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Since Izzy and Saint hadn’t yet announced their baby news, they decided to let the cat out of the bag. Double the joy in one fell swoop.
A magical night for all.
The magic continues every day. This morning, I woke up to a man in my bed who I adore and who loves me back. While he’s taking his shower, I make us breakfast. It’s my favorite part of the day. Unless he’s called away, we consider this the most important moment together. We sit in the sunroom, eating and talking, laughing to the point that my belly aches and my cheeks hurt.
Our nights are special in other ways. We cook together, have our friends over, but at the end of the night, we go to sleep together. I’ve always thought sex was good. But what Hammer and I have is so much more. It’s a connection I’ve never had before, and I know he feels it too. Each and every time we make love, it gets better and better. I don’t even know how it’s possible, but it does.
“Sweetie, breakfast,” I call out. I heard the shower stop a few minutes ago, so I know he heard me.
Hammer comes out with the phone to his ear, looking exceptionally yummy. When he gazes at me with those sexy eyes, I want to run into his muscular arms, hook my legs around his waist, and kiss him. As he gets closer, I can see him smiling, and when he’s next to me, he’s still listening to the person on the other end, but drops a swift kiss to my lips and puts an arm around me to keep me close.
A series of “Yeah,” “I got it,” and “Wanna be there,” are the only things he says to whoever he’s on the line with, but through it all, his grin gets wider and I get to see his pearly whites and magnificent dimples.
Once he’s off the phone, he picks me up and sets me on the counter. “Guess what, Frankie?”
“What?” His enthusiasm is addictive. He has me just as excited as he is, and I don’t even know what we’re happy about.
“It’s almost over,” he exclaims.
“Over?” I ask in confusion.
“Jessop. He’s finally going to pay,” Hammer says happily. In these last few weeks, I nearly forgot all about the man who made my life a living hell. I’m even sleeping through the night.
A horrible feeling brews in the pit of my stomach. “It’ll start all over again.” I can’t help the sadness in my tone.
“No way. We’re getting a confession out of him. A signed fucking confession before delivering his ass to the cops. I’m taking the confession and delivering it personally to a reporter that I know is fair and trustworthy. Maddie and Demon have worked with her in the past. No one is going to divulge where you are or what you do. You get to decide when you’re ready to face them.”
“I may never want to do that.”
“Then don’t, but I know my girl, and she has more courage than she thinks she has. Once it’s all out there, you deserve an apology from those numbnuts who spoke against you. And, baby, you won’t be alone. I’ll be right there when you’re ready.” He moves a stray hair behind my ear.
The idea of facing the bombardment of reporters and critics would have sent me spiraling a few weeks ago. I’m not going to say that I’m not afraid. That would be lying, but there’s a fire inside me that wants to right the wrongs. I blamed myself for so long for being so naive and caving to the pressures of being a good little debutant that I walked right into Jessop’s plan.
If the end is near, then so be it. If it all goes bad, I’ve survived this once, I can do it again.
TWENTY-ONE
The Plane Has Landed
HAMMER
It’s taken four long weeks, but we finally have confirmation of Jessop’s arrival. We could never have done this without Reno and his Mafia allies. Even Nero got involved in the plan to catch Jessop. He got to be the guy who got him a fake passport, so that he can come into the country undetected.
Nero played it up big. Nero recorded his conversation with Jessop to hand over to the cops when we have him picked up. Nero sent the recording to Orion for us to hear. I burst out laughing when I heard Nero using a Brooklyn accent, sounding like a total goon. It’s so out of character for Nero that I was laughing so hard, my sides hurt. He could win an Academy Award for his performance.
“I wanna know who I’m doing business with,” Nero told him.
“All you need is payment, and that is currently in your hands,” Jessop replied.
Nero pushed his buttons. “That’s not how it works. See, you think I’m stupid, but if you get caught and finger me, I’m not down with that.”
“Bloody hell, who do you think you’re playing with? I’m Jessop Cannington, and I have a number of elite friends who will see that you pay dearly for delaying my visit.”
“Go for it, fucker!” Nero exclaimed. “I’m the best there is. I have more to offer your so-called friends than you do. Go ahead, find another artist that can sneak you in and get you back out unnoticed.” Nero’s performance was hilarious. He was talking like one of the guys from the movie The Lords of Flatbush. I had to pause the recording and control my laughter before going on.
There was a sound much like a growl from Jessop before he conceded, “Fine, what do you want?”
“Easy. I wanna know why you’re taking the chance of getting caught. You’re safe where you are. Why the fuck would you risk that?” Nero asked.
