CHAPTER 110

This is a bonus chapter for the Mafia Academy and I promise you want to read it. While I have you, I need to thank you for reading about these three amazing couples. If you continued this far, I'm sure they are as special to you as they are to me. For Mr. Xavier's complete story and how he found himself at Rochester, you’ll want to read Hotter Than Hell available on GoodNovel. Xavier is the head of the desert crime syndicate when Madison enters his world. One day, I plan to write about his children.

***

Twelve years later

Mr. Xavier

The room, located at the top of the high-rise building far from Rochester, simply had the initials R.A. etched in glass on the double doors. There was an outer office and an inner conference room with a large antique table that filled the oversized space.

I looked around the empty room, walked to the head of the table, and pulled out a chair. Men and women entered, nodded, and took their seats. Mr. Caleb and Miss Bianchi were the last to walk in. Mr. Caleb pulled the chair out for his wife and they sat and faced me. Mr. Caleb had a small grin on his face. He and his wife had finished their tenure at the academy. It wasn’t only my job being handed off.

I called the meeting to order.

“The changing of the guard,” I said and smiled. “Some of us will have celebrations after leaving here and some will have the largest headache they can imagine weighing down on their shoulders.”

They laughed at what we all knew was true. I couldn’t think of a better team to take on the teen demons of Rochester. I glanced at the carefully chosen families. Like their mothers and fathers, they’d also graduated from Rochester. They put us through hell but payback was coming.

I glanced at Caine and Luna Fenella. They were taking leave of the Laterza family while they fulfilled their obligation to the academy. Gabriel and Rosa Caruso were stepping into their shoes back at home.

I gave them a nod. They were taking on my role as partners. If Luna wanted to bash in a student’s head, her calmer husband would help curtail her insanity. They were the perfect couple for the position.

“Are you prepared for this coming year?” I asked them.

Luna smiled and flipped a quarter between her fingers. It flashed in the light along with the silver buckles and zippers on her leather. Caine glanced at her, turned to me, and grinned.

“Can’t wait to get back. I have fond memories.”

“Of making my life hell,” I said with my own grin.

“You had me shaking in my boots on more than one occasion. I’m fully prepared for your children to make our lives hell. Should be fun.”

“Piece of cake,” said Luna.

Fun might not be the best word and piece of cake would bite her in the ass the first week. I would always wonder how it went but once I left this conference room, my internal information on Rochester and the students came to an end. My children would have no advantages.

My attention turned to Alessandro and Gia Brambilla. They were filling Mr. Caleb and Miss Bianchi’s roles. Gia had a master’s degree in psychology and Alessandro had a master’s in finance. They were well prepared for the coming nightmare called teaching and would work closely with the Fenellas when problems arose.

“Have you managed to get situated in your new house?” I asked them.

Rochester owned large spacious homes miles from the academy that were easily accessible to the academy grounds for emergencies. Unbeknownst to the students, most of the staff lived there.

“We have and we’ve been working on lesson plans and all the boring things that happen as teachers. We need class to start so we can start cleaning up blood,” Gia said.

Everyone laughed again.

I knew they would clean more blood than they wanted to see coming from teenagers. I also knew they were perfect for the job.

Donya and Saint Greco along with Dante and Chaney Laterza were the newest board members. Their positions gave them oversight of the entire program. They would meet here once monthly, but their positions were primarily handled from their homes. Private phone lines for communication had been installed. Their unique positions came with handling the families of students while their children were at the academy. It was one aspect of the job I hated and was glad I was rarely part of it.

“Donya, Saint?” I asked. “Did the first batch of files arrive?”

“We’ve been through half of them and made notes. We’ll have them to Caine and Luna in two weeks.” This came from Saint.

“Ours should also be finished by then,” said Chaney. “We have some more digging on a few students, but we should still be able to stick to the schedule.”

“This is it, then. Caine and Luna, if you would like to move to the head of the table, I will leave you to your work. I hope my children give you hell. You have Brightly in two years. Work out the kinks because it’s going to take every one of you to keep the other kids safe from her.”

I walked out and handed a small package to the secretary. It held the keys and access codes to my former life. My second former life actually. My plane touched down four hours later, and I stepped into the Arizona heat. It had always been home.

Madison was alone when I arrived at our new house. Boxes were everywhere and the kids had found a way to escape and were visiting Dax’s kids at the clubhouse.

My wife’s arms came around me. “How did it go?”

“They think they’re ready. It’s good to be home.” I kissed her gently. “Are we finishing the unpacking tonight?”

“No, I hope you don’t mind but everyone is coming over to celebrate your retirement. It was Celina’s idea.”

I smiled at her. She’d missed her friends. Hell, I’d missed my former life at times. I was back in Arizona but our past was behind us. Alex and Dax had taken all parts of the business Alex and I built and turned it legit. They’d built an even larger empire in the desert while I was away and now, I was simply a board member. It would kill the time when the kids left for school.

“Brilliant,” I said. “The ladies will have everything put away before they leave and the guys can kick back and watch.”

“I thought it was brilliant too. Gabriella is bringing the food and she’ll be in charge of organizing. I offered her a fortune to come here and take over the house but got a string of every Spanish curse word I was familiar with and a few I wasn’t. We’ll need to find someone.”

“We will. Shower first?” I asked hopefully.

“If you want your retirement gift early, I’m game.”

****

“Pops,” my daughter Brightly said and kissed me on the cheek before running off to join the kids in the pool.

Pops was new and she’d picked it up from Dax’s children who were older and more experienced at trouble. His kids would not be attending Rochester, but they were preparing ours for the academy. I shuddered to think what problems they would create before I sent them off. I smiled a little too.

My son grinned from across the pool and did a cannonball to splash everyone. Alex was working with him and of course Dax was getting in time. They stayed clear of Brightly out of fear.

Rochester and the new faculty had no idea what was heading their way but for the next year, I had my son and daughter home. Alex would retire when Chase graduated. Chase, my son, named after his uncle who died many years ago, had a lot of growing up to do. His time was coming though. When it came to both my children, I was a proud pops.

The next chapter in our lives would be even more enjoyable. I placed my arm around Madison. She glanced away from the kids and looked up at me with the same pride in her eyes that I felt.

We had our entire family here with us tonight and it was the perfect way to celebrate.

The End, For Now