Epilogue
ALESSA
“Thank you for bringing me here, Il mio sole,” Ryder says, pulling me into his side.
We’re sitting on the beach behind the beach house just like we used to. It was our favorite spot to go growing up. I’m a ball of nerves because I brought him as a distraction.
They all worked so hard on the proposal and helped me with the commitment ceremony in three days that I have surprises for all of them.
We wanted to wait to have the ceremony until the house was done, which, thankfully, it finally is.
The shell of it anyway; anything else will be done by the time we get back from our honeymoon.
I replaced Zeus’s headstone for Zane and got his name cleared of any charges regarding Jay.
I gave Leo free rein over all my businesses to do what he does best. They’re running even better than when I had them.
His is slotted to open very soon. For Dex, I got a tattoo to cover Jay’s name carved on my back that matched the one he has on his arm, an angel licking a knife that he got years ago.
I didn’t find out until recently that he got that for me.
Gage was hard because I didn’t know how it would turn out.
I found his mom; something never sat right with me about her just leaving.
I tracked her down, which took months to find out Conner ran her out of town when she refused to abort him.
They still have some stuff to work through, but she truly is an amazing woman.
And the woman Gage got his blue eyes from.
Ryder and Holden’s surprises are still left, which is why I have Ryder at the beach. Holden is next.
Right on cue, I hear the rumbling of an engine and jump to my feet. “Come on,” I say, jerking Ryder to his feet.
“What’s the rush?” Ryder laughs, kissing the top of my head.
I pull him up the pathway beside the house to the driveway, and he stops dead in his tracks.
Sitting there with Zane behind the wheel is his 1967 jet black Mustang Shelby, in working condition.
Ryder and Zane pulled all the parts they could from Ryder’s original Mustang that was destroyed in the house and rebuilt the one we had in lockup from Xander together.
The last part was on backorder and would have taken months to get here.
I called every place I could find, paid the money to have it overnighted, and Zane put the finishing touches on it this morning.
“Holy shit,” Ryder whispers, emotion thick in his voice.
Zane steps out, walking around to lean casually against the passenger side door.
“Surprise, Love,” Zane says gruffly. Ryder, Zane, and Holden are still going strong, even stronger now that nothing is standing in our way.
Ryder rushes over and jerks Zane into a bear hug.
“You need to thank the missus,” Zane says but hugs Ryder back just as tight.
Zane worked tirelessly every chance he got to rebuild this car with Ryder; it was their alone time together.
Ryder whirls around. “You did this?”
I shrug. “I just made some calls.”
“That’s my car,” Ryder says in awe, pulling me into his chest. “I love you so fucking much, Il mio sole.”
“I love you too.”
I pull back when I hear Gage’s new Range Rover pull up, parking beside the car. Gage gets out with a grin. “That car is fucking sick.”
“Come on,” Ryder says, pulling my hand toward the car.
I shake my head and stop when we’re at the door. “Go with Zane,” I say, making him frown. “This is your thing with him, and I have something else to do.” I kiss his cheek. “Now. Go. Shoo.”
Ryder’s smile lights up his face. “I love you,” he says, walking backward toward the driver’s side.
“I love you too.”
Ryder slides into the driver’s seat, looking hot as hell. Zane kisses me. “Did you see how happy he is?” he whispers.
“You did that, Tesoro.” I kiss him. “Now go play.”
Zane grins and slides into the passenger seat. Ryder smoothly backs out and, with a rev of the engine, peels out, leaving a trail of rubber on the road. With a shake of my head, I listen to the roar of the engine fade away.
Nerves are settling in again for the next surprise. This one could go one of two ways.
“Hey, Pretty girl,” Gage greets, kissing me slowly. “Everything ready for part two?” he whispers in my ear.
I nod. “I just got confirmation from Ghost.”
“Let’s go to the house, then.”
I jump in my new BMW and follow behind them to the house. Most of the cars have been replaced by now except Gage’s Bugatti. I guess he didn’t want to pay that for a car twice.
Pulling up to the gate, the guard hits the button to let us in. Zane interrogated every guard after everything settled after Jay. And anyone they thought was guilty, he and Ryder took care of them.
Gage swings around the loop in the driveway while I pull into the garage. Holden walks in with furrowed brows when I’m stepping out. “He kicked me out and then drove off.”
I laugh. “He could have done it nicer, but your surprise is next.” I take a deep breath and take his hands. “At any point, you don’t want to do this, you tell me. Okay?”
“Okay,” he says slowly. “What’s this about?”
“Do you trust me?”
“With my life, Bright eyes,” he answers automatically.
Taking one of his hands. “Follow me,” I say.
I slide the metal cabinet out of the way, scanning my way into the hidden chamber I made sure we had built again.
I lead Holden down the hallway, my hands a sweaty mess.
I have no idea how he’s going to take this.
I scan into the last door. “Remember what I said. You don’t like this, tell me,” I remind him before shoving the door open.
Hanging in the middle of the room is Holden’s piece of shit uncle, Winston, the one I vowed to take care of. Ghost flew to Texas yesterday and returned to California with him this morning.
“Is that…” Holden trails off when we step in front of an unconscious Winston.
“I always said I would take care of him for you.” I take Holden’s hands again. “You don’t need me to anymore. You can.”
I kept my word to Dex and keep myself out of as much danger as possible.
That doesn’t mean I hid behind my fancy gates; I still go out on missions.
But for the most part, I let the guys lead it, or we send Ghost and Caden out with their crews.
Ghost and Caden were welcomed officially into the Poletti family and have fit in well.
I walk over and grab an ammonia capsule to wake him up. “The choice is yours, Holden,” I say when I get back to him.
Holden turns to look at his uncle. “This motherfucker sold me without a care.” He holds out his hand, and I lay the capsule in his palm.
Holden is more than capable of doing this.
He goes on every mission with us and loves every second of it.
He is worse than Gage sometimes with how excited he gets.
He snaps it open, waving it under Winston’s nose. His uncle jerks back and looks around wildly. “Where am I?” He doesn’t even recognize Holden anymore.
“Hell, asshole. The same place you sent me,” Holden says, and I watch the recognition dawn on Winston’s face at Holden’s voice.
“Holden?” he whispers.
“Yeah,” Holden grunts. “Didn’t expect to see me again, did you? Thought that freak would kill me?”
“I…I…” Winston stutters.
“Unlucky for you, I had an angel save me.” Holden steps up closer. “Also, unlucky for you, she’s the angel of death.” A giggle escapes me, and Winston’s eyes snap to me. Holden steps right in front of me, blocking his view. “No,” Holden growls. “You don’t get to look at her.”
“What’re you going to do?” Winston asks, already figuring out this wasn’t a chit-chat.
“When I first walked in here, I was going to tell you everything that happened to me. But then I realized you wouldn’t give a fuck because all you care about is yourself.
” Holden shoves his hands in his pockets.
“My beautiful soon-to-be wife knew I needed to kill you. I needed to rid this world of you.” He takes the knife I offer him.
We found out not too long ago Holden was very handy with knives.
“You took a scared as fuck sixteen-year-old kid and handed him over to a monster.” Holden steps even closer.
“I’m not that scared sixteen-year-old kid anymore.
” Holden pauses. “I’m the monster now. Any last words? ” he asks, pointing the knife at him.
“I’m so…” Winston starts to say. Holden jams the knife right into his jugular, killing him instantly.
“I don’t give a fuck,” Holden mutters, jerking the knife out. Blood spurts in a wide arc, soaking the front of Holden’s shirt. He looks down and then looks at me. “I guess he did get the last word.”
A laugh bubbles out. “No.” I wrap my arms around his neck, not caring about the blood. “He will take what you said to hell.” I peck his lips. “Now we both need to get cleaned up,” I say, waggling my eyebrows.
Holden grins. “Let’s go, Bright eyes.”
He pulls my hand toward the door that will take us into the house, turns, and flings the knife. It sticks perfectly, right in Winston’s heart. Holden was right; he isn’t that scared kid anymore. He’s a man that not only cares for me, but he also cares for his family.
The next step is getting married.
“You look beautiful,” Katherine says, pulling me into a hug, tears in both our eyes. “Oh no! Don’t smudge,” she laughs, fanning my face. Bridget just got done fixing it for the fourth time because I can’t stop crying.
I take a deep breath. “I’m good,” I lie. I’ve said that every time.
I turn around and look at myself in the mirror.
My hair is half up with huge bouncy curls and held together with the diamond hair clip Ryder’s mom wore on her wedding day.
That made me cry the first time when Rocco handed it to me.
My makeup is understated, with a slight smokey eye, blush, and pink lipstick.
I have the necklace on that Holden got me for their proposal; I never took it off.
The dress took me months to find, but I knew it was the one when I did. It is a strapless princess style with a bodice top then flared out at the waist. There are diamond accents sewn all over it with a long train. I love it and hope the guys do too.
“Alessa,” Shawna says softly from the door when I turn around, her eyes well with tears.
“Oh, please don’t, Shawna,” I laugh, fanning my face again.
“You look like a princess,” she whispers, then clears her throat. “Someone would like to see you.” I frown. “It’s Ms. Pennington.”
“Oh,” I say, rubbing my palms on my dress. Ms. Pennington is Clara, Gage’s mom. “Send her in.” When I found her, she was in Tennessee and flies in frequently to see Gage.
“Oh my goodness,” Clara says, stepping in. “You really do look like a princess.”
“Thank you,” I say softly.
Her eyes well with tears, and Katherine starts fanning my face. “I’m so glad Gage found someone like you.”
“I’m glad I found him.” Without him, I honestly don’t think I would have what I do. He was the one who pushed me to go after what I wanted.
“Okay.” Bridget claps her hands. “No more making the bride cry,” I laugh, and she smiles softly. “It’s time.”
My heart starts beating wildly, but not from nerves. I can’t wait to start the new chapter of our lives.
With Katherine’s and Clara’s help, I make my way to the door. When it opens, I almost start crying all over again. Micah is standing there in a perfectly fitted tux, waiting to walk me down the aisle in place of my dad.
“Wow, shithead. You clean up nice,” Micah jokes, but I can hear him getting choked up.
“You do too.”
“You ready for this? We can still run the other way,” Micah says with a smile.
I roll my eyes. “I’m ready,” I say, hooking my arm with his.
“You look beautiful, Alessa,” Micah says seriously. “Your dad would be damn proud of you.”
I nod because if I talk, I’ll start crying again.
We decided to have the ceremony at the same hotel where we all went to the gala. It felt right because that’s the night Zane cemented himself in our lives.
The doors to the huge ballroom open and Marry Me by Train starts playing instead of the traditional wedding march.
Micah leads me one step in, and Gerald and Boone step to my other side. “Surprise,” Micah whispers. Micah just made this moment even more perfect. Hooking my arm with G, I make my way to my guys.
They are standing proudly in line right in front of me, in perfectly tailored tuxes, with bow ties that matched each of their eyes.
They catch sight of me, and the rest of the room disappears.
Micah kisses my cheek softly and places my hand in Ryder’s outstretched one.
When I look into his dark brown eyes, there are tears in them, just like mine.
“You look breathtaking, Il mio sole,” he says gruffly, leading me the rest of the way. All of them have misty eyes when I get to them.
With me placed in the middle of them while Noah officiates the ceremony, I slide a ring onto each of their fingers, signifying them as mine too. When Noah announces that you may kiss the bride, each guy gives me a kiss unsuitable for the public to the sound of catcalls and wolf whistles.
The reception starts right after, with dancing and drinks flowing. Each guy surprises me with the song for our first dance to, making me cry each time.
Just because we finally got everything we want doesn’t mean there isn’t something just around the corner to try to take it away.
But we will handle it just like we do everything.
Together.
The End