayres and Daddy Hypnos. Nothing will happen."
I wish that were true. We can hear people shouting and gun fire happening outside. Ayres looks at me and I nod. Fuck, this is probably because of me. I'm going to have more fucking blood on my hands.
If I can get out of here, I can hopefully stop the bloodshed. Grabbing the phone from the emergency slot, I dial the number on the panel.
All I can think about is how Aribella is in danger. Again. Ayres comes over and takes the phone from my hands and listens to the ringer. He hangs up, dials again and someone answers.
As Ayres tells the person on the other line we are stuck, Hypnos comes over to me.
"Get out of your head," he whispers so no one else can hear, but his words are loud and clear to me. "No matter what happens, you can make things right."
I nod, keeping my back to him. There's no reason for anyone to see me about to have a mother fucking nervous breakdown.
"Unka Pen Pen." Oh fuck me. I close my eyes and when I open them, I turn around to see the sweet girl looking at me and notice one eye is hazel, and the other is blue.
"Yes, sweet girl?" I smile at her and she hands me her stuffed rabbit.
"It's safe," she whispers, and I take the stuffed animal. My heart is beating too fast and all I want to do is let out an agonizing scream. But this sweet child is trying to comfort me.
"Thank you." I kiss her forehead and hold the rabbit to my chest. There's more commotion outside, and Ayres turns on music from his phone. The girls don't need to hear what's going on.
Hell, the Powers aren't to be feared. They are to be admired. Sure, they are crazy as fuck, but the way they act with one another, it's on a whole different level.
Taking another deep breath, I focus on getting out of here and never letting Aribella or my family be in danger again.
By the time the firefighters get to us, the girls are crying and sweaty. The guys are trying to calm them down, but they aren't able to. I'm on my last nerve and ready to bust down the walls.
"Yes, we got them," someone says and light pours into the area.
"Mr. Domingo?" A female firefighter comes into view, along with Kronos and Charlotte.
"We're going to get you out, but can we have the babies first?" she asks, and my hackles raise. I know Kronos and Charlotte are there, but it could be a trick. They could be under duress.
"Not until you show me some fucking identification first."
Kronos comes into view and looks at me. "Are they with you?' his voice is panicked, but he's keeping it under control pretty damn well.
"They are, Kronos. I just didn't want to hand them to someone else."
Kronos looks at me with respect. Something I'm not sure I deserve, but I will take it. "Thank you. Hand me the first baby, please."
With pleasure, I take the babies and hand them one by one to Kronos and then I move back, letting the firefighters open the doors wider.
The firefighters fuss about getting us blankets and water. I step around them and go straight to Kronos.
"Is..." I trail off. There's no way I can finish what I need to ask.
"Mossimo is alive," he says, and I nod. As he smiles, I know it's good news. "Aribella is fine. She had some kind of spell and they asked us to leave the room. Charlotte insisted she be able to stay in the room while I went and checked on Mossimo."
Letting out a breath, I didn't even know I was holding, I explain about Aribella. "Yes, she has something wrong with her blood pressure that causes her to faint."
Slumping against the wall, I look at Charlotte and she grins softly at me. "She fainted the moment the shots got louder. Poor thing was more worried about me than herself."
Charlotte touches my arm, and I look at her. "They have her sedated so she can rest. However, I think it's best if we transfer her to a different hospital while you take care of the trash."
Kronos has the babies and is looking at me. "We can take her to a private center to heal along with Mossimo. My men are at your disposal if you need the backup."
At the mention of the shit that needs to be done, I get up and check my guns.
"Take care of them, Kronos."
I walk away and know until everyone has been dealt with, my family is in danger and I can't have that. Not anymore.
Two weeks have gone by and I've yet to go see Mossimo or Aribella. I can't. The amount of debt I owe them is staggering, and yet I can't face them. My brothers tell me I'm being a goddamn coward. I don't disagree.
Until I know without the shadow of a doubt everything is taken care of, I won't rest.
Putting the shovel down, I look at the pile of bodies that Miguel and Diego are dumping into the hole. We have killed all of Alejandro's men. Our other cousins have helped with the riff raff but I look at them now, wondering if I can trust them.
Hell, even Bianchi called a truce with Diego for the time being. He said he would agree to assist with the situation and he hasn't let us down. Although he has taken in some of the women and children, the men that were on his territory are dead as well.
"It's over, brother." Diego steps up to me as the last of the dirt is placed upon the bodies.
"Yes, so it seems it is." I walk away and Miguel follows me.
'What are you doing?" he yawns, and I look at the house in front of us.
"Going to go sit in the library with that fluffy ass cat that has gotten under my damn skin."
Diego chuckles. "No. You are going to take a shower, get dressed, and go get your woman."
Raising an eyebrow at him, I growl. "Who the fuck made you boss?"
Miguel bursts out laughing, and I huff, "I'm just saying she needs to see you. I mean, you have been on a mission to make things good for her. Why are you not going to her?"
"I feel like there is something lurking in the shadows and I have to kill it first."
Diego huffs. "For fuck's sake. Get your shit together. At this point, I could take your territory and you'd fucking let me."
He stares at me with a stern look, and Miguel keeps laughing. "He's not wrong."
"You fuckers," I sigh and open the sliding door, feeling the cool air hit me. Espresso comes bounding down the stairs and launches himself at me.
Catching him, I hear Diego call me a cat lover. Miguel pats Espresso's head as his wife comes into the room.
"All three of you stink. Go shower." She takes Espresso from me and I'm left open-mouthed.
"Did she just take my cat?"
Diego snorts. "You mean Aribella's cat?"
I growl at him. "Aribella is mine and therefore her cat is mine, too."
"Dios mio. Hermanito . Go shower and go get your girl. I can't handle you moping around anymore. And while you are at, get some flowers. Girls love that shit."
Diego smirks at me. "Believe me, as soon as you get settled, I'm going after Bianchi's daughter."
Miguel clasps his hands on Diego's shoulders. "Don't even think about it. You’ve got a damn truce, remember?"
Diego wiggles his eyebrows. "For now." He looks at me. "Or I could go get your girl for you."
My blood pressure rises and I move so fast, I surprise not only my brothers but myself. "Over my fucking dead body."
They both laugh at me, and I realize I fell into their trap. "Works like a charm every time, hermanito . Remember the car you wanted at sixteen, but you were on the fence about it?"
I growl. "Yeah, yeah. Diego went to dad and got the car. I was left with the damn truck.”
"And Dad told you to never hesitate. I thought you learned that lesson," Miguel chuckles.
Looking at both my brothers smiling at me, I sigh. "Okay. Okay. I'm worried she's going to turn my ass down. Fuck, she has every right to do so."
"I know. But you have to give her that choice, hermanito . Otherwise, you're never going to know if she chooses you."
"Goddamn it. Fine. Don't fuck with my T.V. channels while I'm gone."
Diego busts out laughing and Miguel snorts so loudly, it causes all three of us to laugh. I walk out, leaving these two knuckleheads to their laughter.
Walking into the kitchen, I see the new chef. "Hello, Vincent. Are you finally going to eat now?"
"Jorge, can you fix a picnic basket?"
He claps his hands and winks. "Bet your ass I can. It will be ready in ten."
"Thanks, I'm going to get cleaned up." As I walk up the steps to the bedroom, I wonder if maybe it's time we built a new house. The death within this house and blood that’s been shed maybe Aribella wouldn’t want to be here with all that.