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Her eyes grow wide, tears glistening in them and she nods. “That sounds perfect.”
I smile and hold her a little tighter. “Want to see the rest of the place and then we can put an offer in on it?”
“Absolutely.”
She looks at me, her gaze filled with hope and love. In that moment, I know that my heart beats only for her.
I used to think that I was only born to be a weapon in another man’s war.
Now, I know I was born to love her, and that’s what I plan to do for the rest of our lives.
EPILOGUE
BRIELLE
One Year Later
I stare at my parents through the scratched plexiglass, trying to find something to say to them. I don’t even know why I came here or why I insisted that Salvatore and our son, Matt, wait for me outside.
“It was good to see you,” Mom says as the guard calls for the end of visits. The people around me are crying as they say their goodbyes. Some of them are arguing.
“I wish I could say the same for you.” I sigh and stand a little taller. “I won’t be coming back.”
Dad laughs and shakes his head. “You say that now, but one day you’re going to wake up from your dream world and realize that aligning yourself with the cartel is a bad idea. When that day comes, you’ll come crawling back. You’ll beg us to help you.”
“I’m never going to want anything from you.”
Salvatore pulled a lot of strings and spent more money than I care to think about to get my kidnappers in the same room so I could confront them one last time.
Now, I’ve got closure. A conclusion to the shitty story that used to be my life. I don’t need to see them anymore and they won’t be seeing each other. The judge made sure of that with multiple life sentences and orders to send them to prisons several states away from each other.
This is finally the end.
I spin on my heel and walk out of the visitation area, keeping my head held high. This is the first and the last time that I’ll see them in prison. It took too long to put them there. I’m not going to allow them to try and manipulate me to get them out. I hope they rot there.
My life is so much better now. I go home to a family that loves me every night. There is no more wondering who is going to be there when I wake up in the morning.
As I walk out of the prison, I turn my face to the sun and take a breath of fresh air. Seeing my kidnappers in prison is what I need to finally be able to let them go and move on with my life.
Salvatore is leaning against the side of the car as I walk over, twirling a pacifier on his finger as Matt presses his face into his shoulder. I kiss him quickly before taking Matt and cuddling him close.
“Let’s go home,” I say as Salvatore pulls out his phone and takes a picture of me and Matt.
He tucks the phone back into his pocket and smiles. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.”
* * *
Later that night,we’re sitting by the fire, roasting marshmallows as Matt naps in the little playpen beside me. I glance over and make sure that the blanket is still covering his little body. Even though it’s a warm night, I don’t want him to get sick.
“You know, Matteo wants to know if we’re going to name the second baby after him too,” I say as I twirl my stick, poking my marshmallow deeper into the fire.
“Even if you were pregnant right now, not a chance in hell.” Salvatore grins and sandwiches his marshmallow between some chocolate and graham crackers. “He gloats enough about Matt.”
“It felt right after everything Matteo has done for us.” I laugh and shrug. “Also, who the hell says I’m not pregnant right now?”
Salvatore’s mouth drops open and he turns to face me. “Excuse me?”
I grin and put a hand on my stomach. “I found out two days ago. We’re going to have another baby.”
