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
Standing in the dark, I watched her sleep. Pure. Innocent. I would do everything in my power to keep her that way. To keep her from the darker sides of the life I called mine. Ours.Turning, I looked at the woman sleeping in the chair next to the crib. She carried darkness within her as well. But it was a different kind. A different hue. Amara, the daughter I'd recovered from human traffickers not even three months ago, made a noise in her sleep. A soft cooing that lifted the shadows from my heart for a brief moment.As I watched her, the past washed over me in waves. Through long practice, I let them come. Let them take me over. It was no use trying to fight them. To put them to the side. They were part of me. I took a deep breath and plunged myself beneath the surface.Warm blood coated my fingers as I pulled the knife from his belly. I fought back the urge to empty my stomach at the sucking noise his guts made under his harsh inhale. In that moment, I knew I would car
Blinking against the shaft of light that snuck through the crack in the curtains, I blew out a breath. Another day alive. I said a quick prayer of thanks. We weren't guaranteed any days on this earth, and I was so thankful for every single one that I was gifted. I knew before turning that Massi wouldn't be behind me. But it didn't stop me from reaching out a hand to feel for his heat. The last two months had been nothing short of a dream. His attention. His declaration in front of his friends and family. His more ready smiles and willingness to allow me into his personal space. Whatever the girls had said to him, he had taken it to heart. With a long stretch, I sat up. Rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I prayed today would be the day my crippling social anxiety would let me have a normal conversation. Pushing up from the bed, I walked through the room and into the attached bathroom. The Amatucci house was actually a small compound of smaller homes that all branched off a main
I crept along the rooftop. The target was staying in the long term suites across the road. It was our first night, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders the farther we got from New Trenadie. The next moment, I crashed to the roof's floor. "Damn it." She snickered. "Still a sucky spy, Raphael." She slid her body over mine.I sucked in a breath. Nodded. Hell, I practically begged her for it. But without words. When she got that tone, my words were not necessary. She smiled. "I'm not going to beat you to death. Nor am I going to stuff you into a padded room." She bent down, flicked her tongue over my lips. "But I will tie you up, spank you, flog you, fuck you, and then make you do it all over again. My dick went to iron between her legs. Her laugh was husky. "I'm keeping you, Raphael. Do you understand me?"My heart settled. Skipped a beat. "Yes, Mistress."The end.
My phone dinged with a new incoming text message. Considering my phone had been going off since the wee hours of the morning with Willow and Ryker announcing the baby was finally coming, I was tempted to just shut it off. But it could be something important. And since Angelo and I were at home with the other babies, it fell to us to make sure we kept everything running as it should. I grabbed the phone. Unlocked the screen. A video message popped up. Raphael and his girl, Nia. Their heads mushed together to get into frame. "Momma, I have to leave. But I wanted to tell you I love you. And thank you for everything. I will let you know when I get back." Nia smiled. "I'll keep him safe, Momma. I swear it.""Bye, Momma," they said together before they ended the call.I smiled even as tears filled my eyes. Angelo looked up at me from his spot on the bed. He was restrained, a ball gag in his mouth. I held the crop up high. "Our last baby is finally happy, Angelo." I s
Two weeks later I glared at the woman on the table. "I still don't know why I have to be here. I barely know you."Willow snorted. "Because you're scarier than anyone else in my family. And I don't want those doctors trying to get all bitchyyyyyyyy." Another contraction hit her. She clamped down on my hand hard enough that I thought I was going to need surgery to remove the bones from each other. And this little firecracker had more strength inside her than her grip would show. Raphael had told me some of her story. She'd told me the rest of it. A ritual the Amatucci women apparently indulged in was something called Girls' Night. Really it was a bunch of drinking, talking about sex, and watching movies while we ate enough of Willow's confectionaries to give ourselves diabetes. Willow blew out a breath. "Ryker can't handle seeing me in this kind of pain, so he has to stay out in the lobby with the rest of them. You're second chair." She panted. Demanded some ice chips.
Three days laterWalking into my parents house when they didn't know I was alive was a risky thing. A multitude of crappy things could happen. Not the least of which was Momma killing me for real this time. Or Papa crying. Or either of them fainting."Go on," Nia said as she shoved me forward gently. "You're already here. Just go into the kitchen. Nik said she told them to wait for her in the kitchen."I nodded, felt my palms go clammy as my breath backed up in my lungs. This could go terribly wrong. So fucking horribly wrong. Man up, Si, that no longer too small voice said inside me. Since I'd been actively listening to it more, he wasn't so easy to shut up. Even when I wanted to. Thankfully, the nasty bitch who lived inside me was getting fainter. Although he could still throw a temper tantrum to beat a two year old. "I'm right here. And I'll be right here the whole time. They've waited long enough, Raphael." She nudged me again. Even as bile rushed up the back o
We all stood in the kitchen, guzzling water by the gallon. I hadn't been this dehydrated since the last time I got in trouble at Petter Manor. But at least this time it was due to happy tears and reunification. Raphael sat and watched it all. Just absorbed it. But he never got so far away I couldn't touch him. That I even needed to touch him still blew my mind. But I wasn't going to question it. He helped steady me when it felt like everything inside me and around me was bending and flexing too fast for me to catch up. "What are your plans for tomorrow?" Liam asked as he finished his third glass of water. "Tomorrow is the gala. I'm going to string Anders up-the guy who had you kidnapped again. I'm going to tell everyone the Petters have been blackmailing and abusing and paying off that the Petters are dead and gone. That they're all on watch." I studied Liam and Lilly. It blew my mind that they had gone into the government side of this dirty world. That they willingly put t
Nia came over to me while I was helping drag some bodies away. "Hey Raphael, can you come with me, please?"Foster grunted at me as we got the body up on the catering cart. "Go. I've got this." I nodded, turned back to Nia. "Sure, Nia." She took my hand and we walked from the room. Her hand was trembling in mine. It was only the slightest degree, but it might as well have registered on the seismic scale. "You good?" I asked her softly as we walked down a set of stairs. She said nothing, made no movements except to keep walking. I pulled her to a stop. Made her look at me. "Are you good?" I asked again. Her eyes were wide, as if she were trying to stave off the tears. "Amelie and Anton..." she blew out a breath. "They're t-""The only two people you love in this world." I smiled sadly. "I know, Nia."Her eyelids fluttered shut as a tear escaped down her cheek. Her breath was shaky as she exhaled. "I got them away from here. Put them in with a good woman with a hu
Day before the gala "Charlie team in position," the man's voice came through the little earbud I wore in my right ear. I kept a tight hold on my fear. My relief. My heart. All of the planning, all of the tears, all of the arguments. It all came down to this. "Delta team in position," Raphael said through my ear. "Foxtrot team in position," another voice said. I still wasn't quite sure who was who by their voice, but I'd done an okayish job of remembering names and faces. The fact that I had a team full of women with me made me like the Amatuccis even more. They didn't discriminate. If someone had the skill and the drive to join the security teams, they were given a position. "Estrogen team in position," I said. A series of clicks came through the earbud. I'd made a single joke about Echo team being full of vaginas. They called us the Estro team now. Since we were collectively badass, I didn't really care what they called us as long as it wasn't disrespectful. "A
Her babies? She had kids? I shook my head. Knew there had to be a different story, but I needed to get her back with me to learn it. I set her down on the chair. Pushed her head down between her knees. "Breathe, Nia." I made my voice hard. As hard as I dared when all I wanted to do was cuddle her up and carry her away. Nowhere was my fierce and strong Dominant. Right now, she was a broken, hurting woman. I would hold her together until she could find herself again. Ivan came rushing into the room, his gun drawn. He lifted it to the ceiling when he saw what was going on. One of his brows rose in question.I gave him a brief rundown of what I knew. Which was damn little. I shrugged when I was out of information to share. Mas came hopping in behind Ivan. He didn't have a weapon, but he did have concern etched on his face. "Who the hell are you?" a voice said from behind me. I whirled around, putting Nia behind my body as I faced the threat that shouldn't be there. A
After rushing through the shower and the delicious meal that Raphael put together for breakfast, I walked into the space Ivan and Klara had set up for me. Everything was as I left it, but that didn't mean a whole lot. Especially in a place I didn't control one hundred percent. Brushing the weird vibe away, I walked to the computer. Booted everything up. Once it was up and running, I went through my process of accessing my cloud accounts. Jasper had set some up for me that weren't the typical commercial kind. Luckily, I'd memorized the process, or I'd be up a creek with zero paddle at the moment. A ReadMe file was highlighted when I got all the way into my account. I right clicked, read through the metadata how Jasper showed me. Recognizing his signature, I opened the file. Ms. Flower~I've attached all of the information I could find re Cucumber Butt and Pretty Mean. You'll find them in the associated files.I snickered at Jasper's sense of humor. That kid was a genius and