Page 32 of The One

“Angel—”

“No, let me finish.” I cut him off. “I love all of you. I know I get Abel and everyone else gets Church, but he’s a part of you. Both of you make up each other. And I love all of you,” I say again. “Unconditionally.”

“How could you?” His question breaks my heart for him. He doesn’t think he deserves it.

“Because of how you love me. I can love you unconditionally because I know you'll always think of what's best for me and us before you act. That you’ll put me before everything else.”

“Always,” he vows. “I love you so damn much.” His big hands cup my face. "I understand that I have a tendency to be overbearing."

“Crazy?” I fill in with a smile.

“Something like that.”

I shrug. “I think I might be a little crazy too,” I admit. “But you still love me.”

“Forever.”

“Forever,” I agree, leaning in to kiss one of the most feared men in the city. A man that gives some nightmares while all he ever gives me is sweet dreams.

EPILOGUE

ABEL

Years later

“I’m not trying to get my ass in trouble.” Nikolai runs his hands through his hair, frustrated. I think he’s about to be a whole lot more frustrated when he finds out what I have done.

Fortunately for all, I am a psychopath who is fixated on Angel. Even down to the air she breathes. I have to know everything. Thankfully, I have a wife that finds my obsession with her sweet. At least that’s what she calls it. Sweet is a word that only she has ever used to describe me.

“They deserve to have a girls’ weekend,” Matteo adds. His expression doesn’t match his words. He knows damn well that he’s not in agreement with this whole thing. His wife, Mona, must have threatened him. Lord knows she’s the only one that could ever get away with such a thing.

The girls left a few hours ago from Angel’s and my place. I'd built us a home just outside of the city. Once we had kids, I didn’t like bringing my work home any longer. Although I don't work as frequently as I used to, Matteo occasionally needs my help to obtain necessary information. But for the most part, I’m retired from that life.

“No need to worry, Church. We had the whole spa cleared out. The place is all theirs except for the staff that has all been vetted.” Nikolai pulls out his phone. We all know he’s checking on them. I’m surprised he let Riley out of his sight.

“And guards are on hand,” Matteo adds.

My Angel always has a panic button. It's on the cuff bracelet I made for her. She never takes it off, knowing it gives me peace of mind. When you're the monster that haunts many people's dreams, you understand the truth of the darkness that exists in the world better than anyone.

“They’re getting massages,” I inform them.

“What happens at a spa?” Matteo kicks his feet up on the ottoman, turning the game on. I think they’re planning on sticking around.

I have grown closer to both Matteo and Nikolai over the years. In some areas, Angel has softened me. She wanted a family, and I wanted to give her everything she could ever dream of. With time and being around everyone, some of those walls I’d put up years ago started to come down. A different kind of trust began to grow. Not all families are shit. Especially when you all want the same thing. To protect your family.

Even right now, all the kids are down in the playroom. They see each other as cousins. The reality is that Riley and Mona are theonly people who have blood that truly connects them, but to all of us, that shit doesn’t matter.

Angel and I have twin boys, and they can be a handful. When we get all the kids together, they can at least wear each other out. Never in all my life did I see this future when I took a job for Matteo all those years ago.

"You don't care that someone is going to rub all over your women?" I grit out. I’d only learned about the massages a few minutes ago when I got the list of services they were getting.

Why does she need someone else to rub all over her? I gave her massages daily when she was pregnant with our boys. I have always been proficient with my hands. I could rub her for hours. I still do.

“It’s an all-female staff.” Matteo drops his feet, sitting up. A pissed-off expression takes over Nikolai's face. Even Marshmallow lifts his head from where he was snoozing on one of his many cat houses, in solidarity with us.

“How do you know about them getting massages? Riley didn’t say shit about that.”

“I make it my job to know shit.”

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