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Chapter Twenty-Two
Seven months later.
The warm sun baked our skin as we reclined naked on our patio that led to the beach. I rolled over and pulled her rigid nipple into my mouth, and she caressed my hair. “Oh...Gianni.” I continued my assault on her breast as my other hand traversed her body and dipped into her mound. She writhed under my probing fingers. “I could never get tired of this.”
“You are insatiable,” I mumbled, my mouth full of her bud.
She ran her fingers through my hair and pressed me into her. “I meant this life.”
I took another tug before laying my head on her breasts, my fingers stilling inside her. “Me too.”
“Do you have any regrets?”
“How many times are you going to ask me that?”
“I guess in the back of my mind, I believe you need that rush from being powerful, from making decisions for so many. For years I loved that adrenaline pump of living on the edge, ready for anyone or anything. It can be a heady undeniable feeling and why Laffy and Courage won’t ever leave the game no matter how much I beg.”
“Maybe if you saw me again five years ago, I may not have been ready to leave it behind me. But opening the casino and seeing the pride and hope so many people had in me because I was providing employment opportunities for so many inspired my desire for legitimacy. To not have to hide any of myself. Then losing Santini, who loved his wife and children so much, affected me more than I allowed anyone to believe, even myself.” I then lifted my head to gaze up at her. “You give me that rush, the motivation, the zest to get up every morning. To realize that you know the worst of me, the horrible things I’ve done, and still love me as hard as you do is all I need.”
She splayed her hand, and her diamond engagement ring and platinum band sparkled in the sun. “This expensive ass ring is all I need.” I frowned, and Paris quickly kissed my lips. “Come on, I’m playing. I do have my own money too. It’s the commitment that comes along with the ring that I need.”
My burner cell rang next to me, and I removed my fingers. Paris tried to put my hand back. “Stop, woman, and let me answer the phone.” I grabbed the phone from the floor next to our large chaise lounge. “Everything good?”
Laffy laughed on the other end. “Stop sounding so worried every time I call. I’m just checking on my other half.”
“Hey...I’m her husband now. She’s not your other half anymore.” I half-joked, half-serious.
Paris snatched my phone. “Gianni, you’re my better half...Laffy and I shared a womb. He’ll always be my other half. I swear both of you get on my nerves with this competition of who bonded with me more.”
“I can do things he can’t do,” I reminded with a wink.
“Umm...I almost threw up in my mouth. Save that talk when I’m not on the phone.” I could hear Laffy’s deep voice. “Besides, I really called to see how my future niece is doing.”
Paris rubbed her growing belly. “She’s perfect and can’t wait to meet her uncle and big brother.”
I grunted.
She pinched my cheek. “And her adoring daddy.”
“We’ll have to meet up somewhere, maybe St. Croix or somewhere when the baby is old enough to travel. Don’t want to lead people to you. It’s still hot around here.”
Paris nodded, and I laid my head back on her chest and drifted in time as she and her brother spoke on the phone.
That night, Wisdom said he would handle the clean-up. I’d given the cease-fire and ordered my men to gather the injured and leave. My driver took me to my personal doctor, who removed the bullet from my side and stitched me up. I took my driver to his home and drove myself to Diamond’s home. I told her I was done and that we needed to leave immediately. I couldn’t risk other gangs or my family in Italy killing me, and I didn’t want to be without her. One doesn’t just quit organized crime without some consequence. She didn’t want to leave Courage, who had been sent to his mother’s home by Wisdom instead of the warehouse. But our son urged her to be with me. He reminded her that she’d grown weary of the game and that I could protect and care for her. Courage also said that he couldn’t leave his uncle without someone he could really trust. She finally relented and let go of her son. It had been a fast and tearful goodbye like the one I had with my mother.
