•KINLEY•When I got into Gianni's car I could instantly tell that something was wrong.He was tense.Billie and Matius were taking their rental car over to the club."That dress looks even better on you in person.""Thank you. I thought you would like it," I glanced at him, "You look a bit tense, is everything okay?"He nodded, keeping his eyes on the road as we drove."Everything is fine. I'm busy with a delicate situation, so my mind is a little busy.""Mafia business?"He nodded again, "You could say that."I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so I turned away."Kinley, would you consider coming back home at a later stage?"I thought about my answer, "Maybe. If things work out between us, yes.""Good. I miss having you around.""I do miss you. I haven't stopped missing you if I'm being honest."He reached over with one of his hands, placing it on my knee. His touch still sent tingles through my body.We remained in comfortable silence for the remainder of the drive and when
•GIANNI•The room smelt of dampness and mildew, and the chipping concrete floor had matches of wetness from the leaking roof.I was used to dumps like this. But I would have rather been anywhere else.There was nothing in the room but a steel table and a chair; it dipped to the side slightly on the uneven flooring.Barney had arranged this place. He knew there was no reason to concern ourselves over style.We were here to get a job done.A messy job to say the least.One of our newer recruits who worked with our men in Italy sat on the chai, a deep crease on his brow and tiny beads of sweat beginning to mist over his face.He knew why he was here, although none of us told him.He was found to be stealing our product. The drugs were going missing. I stepped over to the table, his eyes stared up at me with worry in them.Barney and Luca stood on either side of the sealed door. They both knew I had no need or desire to involve either of them with this.Theft and betrayal enraged me. Bu
•GIANNI•"So should I find a replacement for Roberto?" Tony asked me.He sat on the opposite side of the table, Barney and Luca along the sides.I was distracted and kept checking my phone to see if Kinley had texted me.I hadn't heard from her since the previous day and it was starting to bother me."NO. Barney verified his story. No need to replace him."Tony looked at me as if I had grown a second head, "But he stole from you.""To pay for his wife's medical bills. Move along, this isn't up for discussion." I glanced back down at my phone."Would you like to reschedule?" Tony asked."No. I'm waiting for a call from my wife.""Kinley."My head snapped up, "How do you know my wife?""Purely coincidental. I met her a few months ago when she just moved to Italy. We became friends."I didn't miss the way Barney and Luca glanced at me."And you didn't think to mention that to me before?"He shrugged "I didn't realize who she was. I only placed the pieces together yesterday when she menti
•KINLEY•I sat rather awkwardly on the jet.Luca offered me a cold greeting when they had picked me up before coming to the airport, and Barney offered me a brief nod.I could tell both of them were annoyed with me, not that I could blame them after what I did to Gianni.I looked over at them while they discussed strategies. Gianni wanted to go in guns blazing and rescue his men, and Luca wanted to scope the place out before making any moves in case it was some sort of trap. And Barney wanted to negotiate.I decided to throw my input in, not that my opinion was asked for."Why don't you combine all three aspects?"Gianni turned to me, his expression looked as if he wasn't sure he had heard me, "Combine the three?"I nodded, "Yes. Scope the place out to make sure that's where they're being held, and see how many of their men you are up against. Once you have that knowledge you can go in. But, instead of just rushing in there, send Barney to the bosses to discuss negotiations, that way
•KINLEY•I tapped my nails on the steering wheel impatiently while I waited for Barney's signal.I was parked across from the diner and he was sitting at the window seat so I could see him clearly.The plan was that he would signal me when I should go over to Luca and Gianni who were blending in with the passers-by outside of the building where they believed their men to be.Luca had driven the van there with Gianni, but Gianni would be leaving with me, while Luca took most of the men and got to safety.I had my phone on my lap, the speaker loud with Gianni on the other end, waiting for the go-ahead to go in."Has he not arrived?""No. Barney is still alone.""They're late."I glanced down briefly at the watch on my wrist, "I know. There's no sign of anyone mafia looking around either." Just as the words left my mouth I noticed an SUV type of vehicle pull up at the corner.I frowned, not hearing anything Gianni was saying, trying to figure out why they were stopping so far down."Shit
•KINLEY•I rubbed my eyes as I woke up, there were a lot of raised voices coming from downstairs.I stuck my feet into a pair of fluffy slippers and made my way down to hear what the commotion was about.When my eyes landed on Billie shouting in Italian and pointing angrily in Lola's face I paused with a deep frown on my face.What exactly was happening?Barney saw me coming in first and he muttered something under his breath before turning away.Gianni turned to me, also looking concerned."What's going on here?" I asked.Billie pointed an angry finger in Lola's face again, "You better tell her what you did!"Lola looked around, a bit of fear in her eyes as I made my way over to Gianni."What's this about?" I asked again, trying to find out why everyone was so angry.Gianni sighed, "Billie is making some claims I would like to verify before involving you."Billie shot around, her anger now directed at Gianni, "No! She has a right to know right now!" I noted how strongly her Italian
•KINLEY•My foot bounced against the hospital floor impatiently. After I feinted we went straight to the hospital.I was sitting next to Gianni on one of the chairs, the baby was in Barney's arms.I was too scared to go anywhere near him. I was scared that I would allow myself to believe that he was my son, only for it to be proven he wasn't.I couldn't handle that pain, so I kept my distance."Billie is right. He looks like you."I raised my brows at Gianni, "Do you really believe that he could be our son?""Sí and I wouldn't be surprised if Lola did such a thing. She can be very cruel."I sighed, "I don't know how to feel about all of this. It's a big shock.""It is. But I will be happy if that is our child. It will be a miracle."I nodded, but couldn't find the words to speak. I wasn't sure what to say. I wasn't even sure what I was feeling.We had been waiting for hours when the doctor finally returned with the papers."Mr. Esposito, we rushed things as you requested," he handed t
•GIANNI•My eyes were on Kinley and Renato as the two sat beside the pool on a blanket in the shade.Kinley held a fluffy toy airplane in her hands, whizzing it around for Renato who didn't take his eyes off it.I smiled as I watched them, I never guessed that my heart could feel so full. With Kinley in my life, I thought that was as good as it got. But now that we had our son, it was a different feeling. Something I could not explain, but only call magical."You look at them like they're your whole world," Barney spoke as he took a seat at the table."That's because they are. It's funny, I didn't even know Renato existed a few days ago, and now I would die for that little boy if need be."Barney smiled, "Parenthood is a strange thing, no?"I nodded, he was right about that."Barney, I've been thinking. I will handle the O'Clery but once that is done I won't be as heavily involved anymore. I want to spend more time with my family and start handling the legit businesses that I have. I
•GIANNI•"Where the hell is Renato? That kid is always late to something."Kinley chuckled, "He texted me, he's just picking up his girlfriend."I shook my head, he had been talking about this girlfriend for a while now but we had yet to meet her.Today was the big day.I looked over at Luca standing in front of the barbecue.Ripley was sitting busy typing on her phone. I couldn't believe both of my kids had grown up and I had been blessed enough to see them grow.If Fin and Luca hadn't done what they did for me, I may not have had the privilege of having these years to watch my son and daughter grow into a man and woman.We invited Fin for this barbecue, but he was away undercover for work so he wasn't able to make it.I looked over at Kinley and my mind went back to that night all those years ago at the shipping yard.She had run over to me in such a panic when she heard those gunshots. She thought I was shot.In actual fact, it was Fin who shot one of the men guarding Martha.After
•KINLEY•I pulled my phone out while telling Luca the truth about what I had been up to with Hilton.Now that I was aware of the reason he was doing what he was, I was sure we could still trust him.We just needed to help him make sure Martha was safe."Who are you calling?""Fin. I have an idea that will help all of us.""Kinley? Do you have news?""I do. But I need you to meet me, and get Gianni here too." I gave him the location and hung up."Gianni is going to skin me alive, why are you bringing them here? I trusted you with this.""You trusted me for a reason, Luca. You know we would never let anything happen to Martha. I just wish you would have told us what was going on sooner. A lot of this mess could have been avoided.""Kinley, they have my wife. I couldn't risk her life. I don't even want to do this right now. If they kill her-""They won't, okay? Trust us, please."Luca looked around as if he was worried someone was looking at us, "If they find out that I'm telling you, th
•KINLEY•"So? What's the plan here?"Gianni was already in planning mode, "We tap his phone. I'll put someone on him to follow him. We can go to him with these calls, but he can play it down without any real evidence. Once we have evidence, we confront him."Fin nodded, "Got it, I'll get the tap, you have someone follow him."Gianni nodded, "Sounds good. I'll get onto that immediately. Kinley, I don't want you leaving the house unless it's with me. Understood?"I nodded, but I had no plan of listening. I still had to meet with Hilton and see if I could find anything out.I glanced at Fin and he looked away from me, he knew what I was thinking about, I could see it by the way he looked at me.Now I needed a plan to get out of the house without Gianni stopping me.And knowing Gianni, that wasn't going to be easy.I got to my feet and walked out, going downstairs where I found Luca about to leave. "Where are you off to?" I asked, fighting the urge to attack him in anger."Got a lead." H
•KINLEY•With the baby bottle in hand, I made my way to the kitchen, pausing just outside the doorway when I heard Luca on a call."Well, she didn't say a damn word to me about being there okay? No, I'm telling you the truth. I'll do my best, but I'm not making any promises. Yes, I know. Thanks for the reminder." I walked in just as he turned to look at me."I'll call you back, Martha," he cut the call and smiled at me, "Gianni on daddy duty?""Yeah. What's up? That sounded serious?""Oh, uh," he looked down at his phone with a frown, "Martha. She has some issues with her sister that she wants me to help with. She's, uh, getting herself involved with the wrong crowd.""Oh no, I hope it works out. Do you want me to talk to Gianni to give you some time off to sort things out?""No, it's nothing that serious. I just need to find out if she was at that cop bar near the precinct last night with her boyfriend."I frowned, "Cop bar? I thought you said she was involved with the wrong crowd?"
•KINLEY•I sat in the courtroom biting my nails while waiting to hear if the judge was going to allow Gianni back out on bail while the investigation was ongoing, or if he would be remanded.Fin and King were seated beside me, Luca near the back.Billie was at the mansion watching the kids.I breathed a sigh of relief when the judge said Gianni could have bail.It was a large amount, but I knew we had it.I rushed to Luca to arrange the payment and waited outside with Fin and King for it to be taken care of."At least he's coming home," Fin said.I nodded, "Yeah. But we still have to pinpoint who it is behind this, and a way to stop it."Fin started pacing, "Detective Hilton is trying to take down the big fish like Gianni to exhilarate his career. I bet that if we put enough pressure on him, we can make this all go away.""But is he the type to let it all go away?" I asked.King shrugged, "If we find the sweet spot, yes. And they all have a sweet spot. We just have to find his."I nod
•KINLEY• "You should go home and get some sleep," Luca suggested. I curled my legs under me on the hard steel chair, "Not until they let me speak to him." "Kinley, come on. We can come back." "I don't want to go anywhere until I've seen him," I looked at my watch, "We've been here for hours. How long is this going to take?" "It takes as long as it takes. They may not even allow you to see him at all until he goes to the judge." "I don't get it. Barney has been dead for months. Why now? So long after his death. How did he rig it up to get the information about Talon sent to them? He was barely even involved in what happened. How did he even have the proper information?" Luca shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "Kin, this is not the best place to talk about that. Can we go across the street?" I looked in the direction of the interrogation room, "Yeah. Let's go. I could use another cup of coffee." We went across the street and ordered coffee, I also ordered a toasted cheese sandw
•KINLEY• I grinned triumphantly, Ripley had finally fallen asleep. Until Luca barged in, that is. "Kinley!" I turned to glare at him, "Could you shut up? I just got her to sleep." "That's going to be the least of your worries. Gianni was just arrested." "What?" I was almost sure I hadn't heard him correctly. "They barged in here with a warrant of arrest. Some new guy trying to make a name for himself." "What was he arrested for?" "Murder. Of Talon." This was getting more ridiculous by the second. "Excuse me? But that was ages ago. How would they even know about that?" "It looks like Barney was looking out for himself right to the end. He rigged it so that all the information was sent to this detective if anything happened to him." "That doesn't make any sense. Barney has been dead for months. Almost a year." Luca shrugged, "That's all I know. Why don't you go down to the station and I'll get a lawyer to meet you. When Billie's up and watching the kids I'll come down there
~A FEW MONTHS LATER~ •KINLEY• My eyes were blindfolded as Gianni guided my steps. "If something jumps out at me, I swear I'll kill you!" I threatened playfully, one hand on my large belly. "Relax, nothing is going to jump out at you." He stopped, his hands on my shoulders, "Okay, take off the blindfold." I whipped off the blindfold and gasped, my hands going to my mouth in shock at what I was looking at. We stood in the front yard of the mansion which had burnt down. Only now it was rebuilt. "You had it rebuilt?" I couldn't believe it. "Yes. That's what I've been busy with for the last eight months. I know you've been wondering why I've been so secretive." My eyes filled with tears as I was overwhelmed by emotions. I spun around and wrapped my arms around his neck, "Thank you!" "Anything for you, baby. There are a few changes, like Renato's room. And the nursery for Ripley when she's born. I've also made sure the place is baby and toddler-proof." He looked pretty pleased wi
•GIANNI•I sat with Renato on my lap while watching Kinley swim. A small smile played on my lips at the peaceful moment.It was nice to experience life like this, without the intense adrenaline of the mafia on my back.I texted Luca to find out how my surprise was coming along. I knew how important that mansion was to Kinley, so I had a team working on rebuilding it as close to the first one as possible."What are you smiling about?" Kinley asked as she came over, she kissed Renato on the head before reaching down and kissing me."I can't tell you or it won't be a surprise anymore. Do you want to go to dinner tonight?"Kinley nodded, "That will be nice. Should we invite Luca and Martha? I wanted to invite Billie, but I don't think that will be fair to her with the recent loss.""We can. You should call Billie, you know she won't hate you. She doesn't blame you for this. She knows and understands the way these things go, and she knows that this isn't on you."She sighed, "I know. But s