Epilogue
Six Months Later
I’m standing barefoot in our kitchen at seven in the morning, holding a mug of tea and staring at a pregnancy test that’s face down on the counter.
My boys are still in bed. Gabriel moved into our bedroom last month, our relationship finally feeling steady with the help of a relationship counselor. So, I shouldn’t be surprised that I had to buy a test. We haven’t exactly slept much lately.
They didn’t come home last night until well after I fell asleep. Dante returned from Texas with Sera a couple of months ago and she’s now at the Marchetti Estate, and things have been chaotic ever since. The perfect time for me to have a late period and boobs so sore I can barely breathe.
I picked up the box of tests yesterday and figured I would take the test this morning before they woke up. If it was negative, I could just throw it away and they wouldn’t know any better.
The timer on my phone goes off and I jump, punching my phone to turn it off. I inhale through my nose and then as I exhale, I turn it over.
Staring back at me are two pink lines. It’s positive.
I pick up the test again, as if looking at it closer could change the result.
Still positive.
A laugh escapes my chest before I can stop it.
“Well,” I whisper to the empty room, “that escalated quickly.”
“Talking to yourself already this morning?” Lars’ voice carries into the kitchen from behind me.
I turn just as he walks through the doorway, shirtless, black sleep pants slung low on his hips. He pauses when he notices what I’m holding.
Then his eyes widen.
“Is that—”
“Yes.” I pick up the test and hold it out in front of me. “It’s positive.”
For a moment, he just stares at me.
“Are you sure?”
I set the test on the counter again and point to it.
“Look for yourself, Lover Boy. Two lines, I’m pregnant.”
Lars crosses the space between us slowly, reverent eyes shimmering. His hands settle gently on my hips.
“Are you okay?” he asks, voice filled with concern.
“I’m more than okay.”
His gaze drops briefly to my stomach.
“We’re going to have a baby.”
“Apparently.”
His laugh is soft and slightly disbelieving.
There’s a clatter of footsteps down the stairs and a moment later Gabriel appears in the doorway.
He stops the second he notices the expression on Lars’s face.
“I feel like I missed something important.”
“You did,” Lars says.
Gabriel glances between us.
“Should I be concerned?”
I pick up the test and hold it up. Gabriel blinks once.
“You’re pregnant?” he says slowly.
“Yes.” I nod, eyes filling with tears.
He steps into the room, his gaze flicking briefly toward my stomach before returning to my face, his fingers sliding into my hair when he reaches me.
“Fuck, Siren, this makes me so happy.”
Lars leans against the counter beside us as Gabriel peppers my cheeks with soft kisses.
Just months ago, the idea of building a life like this would have sounded impossible. Our world was still tangled in secrets and betrayals, the future constantly shifting beneath our feet.
But I’m so thankful that all of that changed.
After Gabriel killed Falco to protect me and he fed Enzo all the information he needed to trap Sera, Gabriel became a member of the Syndicate.
He’s working with Rowan to secure the family’s infrastructure and gain digital information for assignments.
He’s found his place in the organization and he’s protected.
Lars’ hand is running up and down my back when I say, “I guess the pill was useless against you two.”
“Maybe Violette wasn’t lying about Marchetti sperm,” Gabriel says as the three of us laugh.
We all pull back, eyes misty, breaths heavy and at a single moment we’re all hit with a frightening realization.
I shout, “Not it.”
Gabriel follows, his words overlap mine and Lars is too late.
“Damn it,” Lars mutters.
I laugh as Gabriel tugs him to his side as he teases, “Guess you’re the one who gets to tell Violette.”