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“I just got lucky Felix is a bad shot. He missed my heart and lungs by millimeters. The men didn’t check if I was breathing after I dropped, they just dragged me off. They left me alone in the back of the truck before they buried me. I fled. I guess they didn’t tell you they lost my body,” Beckett says.
I think back to the burial service I had for Beckett and Enzo. They both have markers on the ledge Enzo fell from. I just assumed Beckett’s body had actually been buried there. They dug a hole and everything.
I look at both men and slap them hard across the cheek.
“Don’t ever do that to me again! You don’t get to sacrifice yourself. There is always another way,” I say.
But then I grab both of their necks, hugging them as we all cry again, so happy it all worked out. They are alive. Even if I only get them in small bursts.
There is a small rapping on the door, and we all freeze. Beckett and Enzo draw their guns. And I wipe my tears, gripping my own gun in my jeans, before I walk to the door. I look through the peephole and see Clifton, one of my most loyal men.
I let go of my gun in my waistband and open the door.
“Yes, Clifton? What are you doing here? I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed unless it was urgent,” I say.
He moves out of the way, and I see fifty men standing in my driveway.
“This is urgent,” he says.
I step onto my front porch, feeling tense. I don’t know what the hell is happening. “What’s going on?”
Silence.
“Clifton, what’s happening?”
But one of the other men steps forward. “Is Enzo here? Is he alive?”
Panic shoots through me. We are outnumbered fifty to three. If they want him dead, they will kill him. And again, I would have to choose between my husband and my children. My kids are inside. I can’t let them hurt them.
“Is that why you are all here? To try and kill a dead man? Go home! All of you! I’ve given my everything to running this empire for the last six months, and now when I want to rest and mourn in peace for a month, you all show up at my doorstep and bring up the love of my life—whose death I will never get over. Really? That’s how you repay my loyalty to you? With distrust? You all just made my decision much easier. I thought I wanted to keep this company running. I thought we could find a way to do something good with wha
t generations have built. But I was wrong.” Tears stream, but I’m not sure if it’s from fear or being hurt by men and women I thought were loyal to me.
I start walking back inside, hoping I said enough to get them to leave. But Enzo and Beckett will need to find a new place to hide out in.
“Mrs. Black, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to bring up the past or your pain. But we saw how hard you fought for Enzo. How much you loved each other. And many of us now realize we were wrong to make you choose. You have children who you love, but it’s never stopped you from being a great leader. We were just hoping somehow against all odds Enzo survived. We want to see you happy. We think you fight better with him by your side. We just hoped our queen got her king.”
I blink. I must have misheard. This can’t be happening.
But then the door is opening, and Enzo steps out.
I don’t know if he heard what the man said, or if he’s just trying to prevent a fight from happening near our kids.
But when he steps out, then men start bowing down to Enzo as they did to me.
Enzo walks over to me and holds me around the waist. “Well, look at that. Some members of our team are loyal to us. Love wins, after all.”
He kisses me tenderly on the lips.
A moment later, Beckett steps out, carrying the twins and the men and women light up seeing our entire family together.
Not every person who works for us is here. It might still be a fight. But we have a large loyal group who wants us to lead them. They believe our love makes us better leaders.
“If we are going to continue to lead this organization, there are going to be some changes made,” I say.
“Yes!” everyone shouts as they stand back up.
“For one,” I pull the stupid contract with all the children’s names on it. “We will no longer play ridiculous games to decide who the next leader is. If Enzo and I were to both die, then the group will vote on who their next leader is.”
