Nobody asked where Jennifer was.
EPILOGUE
Penn
If I’d ever thoughtI was going to get Rita to ease up on the MRIs or anything, this latest situation killed that.
It had been three weeks since the wedding massacre—that was the only way to describe it. I was home and healing. At least this time I didn’t have any broken bones. The twins never left my side, and Gideon didn’t much either. I was going to be fine, though.
My bruises would heal; the trauma would subside…for me. For the twins, it wasn’t so easy. Gideon hired a therapist who had begun talking with them and Matteo about everything. It was going to take a lot of time, but we had plenty of that.
In the end, they’d be okay too. Of everyone, the only person who I thought was unrepairable was Alex.
I’d seen him a couple of times, and he was a shell of a human being. Gideon was holding Mikhail, Ivan, and Benito in the crates, and I knew every day Alex went there for hours. He’d come home bloody and none of the blood was his. Every timeGideon asked if they were dead, he’d simply answer, “Not yet. It’s not time.”
No one argued with him. This was his therapy, his vengeance. We had a medical staff go in and keep the three of them alive. Toni and Danny regularly provided updates on how they were, and it was gruesome. Toni explained how Alex would remain quiet at times as he sliced into Benito and poured vinegar on his wounds and how at other times, he’d scream Mila’s name as he punched Mikhail and Ivan until they passed out. Danny said Alex acted as if he didn’t want them to die, but to suffer forever. But this was what Alex needed, and we’d give him that. In our hearts we knew it wasn’t enough. Gideon wanted his own revenge on Benito for hurting me and subjecting the twins to my torture, but in reading the reports he realized that the torture Alex was inflicting was a result of his own personal nightmares and he felt no compulsion to interfere. Alex needed to work through his demons.
Mila was buried with her parents in the Hendrix plot. Gideon had said they were family, and that was where family slept.
Alex hadn’t spoken as their caskets were lowered to the ground. Silent tears had fallen, and I knew a huge part of himself had died right along with Mila that day, and his soul lay to rest beside her now. I wasn’t sure we’d ever get him to return to us. Once the brothers and Benito were dead, what did that mean for Alex?
Danny rarely left his side. From the day Alex had gone to the hospital and every day since, much to Alex’s upset. Danny didn’t care. He went to the crates with him, the cemetery, sat in his car when Alex wanted to go home and wouldn’t let Danny in. Part of me believed that if Alex was going to make it out of this, it was going to be Danny who dragged him through it.
Benito had officially been reported missing and there was an investigation going on, especially after the shit show theauthorities had found at his house. It was a useless case for the detectives to figure out, since they’d never find him.
Life changed. Laughter didn’t come as easily. What happened had altered everything, and we were all trying to find our way back from it. I held strong to the belief we would. While never the same, we’d be strong, we’d persevere.
Six Months Later
I saton the deck and watched the fireworks light up the sky. Gideon was beside me, and the twins were running around the backyard with sparklers. It was the Fourth of July, and we were having a quiet celebration. Gideon’s parents had finally left after being here for over five months. They’d wanted to stay to help Gideon and me and to see how the investigation ended. With Gideon’s connections and some of the obvious evidence, the detectives had linked what happened to the wedding with the murders at Benito’s home. Bratva had double-crossed him, and this was the turnout. We were fine with that…I was sure the Bratva weren’t. Without Benito’s body, they hadn’t ruled him dead, but Monica was able to obtain access to whatever financials there were.
The twins and Matteo were doing amazingly in therapy. We talked about what happened and never ignored their grief. We didn’t avoid the subject of death. They wanted to visit Mila’s grave and when we took them, they’d cry. Only recently had they started smiling and talking to her about their week.
Gideon was struggling. Every time he dropped them off at therapy or saw Alex, his face would wither. He believed he was everyone’s ruin, that he’d cursed us all. He’d taken away the loveof Alex’s life. I spent every chance I had convincing him he was wrong. And tonight I was going to drive it home.
“Babe?”
He looked over at me. “Yeah?”
“Know what I want?”
“Iced tea?”
I chuckled. “Well, yeah, but you know what else?”
He pursed his lips and thought. “Cake?”
“Okay, this is a bad game because I want that too. I’m just going to tell you.”
“That would save time.” He grinned, and I leaned in to kiss his lips.
“I want to change my name again.”
He jerked back. “You don’t want to be Pennsylvania anymore?”
“I do. That’s not the part I want to change.”
His brow dropped. “You don’t want to be Garrand anymore?”
