Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
W ilder was ready to take him on. Only a second man joined him and then a third. All clearly in shape, angry, and not easily intimidated. All who looked a lot like Nikolas, Nico, and their guards. Freaking Nikolas must have turned on him. Played both sides to see who would give him the best deal. Where was Damon? He was supposed to be protecting Bex and why did the house smell like sweet bread, chocolate, and coffee?
Wilder tried to charge into the house, but the two men each grabbed an arm and forced him into the house at their pace. Wilder glanced around his entranceway. He knew he was a good fighter, but there was no way he could fight his way out of this one. The two men who held onto him were the tip of the Italian iceberg waiting for him. His entryway was filled with angry, dark-haired men standing tall with either fisted hands or their arms crossed over wide chests, but all blocking his view of the interior of his house so he couldn’t see Olivia or Bex.
“Why did Nikolas send you? To make sure I lived up to my promise or because he’s decided to join forces with Fergus Kelly?” Wilder pushed down all the instincts that told him to fight his way through the wall of men to rescue his family. He had to be smart to get them out of this alive. So, instead of letting his fiery rage loose, he fell back on the cold, deadly rage he reserved for the most dangerous people he had to deal with in his work.
“Ooh,” one of the men said with a laugh. “That look scores a ten out of ten for intimidation.”
“Yeah, but I bet he can’t keep it when we cut off his balls,” another said with a smirk as he used his fingers to mimic scissors.
“We will discuss Nikolas and Fergus in a minute,” the leader said, getting everyone back in line. “We want to talk about Bex.”
Ice ran through Wilder’s veins. “What did you do to her?” Wilder spoke slowly and clearly. His tone was as sharp as the knife he wanted to stick in them.
“She’s in the kitchen,” the man said, not blinking at the clear threat in Wilder’s voice. “Maybe I should rephrase what we want. We’re here to talk about you and your association with Bex.” Wilder didn’t reply. He wouldn’t give them anything by rambling. When it was clear Wilder wasn’t going to say anything, the man continued. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
Wilder blinked. He didn’t know how to answer that, so he didn’t.
The second man pointed his finger at Wilder, his eyes burning with anger. “You took her away from New York without telling us.”
“Who do you think you are to protect her better than us?” a third man accused.
A fourth man looked at Wilder with disgust. “You’re nothing but a pretty party boy. You’re not even a man.”
“Let the poor man into his own house,” a woman’s voice Wilder didn’t recognize called from the kitchen.
“You can interrogate him over breakfast. The chocolate cornettos and maritozzi are ready,” another woman’s voice added.
Wilder could admit when he didn’t understand what was going on and this was one of those moments. He had no idea what was going on, so he stayed quiet as the wall of men grumbled.
“This isn’t over yet,” the leader whispered.
“Don’t think they’ll save you because they won’t,” the second man added as the wall of men parted.
Wilder’s living room came into view first. Relief flooded him as he saw Damon. But then Damon smiled as he talked to three older men. Damon wasn’t tied up. He wasn’t unconscious. Then the kitchen came into view. There was Olivia in the middle of three older women as she sipped espresso and stuck her finger into what looked like a bowl of cream and sighed with delight. And then finally, there was Bex. She wasn’t tied up with ropes but with an apron. She had a smudge of flour on her cheek and a huge, happy smile on her face.
Her eyes met his and then narrowed as she looked at the wall of men around him. “Wilder! You’re back. I see you’ve met my brothers and my cousins.”
Wilder felt as if his heart had been shot with a slingshot. Brothers? Cousins? “This is your family ?”
“Yeah,” she said slowly before her face turned red and she glared at the leader. “TJ! You didn’t introduce yourselves, did you?”
The leader, who must be her oldest brother, shrugged and tried to look innocent. “Sorry, Bex, we got so excited to meet him we must have forgotten.”
“Anthony Carlo Moretti, Junior,” one of the older women snapped. Wilder remembered Bex had told him that her father went by Tony and TJ had gone by Tony when he was little too. When it got too confusing, everyone just began to call him TJ—for Tony Junior—and it stuck. None of the guys in her family went by their real full names. “It’s a sin to lie like that.” She turned, holding a tray of amazing-smelling pastries.
“It’s also a sin to be living together before marriage,” TJ, Bex’s oldest brother muttered under his breath. But with super hearing, his mother narrowed her eyes at him. “Sorry, Ma,” TJ mumbled back.
“You must be Wilder. It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, smiling at Wilder and holding out the tray of pastries. “I’m Bexley’s mother, Marissa Moretti. Here, have a chocolate cornetto and let me introduce you to the family. You have such dark hair. Do you happen to be part Italian?”
“Sorry, Mrs. Moretti. The black hair comes from our Irish relatives and the blond from our English. I hope that doesn’t change your mind about meeting me.” Wilder smiled his most flirty smile as he took a pastry. “These smell divine, Mrs. Moretti.” As Mrs. Moretti blushed and tittered, he heard the wall of brothers and cousins groan.
“Such a polite young man. Come, meet my sisters-in-law who helped make them.” Mrs. Moretti turned to where the women were setting out plates Wilder had never used and smiling at him. “This is Julia Moretti, she’s married to Paulie. He’s the one to the right of your brother. And then their sons,” Mrs. Moretti turned to the wall of men. “Are Paulie Junior, or PJ.” PJ raised his hand. “Johnny and Phil.”
Wilder nodded at them as they glared. “Mrs. Moretti, it’s nice to meet you,” Wilder said, realizing all the women were Mrs. Moretti.
“You’re right, Bexley. He is a polite young man. Call me Aunt Julia.”
“And then this is Gianna Moretti,” Mrs. Moretti said about the woman who was clearly the hairdresser. Her hair was perfectly colored, her nails were done, and she winked at him.
“Aunt Gia, please. You’re just as handsome as your sister is beautiful.” Aunt Gia patted his cheek and then turned to the man on the couch. “That’s my husband, Frank. Then my oldest son, Frank Junior. Everyone calls him Frankie. Then Bobby, Richie, and Mikey. Good luck. You’d make beautiful babies with my niece.”
“Aunt Gia!” Bex rolled her eyes as angry grumbling echoed behind him from all the male Moretti family members.
“And lastly,” Mrs. Moretti said, walking Wilder over to the man on Damon’s other side. “This is my husband and Bexley’s father, Tony Moretti.”
She said with the weight of what it was. Wilder wasn’t just meeting the family of friends. He was meeting the man he hoped would one day be his father-in-law. “Mr. Moretti. It’s an honor to meet you, sir. Bex has told me so much about your family I feel as if I know you already.”
“Really?” he asked, shaking Wilder’s hand. “Because she hasn’t mentioned you at all.” Well, damn. “You’ve met TJ, my oldest. Then Ray and Jimmy are my other two boys. We’re all very protective of our Bexley. She’s the only girl in our family. She’s our princess. And you took her from us without asking when it’s our job to protect her. Not yours.”
Wilder swallowed trying to wet his drying throat. “With all due respect, sir.”
TJ snorted. “That usually means with no respect at all.”
“What? You think because you’re rich you’re better than us?” Ray questioned.
“You think you know more about law enforcement than us?” Jimmy piled on. The questions were flying faster than Wilder could hear, let alone answer.
Wilder glanced over to see Olivia recording everything on her phone. “Liv, a little help here, explaining what’s going on.”
Olivia chuckled and had the happiest smile he’d ever seen except for when she married Granger. “No way. You’re all on your own, dear brother. This is karma.”
Questions came flying thick and fast and Wilder knew he had to regain control of the situation. While Bex threw in some threats here and there to her family, she wasn’t stopping them and Wilder understood why. Family was important to her, just as family was important to him. If he couldn’t hold his own with her family, then it would create an issue in their relationship. It was exactly what Wilder and his brothers told Liv and Pen when they complained about him running off another boyfriend.
Somehow that made this situation a lot easier for Wilder to process and handle. He went over to the kitchen island as chaos erupted around him. Questions about his career, his family, his values, his religion, his stance on children, and why he thought he could protect Bex were all fired at him nonstop as he grabbed one of the island chairs and pulled it into the living room. He reached down and grabbed a pastry and a coffee and then sat and ate as if the Moretti Inquisition wasn’t happening all around him.
Olivia looked perplexed, but Damon sent him a wink. This was a classic Damon move. Eventually, one at a time, each Moretti stopped shouting questions when they realized Wilder wasn’t paying attention to them.
“Are we interrupting your breakfast?” TJ asked snarkily.
“Mrs. Moretti, Aunt Julia, Aunt Gia, these are the most delicious pastries I’ve ever had and I’m in Paris several times a year. Rome, too,” Wilder said to them as he smiled at the aunts who were clearly confused about what was going on yet grateful for the compliment. PJ opened his mouth, as did several Moretti men, but Wilder held up a single finger. “Would you like me to answer your questions now?”
“About damn time,” PJ snapped.
A second later, a hand smacked the back of PJ’s head. “Language,” Aunt Julia snapped. “Go ahead, Wilder. You were saying?”
“Thank you. First, Bex, have you filled them in yet?” Wilder asked.
“I haven’t. I was waiting for you,” Bex told the room as if she’d said it a hundred times before Wilder had gotten there. And she probably had by the way her brothers and cousins fired off questions.
“Why don’t you share what you feel comfortable with then I’ll fill in where I can,” Wilder said, deferring to her judgement.
“What? You can’t tell us what’s going on?” Frankie asked before Bex could start talking.
“It’s not my place to tell you what’s going on,” Wilder said easily. “This is Bexley’s case. Not mine. She’s the lead here. And, I believe, the highest-ranking Moretti, yes?”
The women all smiled. The men closed their mouths and looked frustrated, except for Bex’s father who looked proudly at Bex.
“Thank you, Wilder.” Bex joined him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “TJ, remember when I asked you about going up against a higher ranking officer if I was uncomfortable with what they asked me to do?” Her brother nodded. “Well, I was called into the police commissioner’s office where District Attorney Seabrook was waiting for me.” Bex went on to explain her orders, what happened when she reported she didn’t think Wilder was a suspect, her attack, and Wilder’s rescue.
Wilder saw the anger building in her family’s faces. “I guess this is where I should jump in,” Wilder told them. Bex nodded in agreement and Wilder took over telling about what he saw, did, and the race to the hospital where he called Wise and his sister, Olivia, because she’s not only an attorney but her husband is a sheriff and she would use all legal means to protect Bex in this situation.
“Wait,” Mrs. Moretti said, stopping Wilder. “Did you know Bex was a detective at this time?”
“No, ma’am. I didn’t even know her real name. I didn’t know any details until Wise told me who she was and she confirmed why she was there.” Mrs. Moretti and the aunts looked pleased by that. So, Wilder continued with their escape from New York to Charleston, their meeting with Peter, and finally ending with his trip to New York last night.
“You walked into The Golden Harp alone?” Tony asked him with shock.
Wilder looked to Damon who gave a little nod, letting Wilder know it was okay to tell who he had with him. “I wasn’t alone. Damon has a contact with a group in the city who helped me.”
That didn’t fool anyone.
“Who helped you?” TJ asked.
“New York Minos Motorcycle Club,” Wilder said, waiting for the backlash. Instead, he was met with silence.
Then Tony, Paulie, Frank, and the rest of the guys began to snicker. “I would have loved to see the Kellys’ faces when the Minos stormed the club,” TJ said with a grin.
“If anyone hates them more than law enforcement, it’s the MMC,” Ray added with a chuckle.
“What happened?” Bex asked.
“Wait, you all don’t mind that I worked with a gang?” Wilder asked after thinking for sure they’d now allow him to date Bex after this.
“The MMC are brutal murderers and thieves,” Tony told him. “But they’re old school. They don’t go after just anyone. They’re not doing drive-by shootings that put innocent bystanders in danger. They only go after other criminals and a big thing they do is protect vulnerable women and children. Nothing will make them madder than innocent people being put in danger.”
Wilder nodded. He’d seen that firsthand. “And everyone knows,” Ray said, picking up the story, “that the Kellys don’t care who gets hurt or who they sell drugs to. Power and money are the only things they care about.”
“Especially after that wedding with the Italians fell through close to forty years ago,” Paulie told them. “It was forever ago, but it changed them. Made them meaner and more determined to win at all costs.”
“Further, I think I know who his police contact is.” The angry conversation that started after Wilder told them what happened in New York stopped. “Did you know Sean Kilpatrick is Fergus’s nephew?”
Gasps and curses filled the room.
“But I know his mother,” Aunt Julia said, still in disbelief. “She’s in my book club. She volunteers at St. Matthew’s three times a week. She and her husband work hard with the local market. She lives three blocks from us. There’s no way she’s Fergus’s sister. We would have known that.”
Finally, Olivia spoke up. “If Ryker says it’s true, then it’s true. He has better contacts than the government or the ladies’ group at St. Matthew’s.”
“We need to get to Sean,” TJ said. “He led the charge to get us all suspended. No wonder he did it. He needed us out of the way so he could railroad our sister and pin all these crimes on her.”
“Granger is about to walk in with Kord. I figured they’d love this. Plus, they can answer any questions about how this is being handled legally here,” Olivia said, handing Wilder another plate of pastries as Damon joined them.
“I can’t believe you just fed me to the wolves,” Wilder said with faux anger.
“I’m not. I already sent it to the family chat and Pen says TJ’s hot and she wants to see him take Damon on.”
Damon cursed under his breath. “I have enough trouble with Italians and Pen at the moment. I don’t need any more. First there was Nico sniffing around. Now Nikolas somehow got my number and called asking what Pen’s favorite flower was.”
“What did you say?” Wilder asked thinking that maybe he and the MMC guys might need to pay Nikolas a visit.
“I told him a lily because the only way he’d ever date Pen was if I were dead and those flowers were on my coffin.”
The door opened as Granger and Kord were brought into the chaos. Several more question were brought up by various cousins and it was time for Wilder to sit back. Bex was taking the lead, answering questions, and talking to her family who were operating as their own police force. Granger and Kord stepped in where needed and at some point, they were asked about Wilder and if he were worthy of Bex.
Wilder about jumped over the table to stop Granger’s answer, but Granger surprised him. “He’s a great guy. You already know he’s smart, he’s nice, and they won’t hurt for money. However, he’d die to protect your daughter and I think that tells you everything about him and his feelings for Bex.”
Wilder was actually touched. He liked his brother-in-law and knew Granger would look out for the family because he loved Liv, but he didn’t know Granger saw Wilder for what he was, not what he showed the public.
“You married a good man, Liv.” Wilder put his arm around his sister and hugged her to his side.
“I know. And Bex is a good woman. You might all be stupid men, but you at least pick the right person to be your wife,” Olive whispered, but the last part was said in her courtroom voice that carried and then echoed over the entire house.
“Did you say wife?” Mrs. Moretti shouted as she clapped her hands together.
“Wife!” TJ, Ray, Jimmy and then the entire Moretti family yelled, some in anger, some in excitement.
“Never mind. I take everything good I was saying about you back,” Wilder hissed as Olivia smirked.
“That is what you were discussing, right Wilder? How you wanted Bex to be your wife?” Granger asked loudly, cutting through the fever pitch excitement.
Wilder caught Bex’s stunned face across the room.
“Now I take back every kind thing I was thinking about your husband.”
“Is it true? Do you love my daughter and want to marry her?” Tony asked.
“Well, this isn’t exactly the way I wanted to tell her, but yes, it’s true.” Wilder walked across the room as threats were leveled at the same time as excited gasps. Her brothers and a couple of cousins, he thought they were Richie and Phil, were now blocking Bex from him. “Sweetheart,” Wilder ignored all the other people in the room. “I actually had something romantic planned for tonight to tell you, but we haven’t really had the typical romantic relationship so why should this be any different? I have fallen in love with you, Bexley Moretti. Totally and completely in love with you. I think it happened the first time I saw you at the bar in my club, even if you were trying to bust me.”
Bex poked her head between the shoulders of her cousins. “I love you too. I knew I liked you just from what I had heard about you. But hearing you beat the crap out of the guy who drugged me? Then you literally swept me off my feet when you scooped me up, vomiting, and rushed me to the hospital. You somehow were my knight in shining armor while allowing me to be Joan of Arc instead of a damsel in distress.”
One of her cousins sniffled. “That’s love, right there.” Wilder thought it might be Mikey, but Bex was pushing through her cousins and jumping into his arms.
“Oh, Tony, it’s so romantic!” Mrs. Moretti sighed as her sisters then turned to their sons and began asking them when they were going to settle down.
Grandchildren were mentioned, but it didn’t strike fear in Wilder at all. However, Bex’s face volleyed between desire and fear. “You don’t want kids?” Wilder asked her. “It won’t change my love for you if that’s what you’re worried about. I would love to have them with you, but we’re a team. I won’t do anything that we both don’t agree with.”
“I want kids,” Bex whispered. “But I just realized that while we love each other, we have no plan.”
“Plan?” Wilder asked, suddenly more nervous than he’d been when her family was interrogating him.
“Where do we live? What’s your travel schedule like? Because I want a partner in raising children, not someone who is gone all the time. Will I still work? Whose house will we visit for the holidays? We need to come up with a plan. Lots of plans.”
“I’ll live wherever you want. Holidays we can alternate and if we’re not in New York, your family, if they want, can take my plane to where we are so that we’re together. My travel is pretty busy, but I’m thinking of bringing Bryce in as vice president, hiring Hardy as the new manager for New York, and letting Bryce do the travel rotation to visit clubs. I’ll still have to visit them some, but we can do it together since you’ll be my partner, even if you’re still a cop. Sweetheart, you can work doing whatever you want. You can lead security for my clubs, you can stay a detective, you can go back to school if there is something else you want to do . . . I’ll always support your dreams.”
Wilder then took his life into his own hands and kissed Bex right there in front of her family. Kissed her because he loved her. Kissed her because he wanted to marry her. Kissed her because nothing and no one would ever stop him from being with her.