Chapter 48
The downfallof Brick Willtot was almost anticlimactic.
After chasing off my girlfriend and nearly ending my life, Brick was picked up for conspiracy to commit murder on a Sunday morning, while he was asleep in his pajamas. His house was raided, and all sorts of shit was seized.
Nothing was a smoking gun, per se. There was no shrine to the baby, or photographs of Tally with her eyes scratched out, or anything like that. What they did find was a burner phone, the only number in the phone book being that of the kid who’d been charged with attempted murder.
According to the detectives, the only communication on it was a message from the kid, saying he wasn’t sure he could do it. Brick had messaged back that the best NASCAR drivers were decisive. If he couldn’t commit to his word, how could he commit to a team?
None of it said Murder Tally Palmer to get a job, but it was enough to charge him.
The final nail in Brick’s coffin, however, was that the private investigator had come forward to say that Brick had offered him two million dollars to kill Tally and Rocco. With both witnesses corroborating, it didn’t look good for Brick.
I hoped he rotted in the pits of Hell, personally.
The press had picked it up quickly, and there were news vans parked outside the gates of the community, which meant we were trapped here for a little while longer. I missed Tally with a physical ache that was far worse than the one in my ribs. We all did, and it was making us mean and testy. How Jesse hadn’t smothered us both in our sleep was actually a miracle.
I rolled out of bed with a wince. I’d be glad when the ribs healed completely. Norton sat at the nursery door, whining softly. If I could have reached down and scratched his head, I would have. As it was, with the boot and the ribs, I couldn’t do any more than rub my toes along his rump.
“Don’t worry, boy. I’m going to get our girls today.”
Some of my pining for her was negated by the fact that I knew wherever she was, she was safe. Rocco had hired some ex-mercenary to make sure no one got within ten feet of her or Bobbi-June.
Jesse was sitting on the couch when I walked into the living room, the television blaring. “The charges laid against NASCAR giant Brick Willtot have shocked the motor racing world, with some coming out in support of the man, but many more condemning his actions.”
Ryker, my old boss, had been stopped outside his house, apparently. “It’s terrible, the whole situation. Brick has been suffering since the death of his son, and I hope that he gets the help he needs.”
Well, it wasn’t an out-and-out condemnation, but I’d take it.
Jesse huffed, muting the TV. “I’ve been trying to call Tally all morning, but she hasn’t answered.” Fear and doubt crossed his face. “What if she doesn’t come back?”
I shook my head. I refused to believe that. She would return now that it was safe. She loved us.
I patted his shoulder. This whole thing had been as hard on him as it had been on Rocco and I, even though he hadn’t been injured. It was in the way he hovered around, and how he looked longingly in Tally’s room or the nursery.
“We won’t give her a choice. We’ll show her how much we love her, and she’ll come back to us. I better go check on Rocco.”
Rocco’s mom was in the kitchen, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about her. It was obvious she loved her son, but she gave us suspicious looks all the time, like we were somehow waiting for him to die of surgical complications so we could steal his money.
I also didn’t like the way she’d treated Tally. I knew it would take some adjustment—she was old, so the idea of one woman with several men would be as foreign as not asking to see the manager. But she’d have to get used to the idea, and damn quickly, because Tally loved Rocco, and I loved Tally. Her happiness was paramount to me.
“Good morning, Mrs. Passero.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You need to explain.”
Okay, so I talked a big talk, but as soon as she used that tone of voice, I wanted to say, “Yes, ma’am,” and run in the opposite direction. “Explain what?”
“This relationship you have with my son and his wife.”
Eesh. Was it too late to pretend my ribs were so sore I couldn’t get out of bed? “Maybe that’s a discussion you should be having with Rocco?”
She shook her head, waving a spatula at me. Whatever she was cooking smelled freaking amazing. She grabbed a plate and loaded it with biscotti, then shoved a coffee in front of me. “Eat.” She turned back to the stovetop. “When I ask my son, he says, ‘It’s none of your business, Mamma. I don’t want to talk about it, Mamma.’” She huffed. “Like it’s bad that I want to know about how my baby lives his life! So you’ll have to explain it to me.”
It didn’t sound like I had much of an option, and did I mention she was terrifying? “Uh, what exactly do you want to know?”
“It is best to start at the beginning, no?”
This is so fucking weird.“I met Tally back when she was a NASCAR driver. She was in love with another racer…”
I was on my second cappuccino and stuffed full of pastries by the time I got to the part where we’d all come to an agreement that we loved and respected each other enough to make sure that Tally was always loved and cared-for, as well as Bobbi-June.
The older woman looked pensive as she sipped her own coffee. “Marriage can be lonely. No one tells you that when it’s you and him against the world, it is wonderful. But sometimes it’s also you against him, and then who has your back? You’re alone, and once upon a time, you were stuck.”
I nodded like I could understand, but honestly, I couldn’t. I was from the wrong generation, the wrong gender. I was well aware that I had life easier than so many people, just by some weird twist of fate.
“It still takes a lot of work, even more so because there’s a lot of people with a lot of feelings that can get hurt. You have to put your pride aside a lot.”
She nodded. “And the baby?”
I met her eyes, because I wanted her to know how serious my next statement was. “Bobbi-June is ours. She’s Tally’s biologically, but she’s also mine, and Rocco’s, and Jesse’s. Each one of us wants to be a father to that baby.”
“And future children?”
“They’ll be ours too. Doesn’t matter to me who they belong to genetically. I will raise them. Be their dad, regardless.”
She straightened, running the cloth from over her shoulder across the counter to clean up the crumbs. “Okay. Yes. What are you still doing here? Go and get my daughter-in-law and my grandbaby, so I can show them some love before I’m forced to go home. My husband does not do well on his own.” That was a loaded statement I didn’t really want to unpack. “He will probably starve to death if I don’t return soon, and I’d like to get to know them first.”
Nodding, I was already backing out of the room. “Yes, ma’am.” I hobbled out of there as fast as my busted-up leg could carry me.
Jesse found me in the hallway, his eyes wide as he saw me traveling like the hounds of Hell were on my heels. “Everything okay?”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I got caught in the kitchen explaining polyamory to Mamma Passero.”
He cursed beneath his breath. “Are you emotionally okay?”
I laughed, but it was a nearly hysterical sound. “I think I am. Call Will. I want my family back now.”
I paced around the front foyer as I waited for Tally to arrive, and it was making my ribs ache. Jesse kept opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to tell me to go back to bed, but then changed his mind.
I’d go back to bed when Tally could come with me.
Finally, an SUV pulled up in front of the house, and it was too much. I burst through the door and hobbled down the front steps, Jesse right beside me in case I pitched forward and ate gravel. I knew it was killing Rocco to still be up in bed and not down here too, but he’d get his turn soon enough.
She burst out of the car and ran toward us, wrapping an arm around each of our necks, and I kissed every inch of her face I could reach. I had days worth of kisses that needed to grace her skin.
“God, I hated being away from you,” she grumbled, holding us tightly. “It’s finally all over.”
Well, mostly. Brick had been remanded without bail, considered a flight risk, and was being extradited to California. There’d be a long-ass trial eventually, where he’d probably plead insanity and not get nearly long enough behind bars.
That was a future problem, and I didn’t want to borrow tomorrow’s trouble when we finally had the opportunity to be happy. She was back in my arms, and I wanted to drag in lungfuls of her scent. “I missed you so fucking much.”
A huge dude appeared—who must have been her security—as well as Will, who was carrying a sleepy baby. I held out my hands, and he handed her over. “Short Stack, I missed you!” I kissed Bobbi-June’s chubby little cheeks, the ache in my side pushed to the background as I healed the ache in my heart.
Jesse and I swapped, and I went back to kissing my wife. Because legally, she mightn’t be able to be mine but in my heart, she was it for me, forevermore. “I love you, Tally Palmer. I never want to be apart again.”
She shook her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Never again.”
Jesse walked back up the steps, Bobbi-June clutched against his chest. “Welcome home.” Stepping aside, he lifted his chin toward the stairs. Tally raced up to the second floor so fast, I was a little worried she’d miss a step and fall down. We followed along behind at a much more reasonable pace, mostly because getting up the stairs was slow as hell for me.
Jesse walked with me, making me feel all soft. “I don’t tell you this enough, man, but I love you too. You’re the best guy I know.”
Giving me a crooked grin, he rolled his eyes. “One near-death experience, and he’s finally in touch with his feelings.” He slapped my back gently with his free hand. “I love you too, man. When I thought I’d lose you all…” He shuddered.
I couldn’t imagine. That split second of panic when I woke up in the ambulance had been the worst. At least until they told me that Tally was okay. I couldn’t even imagine what it would’ve been like getting a call like the one he’d gotten. It would have messed me up for good.
We finally made it to Rocco’s room, and Tally was in bed beside him, clutched to his chest as he kissed her over and over again. I was kind of glad that Mamma Passero had gone back to her hotel.
“Non posso vivere senza di te,” he crooned at her between kisses. “I can’t live without you, Tally Palmer-Passero.”
She was crying softly now, but her smile was wide. “You’ll never have to.”