The ringing of my phone pulled me out of a sound sleep. Slapping at the infernal buzzing, I managed to catch it before it fell off. Foster's name showed up on my screen. My heart started racing as my chest clenched. "Foster," I said."Nico's been stabbed. Four times. The doctors are working on your sister. We can't get the bleeding to stop in one of the wounds."I shot up in bed as everything washed from my mind but the problem that was in front of me. "I need a picture. I can't help without looking at it.""Video calling."I flicked the button and bit back a scream. Thrusting the blankets back, I got out of bed. Ran from the room. "MAGS!"The house erupted into chaos. Mags met me in the hallway, looking wide awake even in her rubber ducky jammies. I gave her a rundown, told her what I needed. She shoved me towards the conference room. "We'll get you set up, keep talking." She pulled her phone from her pocket. What she said was lost as I focused back on Foster.
Seven hours later, we rushed into the hospital. Momma and Papa hot on my heels. "Domenico Amatucci," I said to the charge nurse in the Emergency Department. "Relationship?" she asked in a bored tone of voice. "Fiancée; these are his parents." I gestured to Momma and Papa. "Third floor, recovery."She was still speaking when I raced for the elevator sign I'd seen on our mad dash in. Jumping into the elevator, I slapped the OPEN button to hold the car for Momma and Papa. They rushed in behind me."You're so fast, figlia," Papa said, his breath panting. "I'm on a mission, Papa. No one's stopping me today." I counted the floors as they were highlighted over the door. As soon as the elevator car rocked to a gentle halt, I was pulling on the doors to get them to open. Following the signs that Momma translated for me, I made my way to the next nurses' station. "Domenico Amatucci. I'm his fiancée and these are his parents." I didn't give her time to delay me. "Room 325."
Standing in the hospital room and holding the baby of my sister was almost more than my heart could handle. The little girl was the picture of health. The glow of health shone from her pristine skin. Sparkled in her stunning blue eyes when she could be bothered to open them. Her snuggles warmed my soul and captured my spirit. "Want to hold her?" I asked Willow. "You need to get some practice in."Willow's eyes widened. She nodded. Shook out her hands. "Yeah." She nodded. "Yeah, that would be good.""Do you want to stand or sit?" I asked her. Willow looked at Ryker. His eyes widened as he shook his head. "I've never held a newborn. I'll be sitting through mine."Willow's laugh was a little strained. "I'll sit, too."Walking over to them, I put the baby in Willow's arms. Helped her adjust her hold. "You're a natural, momma."Willow's entire face relaxed and a sense of wonder filled her mossy green eyes. "She's perfect."I nodded, even though she wasn't looking at me.
I blinked against the low light. Wondered if this was heaven. Since there were no hot women in scanty clothes, I was going to go with no. "Hey, Counselor," Jessa said softly. I turned my head, felt everything inside me bunch and relax. "This is even better than heaven."Her smile was drenched in tears, but she shook her head. "No. Just the VIP room in an Italian hospital." She grabbed my hand, wrapped hers around it. "You scared me, Dom."My heart pinched. She rarely called me that. I could count on one hand the number of times it had passed her lips. "I had to save Jaz. I promised you I would." My mouth felt like it was full of cotton and metal shavings. I tried to swallow. Felt my throat catch. Jessa reached to the bedside table. Grabbed up a cup. When she dipped her fingers in its depths, she came back out with an ice chip. She slid it between my lips. Sighing, she put the cup back down. "You're more important than her. Than her baby." She grabbed up my hand again
Two months laterJessa slapped at me in the dark. "Your turn," she said right before she shoved her face into the pillow again. Rubbing a hand down my face, I got out of bed. Walked down the hall to the nursery and found Carys wailing, her little face red and pinched. "Hey, Care Bear, come on. Daddy's here." I lifted her up and out of the crib. "Sh, sh, sh." I bounced her as I walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Tapping out the right amount of formula, I put it in the prefilled bottle and started shaking it up. Once it looked pretty even, I took off the cap, and walked into the living room. Settling down in one of the new rocking recliners, I angled Carys down into my arm and gave her the bottle. She was beautiful. As beautiful as her mother-both of them. Pictures of Jaz arrived every week as she acclimated to being in the inpatient facility. No longer was she the gaunt, under fed almost feral beast we'd rescued from the facility. Now, she was getting regular shower
Standing at the back of the church, I sighed. It was honestly a better day than I could have hoped for. And in the end, not having a million guests to entertain was just what the doctor ordered. Momma shone in her duties as Matron and she was having a freaking blast. But it was my mate and baby girl standing at the altar that held my attention. He was dressed in a fine navy suit because the man couldn't be bothered to wear boring black' if his life depended on it. He looked scrumptious. And the fact that he was holding our daughter in his arms as he waited for me at the altar in front of our friends and family?Heaven. A part of my heart broke at not having my sister in the church with me today. But I knew that she was where she needed to be right now. Hopefully, at some point in the future, we would be able to spend long days and weeks together. Right now, every single person I loved and cherished was standing in the small church waiting for me to walk down the aisle. P
Holding Amara in my arms, I watched one of the nicest and most compassionate women I'd ever met walk down the middle of the church to the man who was holding a squirming baby in his arms with a huge smile on his face. This family was unconventional. To say the very least. But they were the family goals I held close to my heart. We all shifted and turned as Jessa walked by, Papa's arm helping guide her. As we took our seats, Massi grabbed my hand. My heart fluttered in my chest at the outward sign. He didn't care that his family knew about me. Heck, he was busy flinging me at them every chance he got as he worked with the rest of his family on helping Interpol get the facility and network shut down. Two months in and it was still going strong. My heart broke for all those families. If anyone tried to steal Amara or hurt baby Carys, I would cut them into tiny pieces. And I was very handy with a knife. Amara started getting fussy. Accustomed to being free and able to run and j
Bouncing Amara in the back of the church took my mind off all the issues that awaited me outside the doors of the holy place. South Point had not only landed in Italy, but they were disrupting our local territories. The host of guards and security detail we had surrounding this building and the three block radius springing out from it had been a fucking nightmare to plan. But seeing the joy on Nico's and Jessa's faces made it all worth it. So did Eden. I looked at the small, quiet woman. Knew there was a strength inside her that few would ever guess at. She might be soft spoken and easily intimidated in personal matters, but she was ice cold and fiery hot when it came to business. And my woman did business well. She was such a dichotomy. Everything I found out about her just made me want to learn more. A mystery. One I intended to solve. "Zone three, clear," Striker called in my ear over the comm line. I tapped the mic at my wrist twice. "Zone five, clear," Roger adde