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Which can’t happen yet.
Gian comes out the back door and wipes his hands on his jeans before noticing us. He comes over and looks from me to Carlo, then ends up squinting at me. “What’s your deal?” he asks.
“He’s all amped up over this shit,” Carlo says, waving a hand and answering for me. “How’s it going in there?”
“We got them tied down. Dante and the boys will work them over for a while until we can get something from them.” He stretches his arms and leans against the truck.
“I don’t know how you two aren’t all worked up too,” I say, glaring at my brothers. But that’s not true. Carlo’s always on the edge of worked up, while Gian’s the most unflappable guy I’ve ever met. It’s just that neither of them have a Molly waiting back home, hidden away. I hate treating her like a secret.
“I’m confident we’re going to win,” Gian says as if it’s a fact of life. “The Irish are on the run and the Russians haven’t been effective for months. Once we take down Finnian, it’s only a matter of time before we have Jasha’s head.”
“Then the city’s ours again,” Carlo adds. “Well, at least partially ours. I guess we’re still allied with the Rinaldo Famiglia. And the fucking Milano Famiglia can suck my ass.”
“Nobody wants to suck your ass,” Gian says, elbowing him.
“There are a lot of steps between here and there.” I force myself to stop pacing because it’s clearly bothering my brothers. “I guess I’m the only one sick of going home and trying to get bloodstains off my clothes.”
Both of them look at me. Carlo shakes his head and Gian sighs.
“You’re far from alone, bro,” Carlo says. “It’s just, what’s the use in getting worked up? This is our life now. We fight until the fight is done.”
I know he’s right. I shouldn’t be getting this stressed out. It’s just that I’m already breaking so many fucking rules by marrying Molly without Renzo’s permission, without even telling him, and I don’t break rules. Gian, Carlo, that shit’s for them—I’ve always been the one that does the right thing.
Now I’m doing the wrong thing, and it feels fucking great.
That’s the twisted part of all this.
I’m betraying my family’s trust, and I like it.
Carlo and Gian head back inside to deal with the prisoners. I get in my truck and drive back home, taking my time, thinking about my predicament. Molly keeps asking why I want to be married to her, what I’m getting out of it, and I keep telling her the truth: I’m getting a wife and a child. It’s that fucking simple. Except I know Renzo won’t see it that way.
She’s awake when I get home. I head to the laundry room first, strip off my soiled shirt, and toss it in the washer. I’ll deal with the stain in earnest tomorrow. When I turn around, she’s standing in the doorway wearing an old white t-shirt that’s practically see-through and a pair of old shorts.
“You okay?” she asks, looking toward the machine behind me. “That’s not your blood, is it?”
“Not my blood,” I confirm. “No broken ribs this time either.”
“That’s good.” She steps into the room.
I walk over to her, covering the distance, and pull her against me. Fuck all my stress and fuck this tension between us. I stare down at her, one hand on her back, the other gripping her ass possessively. I’m going to spend the next few months fighting and nearly dying, and I want to take advantage of every moment I have above ground while I can. I finally have a reason to keep going, but she makes me want to give up the fight if only so I can have more precious time with her. It’s fucked and makes me weak, but that’s what she does to me.
I kiss her gently. She sighs and pulls my face to hers, smothering my mouth, opening her lips to take my tongue against hers. I stay in that kiss and push away all my negative thoughts. No Renzo, no wars, no brothers, no expectations or worries. There’s just Molly. My pregnant wife.
“Welcome home,” she says when we break the kiss apart and she’s smiling.
“Were you worried?”
“Not at all.”
“Liar. You were a total wreck, weren’t you?”
“Nope, I was sleeping like a baby.” She does a fake yawn. “Super exhausted.”
I growl and squeeze her ass. “Wake up. I’m home now.”
“So what? Big deal. You’re always hanging around.” She looks at me through heavy lids. “Why should I stay awake for you?”
“I’ll make it very worth your time.”
