Page 86 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

“Okay,” I shrugged. I trusted Marisol with Emily’s life; I’d trust her with mine. After she squeezed my hand, she looked at my siblings.

“¡Vengan aquí!”she demanded of them.

“Uh, what did she say?” Zach asked Emily.

“She wants you to come to her,” she snickered.

“I want to get a good look at you both,” Marisol murmured as they approached. She reached out and lifted Maisie’s chin. “Too pretty for such sad eyes. No worries, we will wash away the sadness with time,” she claimed then proceeded to look Zach up and down. She lifted his casted wrist, her eyes narrowing as she took in his scabbed over split lip and fading black eye. “Old injuries…” She reached out and pushed his hair from his forehead showing a nasty jagged scar.

“Hey! Don’t.” He shook his head and patted his hair back in place, until the scar was no longer visible. “I’m fine.”

Marisol clucked. “You are not, but you will be under my house.”

Her house meaning Rhodes’ but neither one of us corrected her because she kinda was the boss. She made their lives work for them after Portia’s repeat destruction, and I had faith she’d take in our ragtag crew and make them whole again too.

Marisol turned on her heel and announced, “The kids are too thin. We need to get them fed. Lunch time is now.” She sauntered back to her stuff and picked it all up. “I’ll get the car.”

“I’ll get the car,” Buddy stated, my shadow hanging out in the hallway near Mom’s room. Where I go, Buddy now goes. Rhodes was adamant about it. Even with the trouble no longer at our doorstep, he wasn’t convinced I didn’t need protection, and after all the hell we’d gone through, I could not care less if I was assigned a security detail for the rest of my life as long as my family was safe.

And I could finally say, as of today, hooking arms with my fiancé while our three teenagers roamed in front of us, Marisol leading the way, that we’d finally be okay. And more than that, we were all together again and safe.

I couldn’t ask for more.

Rhodes nuzzled my temple, his breath warm against my ear. “You’re smiling.”

“I’m happy. Truly happy for the first time in my entire life. Thank you for giving that to me.”

He kissed my hairline. “Anytime, every time, Maia. Nothing but happiness from here on out.”

I cuddled close and sighed. “I finally believe you.”

Episode 112

Rest In Peace

MADAM ALANA

“Ultimately, I want to see you suffer the way I did,” Angus growled, pulled his hand out of his jacket, and pointed a gun at Christophe’s head. “But it’s not enough. I want to watch you as I destroy the one person you love above any other.” His corresponding smile was evil incarnate.

“No!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as a shot rang out.

Angus’ body jolted, his eyes bulging with surprise as he dropped the gun, blood pooling at his shoulder. He covered his wound with his free hand as I watched Bianca stand, pull a gun from a thigh holster, and point it at me.

“You fucking bitch! Now, you die!”

Gunshots roared through the restaurant as men crashed through the windows. Every single waiter pulled out their hidden guns and started shooting at the invaders.

The room exploded with the sounds of breaking glass, gunshots, people fighting, tables being knocked over, chairs tossed this way and that.

It was madness.

Bianca turned from pointing her gun at me and started shooting wildly at Diego’s men. She looked like a pregnant Tomb Raider as she pulled another gun from her other thigh and shot double fisted.

I watched in horror as she was hit at the top of her chest between her breast and clavicle, blood blooming across the front of her dress.

“The baby!” I screamed to anyone that would listen. The plan was never to kill Bianca or harm the baby. Brenden’s baby.

Christophe heard my plea and tackled Bianca sideways, before she was riddled with more bullets, using his body to protect her.

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