65. Chapter 65
Rosalina
Isqueezed Oliver’s hand as we walked through the quad on the way to our next class.
The sun shone, and the birds sang as if they were a reflection of my good mood.
After all that, I’d only missed a couple of weeks of school, and with a little help, I caught up with my classes in no time.
Come to find out, Oliver was smarter than anyone gave him credit for.
Sure, he could’ve hacked into the servers and given me all As, but where was the fun in that?
It was so much better parading my gorgeous shadows around campus as I finished the last days of the semester before break. I wasn’t sure if I’d be back to finish my degree, but my mates supported whatever decision I made. For now, we used Nico’s jet to go between campus and his club.
Along with school, I worked with my father on his business finances.
Emilio, Lorenzo's last surviving packmate, cracked in no time flat once the cattle prod came out, and was instrumental in tracking down all the money that they'd stolen.
Now that Lorenzo was out of the picture, it was surprisingly easy to get things back in order.
My father had been spending a lot of time with my newfound half-brother, Luca.
We’d never get my brother back, but Luca was exceedingly tolerable considering how insufferable Nico could be.
No matter what happened, my dad assured me that the business was mine if I still wanted it.
For now, with Oliver’s help, we started moving money into assets that would make a positive difference in the world.
Long term, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but it was nice to have the choice.
I had to pry Claudia out of the younger Morenos’ greedy clutches, but we finally got our uninterrupted spa day where she told me a secret that only I knew.
She was pregnant and thrilled. I was happy for her and her pack.
My guys would be excited to be uncles until someday, when we were ready for it, they would become dads, too.
There was a time not so very long ago when I thought that all I wanted in the world was freedom. I’d been wrong. That wasn’t it at all. What I’d really wanted was the freedom to decide for myself, and for my decisions to be trusted. I had that now.
I’d earned that trust with blood and bullets.
It didn’t happen the way I’d planned, but it worked. My father knew that when the chips were down, I’d do what needed to be done, and so did my mates.
The organization may have been built on drugs and weapons, but it didn’t have to go on that way.
I never wanted to have to shoot someone in the head again, but if my family was threatened, I knew I wouldn’t hesitate.