61. Cole
COLE
Ewas acting weird. So was Enzo. Last night had been a rough night of killing. Enzo had lost it to the point where one guy was basically a ball of mush, and I had to pull him away. Enzo had fallen to his knees and hung his head, covered in blood.
I thought maybe he was crying, but when he stood again, he simply moved to the next guy, face dry, and hacked off his head before placing it into a box to send to Virelli with a severed arm, complete with a wedding ring on the finger.
Had that man not been accused of killing and raping a pregnant woman only days ago, I may have shed a tear.
I was glad to be home with my family now, even if it was weird and no one was talking.
But I had Rosalie, Ellis, Laz, and my twins nestled safely away, so I was happily enjoying my dreams coming true.
And in a week, I’d find out their paternity, but it really didn’t matter because I’d already claimed them. I’d pulled some strings and spent a hell of a lot of money to get the results in days, not weeks.
So I was feeling pretty damn smug, and wasn’t about to let shit bring me down, not even the nonsense about Enzo having an affair with Rosalie.
She was mine, and he damn well knew it. He’d made his choice, but I was glad to see the last few interactions with them had gone smoothly and they weren’t arguing.
In fact, I caught her stealing looks at him a few times.
It made me uneasy, though, because while I wanted all of us to happen, I also knew how Enzo felt.
He said he wasn’t going to pursue anything, and I believed him.
I didn’t want her to get her hopes up only for him to shit on them.
E wasn’t coming either. I was trying to deal with that because I knew I had to leave my brothers at some point soon.
The doorbell rang, and I answered it to find Dom standing there with Fallon and their twin monsters.
“Hey, guys,” I greeted them, giving them our handshake as the twins raced past me, shouting for Riot.
“Hey, how you doing?” Dom asked.
“Good. Great,” I said, grinning at him as the kids continued to shout.
Fallon smirked knowingly at me as I led them into the living room.
Riot turned on the stool he was sitting on next to Ellis in the kitchen and looked at the twins as they raced toward him.
“Oh, it’s Ellis!” Kingston shouted. “Ellis! I have to tell you something!”
Riot frowned, seemingly upset, as Ellis slid off her stool to greet the twins. I wasn’t surprised she knew the twins already, given Dom and Anson were fairly close.
“I told my dad that I want to be a ballerina too!” Kingston proclaimed proudly. “My mom said I can learn!”
Ellis’s eyes lit up at his words.
“Now I can dance with you whenever I want,” Kingston continued, grinning wildly.
I glanced at Fallon, who winked at me.
“Not happening, Vasiliev,” I muttered.
“We could arrange the marriage now,” Fallon teased. “All he talks about is Ellis. The boy has it bad. He begged for ballet lessons. I’m not overly excited about it, but he sure as hell is. Bianca enrolled him last week, and he starts Monday.”
“He’s five,” I said. “He doesn’t know what he’s feeling.”
“I don’t know.” Dom laughed softly. “Both the boys seem rather taken with her. Sante isn’t interested in dancing, but he is building her something with his Legos.”
I sighed. So it begins. Fuck my life.
The last thing I wanted was for my little princess to be involved with the kings in that capacity. Sante was the heir to the empire. He was in this life whether he liked it or not. With Fallon being a king too, I figured Kingston was going to be in it as well, likely as Sante’s underboss.
I watched Riot go to stand next to Ellis. I frowned as he took Ellis’s hand in his and pulled her back a little as if he were trying to claim her.
I’d never seen him behave that way before. He and the twins were little besties since they were in diapers, so it was worrisome.
“Riot. You left your toys out,” E said, coming into the room. “Get those picked up, OK?”
Riot looked at E for a moment before turning to Ellis, seemingly deciding whether ignoring E for Ellis was worth the trouble he’d get into.
“Riot, toys. Now,” I said. “Ellis and the twins will be here waiting for you.”
He still didn’t move. Instead, he stared intently at Ellis.
“I can help you, Lizard,” Ellis said, her little hands moving in sign language as she spoke to Riot.
I blinked rapidly.
“Ellie-bear, do you know sign language?” I asked softly.
She nodded, grinning at me. “Yes! Aunt Weena and Unkie Dunkie helped me to learn! I learn lots of stuff with Unkie Dunkie and his brothers. Even Jameson knows how to do it too!”
“Who’s Jameson?” Kingston asked, wrinkling his nose.
“He’s my other best friend,” Ellis said, her voice and face very serious.
“If you have him for a best friend, then who is the other one?” Sante demanded.
“Lizard is the other one.” She smiled at Riot. “Right?”
He nodded, a stern look on his face.
“You can’t have two best friends,” Sante said.
“Yes, I can. You can be my third if you want.”
Sante cocked his head, contemplating it. “OK. I’ll be the third.”
“I’m the fourth,” Kingston cut in.
“Uh, toys, Riot. Please,” I said, trying to divert my sweet princess from adding more kids to her bestie group.
Dom chuckled softly. “You’re in so much trouble later, Scott.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered as Fallon clapped me on the back.
The kids ran off, all opting to help Riot clean his mess before they went to his room to play. It didn’t escape me that Riot held Ellis’s hand all the way up the stairs.
I turned to find E lingering in the kitchen, watching the kids with a frown on his face. He was clearly thinking the same thing I was.
We may have a problem later.
“Dinner was amazing, Rosalie,” Dom said as he settled back in his seat. “Cole, the cake could use some work.”
“I didn’t make it,” I said immediately, holding my hands up. “I got it from that new bakery down the street. Short order. They didn’t seem happy with me.”
Rosalie reached out and patted my hand. I immediately wrapped my hand around hers and brought it to my mouth, where I placed a kiss on it.
“Ew!” Sante shouted from his seat at our formal dining table.
“He spit on her hand!” Kingston joined in.
I sighed. Those twins were a handful. Dom likely tried to pull his hair out nightly.
“My daddy doesn’t spit. You take that back, Kingston! I won’t dance with you again!” Ellis shouted.
“When did you dance with King?” I asked the same time Fallon asked, ignoring the spit comment.
“I showed him in Lizard’s room,” Ellis said. “He fell over, but that’s OK.”
“It was hard, but I can do it,” King replied, his cheeks pink. “ I will get better with my lessons.”
“Riot didn’t fall over.” Sante smirked. “He did good.”
“Shut up! You fell over too!” King shouted.
Dom rubbed his eyes. “Let’s bring the noise down a notch. If you guys are done eating, clean off your plates and go play.”
The twins scrambled off their chairs and went to the kitchen, teasing one another the entire way.
“You’ve got another on the way,” Enzo commented. He’d been quiet all through dinner.
“Levin’s hellspawn,” Fallon muttered. “Imagine what a little shit that one will be.”
I grinned at that and looked at Rosalie. “You’re going to be a grandma, baby.”
She chuckled. “Shut up.”
“It’s still so odd, Rosalie. You and Klaus Seeley,” Dom mused.
“Say what you really mean,” Fallon said, his eyes sparkling.
E shifted in his seat. I glanced at him to see him scraping Riot’s leftovers onto his plate.
“Go on, Laz. Go have fun,” E murmured.
Laz looked to Ellis, who was still eating her slice of cake. I tuned out the adult conversation and focused on the kids.
E sighed. “Laz, let Ellis eat. She’ll come play when she’s done.”
Laz still didn’t move. He just sat waiting for Ellis.
“I’m done,” Ellis proclaimed. “Lizard, do you want the last bite?”
Laz responded by taking the last piece and eating it before he reached out and put a bit of frosting on Ellis’s nose. Then he got up and ran.
It took her a minute, but she was off and running, chasing him amid her giggles.
“Relax,” Dom called out. “E. Cole. They’re just kids having fun.”
“He’s getting attached really quickly,” E said. “I’m worried. He’s never been like this before.”
“He’s been lonely,” Enzo said softly. “He now has a friend.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” E countered.
Before I could say anything, Rosalie spoke.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
No one moved a muscle as she stared E down. Dom and Fallon both looked uncomfortable as their eyes volleyed between E and Rosalie.
“Nothing,” E muttered.
“No, it meant something. Tell me what it meant,” Rosalie persisted. “Is there something wrong with my daughter?”
“Hey,” I said, a surge of anger flaring in my chest. “What the fuck, E? What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Ethan, if there’s one thing I know about you after all these years, it’s that your ears get red when you lie,” Rosalie whispered. “So just tell me what’s wrong with Ellis and Laz being friends.”
“Ask Enzo. He knows all about it.” E stood suddenly and shoved his chair back.
I had no idea what the hell was going on. I looked at Enzo, who stared back at E.
“E, please,” Enzo murmured. “Not now.”
“Not now? Then fucking when, Enzo? Huh? Because now my kid is involved. I’m not going to fuck around with this shit.”
“Shit? Are you referring to my daughter?” I demanded, getting to my feet.
“No,” E snapped. “I’m fucking not.”
He stormed away without another word, leaving everyone to sit awkwardly.
I sighed. “Enzo, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. We’ll talk later,” he muttered, casting a quick look to Rosalie. She seemed confused, then looked toward the stairs where E had disappeared. She frowned, clearly upset.
“Rosebud, I’ll talk to him, OK?”
She shook her head and got up. “I’ll speak to him. Dominic. Fallon. Excuse me.”
She left, leaving me behind with the guys.
“So…” Fallon said, clearing his throat.
“Let them handle their business,” Dom said. “We have our own to handle. Enzo, can we discuss some Virelli business?”