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“I think we have time. If this baby is like the others, we have at least five more hours of torture.”
Bastian stripped off his tie and put it over her eyes. “Then I guess we better find something to do with the time.”
Seven hours later, Alex delivered a beautiful, healthy boy. He had black hair and Alex’s blue eyes.
Alex’s gaze flicked between Luca, Damian, and me. “Well, one of you is the father.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
LUCA
Four years later…
We gathered in front of the house as the limo pulled up to the curb. The kids were on their way downstairs to say goodbye to the twins, giving us a few minutes to get our queen to act like one.
Alex was a mess, crying and clinging to my side. She clutched my silk handkerchief and sobbed.
Marcello was on her right, running his fingers down her arm to soothe her. “Do I need to kiss your tears away, princess?”
Bash pushed the blonde curls off her shoulder from behind and kissed her neck. “Relax, Cherry. The boys can handle initiation.”
Damian was on her left and kissed her cheek. “Shhh, Pet. They’re going to be fine. It’s only a few months. We all went through it.”
“A few months where they can’t talk to their Ma.” She dabbed at her eyes. “They need me.”
I laughed. “Our boys are men now, Drea. They can handle themselves and don’t need their mother wiping their asses anymore.”
“Luca.” She elbowed my arm, groaning. “Even after twenty years of marriage, you’re still the same asshole.”
“You wouldn’t want me any other way.” I winked, and she frowned, so I hooked my arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “You knew this day was coming, my queen. Angelo and Leo are Salvatores. They’re adults, not babies. One of them will replace me on their twenty-fifth birthday, and they can’t do that if they don’t pass initiation.”
She forced a smile.
Alex was mad at me, but she also wanted me to console her, tell her the twins would make it through initiation unharmed. There was no way they could endure the months of hell each of us had to go through to become Knights without it changing them. They had to bond with the other Knights through the process.
This was a necessary evil.
A brotherhood.
“I’m not ready, Luca.” Tears slid down her cheeks. “They’re still boys.”
“Eighteen,” I reminded her. “Same as my brothers and me. We all went through this. Even your brother. We’re still breathing.”
She bit her trembling lip. “I know, but…”
“The twins have been men for years. I taught them how to shoot when they were old enough to hold a gun. Marcello trained them in mixed martial arts. Damian showed them how to hunt. And Bash has been teaching them survival skills for years. They are more prepared than any of the acolytes.”
Instead of handing the reins to Leo, who was older by three minutes, I wanted the twins to fight for the honor of becoming the Grand Master of The Devil’s Knights.
They had to be strong.
Hardened by this life.
And they would work for it.
I pulled Alex into my arms and parted her pretty pink lips with my tongue. The quick kiss got her out of her head as she kissed me back.
When our lips separated, she stared at me, breathless. “I know what you’re doing.”
