24. Lachlan
LACHLAN
We fall asleep tangled together, her body curved against mine, my arm wrapped around her waist. For the first time in ten years, I sleep without nightmares.
I just sleep. And when I wake, the sun is streaming through the windows, painting everything gold. Adriana is still asleep beside me, her face peaceful. Her dark hair is spread across the pillow, and one hand is curled against my chest, right over my heart.
Mine. The word settles into my bones, and I don't move. I just lie there, watching her, and I make a promise to myself.
I will be the man she needs. I will protect her and our son, no matter what it costs me. I will build the life we were supposed to have, the life we were robbed of ten years ago.
I will sacrifice anything—everything—to make sure they're safe and happy.
The promises settle into my chest, and I know I'll keep them. No matter what it takes.
Carefully, so as not to wake her, I slip out of bed and pull on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I need to move on this now, before anything else can go wrong.
I need to prove to Adriana that I mean what I said.
I leave the bedroom and head down the hallway to my office, pulling out my phone as I go. Declan picks up on the second ring. "Lachlan?"
"I need you to come to the penthouse," I tell him. "Now. We need to talk."
There's a pause. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah." I run a hand through my hair, glancing back toward the bedroom. "Everything's fine. I just need to talk to you about something important."
"I'll be there in twenty."
He hangs up, and I pocket my phone, heading into the office to wait. The room is quiet, the city still waking up outside the windows, and I pour myself a cup of coffee, trying to organize my thoughts. This conversation needs to go right. Declan needs to understand what I'm asking of him, and why.
He arrives exactly twenty minutes later, looking tired, his leather jacket still damp from the morning air. He's got a bruise on his jaw from the fight at the safe house. "You look like shit," I tell him, and he grins.
"You should see the other guy." He drops into one of the chairs across from my desk and leans back, studying me. "So what's this about?"
I take a sip of my coffee, buying myself a moment, and then I set the cup down and meet his eyes. "I'm stepping back."
He blinks. "What?"
"I'm stepping back from the operations," I say firmly. "I'm done being on the front lines, Declan. I'm done with the violence and the bloodshed and the constant threat of war. I have a family now, and I need to protect them. And I can't do that if I'm the one putting them in danger."
Declan stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the confusion in his eyes, the disbelief. "You're serious. You just got here, Lachlan. You literally just took over."
"I'm serious." I lean forward, resting my elbows on the desk. "I want you to take over for me now. Full control of the operations. You'll be the one making the calls, handling the deals, managing the men. I'll advise and handle the legitimate businesses, but I'm out of the day-to-day."
He's quiet, and I can see him trying to wrap his head around what I'm asking. Finally, he says, "Why me?"
"Because you're the best man I know. I trust you with my life, and I trust you with theirs. I've got good men around me, but I've known you since we were kids. I feel this is right, in my gut."
"I don't know, Lachlan." He shakes his head, and I can see the doubt in his eyes. "That's a lot of responsibility. What if I fuck it up? What if I make the wrong call and people get hurt?"
"You won't. You're smart, you're capable, and you've got good instincts. You've been making calls for years, Declan. This is just a new level of it."
He's still hesitant. "I don't know if I'm ready for this."
"You are. I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't think you could handle it."
I can see the conflict in his eyes. "What about my club?" he asks finally. "I can't just leave them behind, Lachlan. They're my brothers. They've been with me through everything."
"Then bring them with you. They can work under you, help you run things. You don't have to leave them behind, Declan. You just have to lead them in a new direction."
I can see the wheels turning in his head, the possibilities opening up. "You'd do that? You'd let my club come here?"
"Of course I would." I cross my arms over my chest. "You're my brother, Declan.
You've been my brother since we were kids, and I'm not going to ask you to choose between me and them.
Bring them with you. You'll need your own men.
This will all be yours. You can make that choice like all the others. "
He's quiet for a long moment. "Why are you really doing this, Lachlan? Is it just about Adriana and the kid, or is there something else?"
I think about the question, and I decide to give him the truth. "I saw my son with a gun in his hand last night. I saw him aiming it at Gio, ready to pull the trigger. And I realized that if I don't stop this, he's going to become exactly what I am. I can't let that happen, Declan."
Declan's expression softens. "You're doing this for him."
"I'm doing this for all of us. For Adriana, for Matteo, for myself. I want to be a father and a husband. I want to be the man I was supposed to be before all of this."
He nods slowly. "Okay."
"Okay?" I raise an eyebrow. "That's it?"
"That's it." He stands up and extends his hand. "I'll do it. I'll take over the operations, and I'll bring my club with me. But you have to promise me something."
"What?"
"You have to promise me that you'll still be there," he says, and his voice is serious. "That you'll still advise, still help me when I need it. I can't do this alone, Lachlan. I need to know you've got my back."
"I've always got your back," I tell him, and I get up to shake his hand, pulling him into a brief hug. "You're my brother, Declan. That's never going to change."
He claps me on the shoulder, and when he pulls back, there's a grin on his face. "So when do we start?"
"Now," I say, and I can feel the weight lifting off my shoulders. "We start now."
—
After Declan leaves, I stand at the window, looking out over the city, and the promises I made this morning echo through my mind.
I will be the man Adriana needs. I will protect my family, no matter what it costs. I will build the life we were supposed to have.
The promises don't feel like a burden. They feel like the reason I've survived all of this, the reason I fought my way to the top of this brutal world.
Not for power or for revenge. For her. For them. For the life we're going to build together.
I hear a soft sound behind me and turn to find Adriana standing in the doorway, wrapped in one of my shirts, her hair still messy from sleep. She looks beautiful and mine, and I cross the room to her, pulling her into my arms.
"It's done," I tell her quietly. "I talked to Declan. He's taking over."
She looks up at me, and I can see the fragile hope in her eyes. "Really?"
"Really." I kiss her forehead, her cheeks, then her lips. "I meant what I said, Adriana. I'm stepping back. I'm going to be the man you need, the father our son needs. I'm going to give you the life we were supposed to have."
"I believe you," she whispers. "I really do, Lachlan. I believe you."
She believes me. After everything, after all the mistakes and the pain and the fear, she believes me.
I hold her tighter, burying my face in her hair, and I make one final promise.
I will never let you down again. I will be the man you deserve. I will love you until the day I die, and even then, I won't stop.
I will choose her. Always.
"Come on," I murmur against her hair. "Let's go wake up our son."
She smiles, and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And I can see that she finally believes in the promise I made… the someday I swore to her, ten years ago.
Because someday is finally here.