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We stood inside the vault and chose a crown for our queen. Only the best for the future Mrs. Salvatore. I lifted the platinum crown encrusted with several dozen diamonds and rubies. The perfect choice for the Queen of The Devil’s Knights.
On the night ofLegare, our queen would be bound to the Knights forever. I never thought we’d reach this point in our relationship. Mostly because I never thought I would get over my anger and hatred. But everything was falling into place, the pieces moving across the board like a well-played game of chess.
Marcello opened a silk lined box for me to place the crown inside. My great grandfather had stolen this crown from Italian nobility, back when he took the Salvatore diamond.
“It’s perfect.” A grin stretched the corners of Marcello’s mouth. “Alex will love it.”
I smiled, a rare one that touched my eyes. She was changing me, making me want to be a different man. An effect she had on all of us.
“She agreed to marry me.”
“Marryus,” Marcello corrected.
“And she’s pregnant.” My face hurt from smiling so hard. “Your plan worked. We’ll satisfy the deal with The Founders Society.”
“Told you it would work. I know Alex better than all of you combined.” He leaned against the wall, arms folded with a know-it-all expression on his face. “She’s told me from the start it has to be all of us or none of us. You were too stubborn to listen to what she was telling you.”
“Yeah.” I nodded in agreement. “But I didn’t think she would want to marry all four of us.”
“Next time, listen to me,brother. I understand her in ways none of you ever will.”
“That’s why this works.” I snapped the box shut and took the crown from his hands. “Between the four of us, we’ll make one decent husband.”
Marcello tipped his head back and laughed. “Speak for yourself. Bash and me are not the ones with intimacy issues. I would have married Alex years ago if it were up to me.”
I rolled my eyes at the fucking bastard. “Because you’ve been pining over her for years like some lovesick teenager.”
He snickered. “Fuck you. Don’t tell me you’re not in love with her.” When I didn’t argue, he added, “Did you ever think someone could fix Damian? Look at him. He’s different with her. So are you, Luca. You love her. Deal with it. Learn how to process your emotions like a normal human being.”
I laughed at his suggestion. “Normal? What the fuck would any of us know about that?”
“You know what I mean.” He patted me on the shoulder. “She’s carrying one of our children. Pretty soon, she’ll be our wife and the Queen of The Devil’s Knights. At some point, you’ll realize you love her and say the words. And when you do, you’ll have her forever. It’s the one thing she wants from you. Just to hear you say it.”
“Is that what you did?”
He rolled his broad shoulders. “I didn’t have to tell her. She already knew I loved her. I showed her with my actions.”
I scoffed at his comment. “And I haven’t shown her? Please. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Alex.”
He smirked. “Tell her how you feel before the wedding. It will mean a lot to her.”
I turned away from him, still on overload from all the fucking feelings in the room. He was right about Alex. She wanted more intimacy, more love, more of anything I could give her.
For years, she waited for me to show her an ounce of affection. But I wasn’t like Bastian and Marcello. They weren’t as fucked up as Damian and me. It was harder for them to understand why we were like this.
“We should go,” Marcello suggested. “They’re probably waiting for us in Alex’s bedroom.”
The steel walls of the vault glittered from all the jewels shimmering under the fluorescent lights. Hundreds of stolen pieces from around the world. Some belonged to nobles, while others we’d won or traded for debts owed to The Devil’s Knights. A few pieces were in our possession until our clients could retrieve them.
We lent money to our clients and occasionally held valuables for them. Sometimes, we used our team of mercenaries, led by Marcello, to collect items. And in even more rare cases, to collectsomeone.
I stopped in front of a row of earrings that hung from a black velvet earring display. “One more piece.”
I grabbed a pair of diamond and ruby drop earrings, placed them in a box, and stuffed it into my pocket. Then I glanced across the room at the necklaces. I pointed at the one that matched the crown and earrings. “Grab the necklace. She needs a matching set.”
“So particular,” he deadpanned, as he removed the necklace from the collection and closed the lid.
I liked to plan everything, even Alex’s wardrobe. Every piece of clothing and jewelry she owned was hand selected by me. My brothers could have cared less. They didn’t have my specific tastes.
