Page 21 of Wizard's Spitfire

“Fucker. How soon can we feed him to the gators?”

I shake my head. “Sadly, I’m not sure we can disappear this fucker entirely. It would devastate the triplets. Especially Valentina. She seems to want to cling to this idea that he’s the perfect man. While her mom can do no right. He’s got her completely snowed.

“Let’s not even get into the financial shit. Including taking her new tires off her car and putting them on the used car he got the girls. He promised them a new one. No way he didn’t have the funds to get tires for that car.”

“Hollywood said something about her being surprised she needed new tires. Have you done a thorough analysis on this asshat yet?”

“Bug’s on it. I texted him earlier. He’s got connections I don’t have. He’ll get the most dirt on this fucker. If we can’t off him, we can get his ass locked up for the next ninety years.”

I hit the showers after talking to Smoke for a little while. The monitors blink to life when I enter the room, instantly filling the darkness with a soft glow. I toss my duffle in the corner, get undressed and crawl into bed.

“Lexi, sleep mode.”

I hear the lock click on the apartment's front door as the monitors power down.

?

I just tied up the last box of cannolis when there’s a knock at the door. I open it to find Hollywood, Ella, and Brayden.

“Ready?” Hollywood asks.

“I am. Just need to grab a few boxes.”

I walk back into the kitchen and grab the three large pastry boxes from the counter.

Ella’s eyes light up. “What’s in there, Mr. Wizard?”

I smile and boop her nose as I join them in the hall. “Cannoli.”

“Which bakery did you get those from?” Hollywood asks.

“My kitchen.”

“You bake?”

“I do.”

We shoot the shit while we get the kids loaded into a cage. The easy conversation continues as I drive us to Charlie’s.

Charlie

INSPIRED BY LAST NIGHT’Sdinner, I get up early and head to the store for a few extra things after scribbling Ma a quick note and pinning it to the fridge. We’re a family of mixed Italian heritage Sicilian, Tuscan and Roman. JR’s family was from the Abruzzo region.

Today we’ll have food representing each region.Damn, I didn’t think to ask Wizard where his family is from.After I pull into the parking lot, I send off a quick text to Wizard, asking him about his heritage. If he answers quickly, I can put together a dish in honor of his family.

Family is important to me, to us. Pops, Ma, and I fight to keep our traditions alive. We’ve been saving to take the girls on a trip to Italy. While I’ve never hit the vacation fund, the money going in has trickled to a halt. I just made the last payment to the school and, in a few weeks, I need to start making payments for the fall. I made a deal with the administration after a lengthy conversation. They agreed to take nine monthly payments. I plan on starting early in case of an emergency during the year and I miss a payment. The school also agreed not to tell JR in the off chance he contributes to their tuition. Anything he pays gets put on their books for school lunch, extracurricular activities, uniforms and any other school-related expenses.

I almost drove over to his house last night. The only thing that kept me from storming into his house and kicking his ass was Pops. He talked me off the ledge. I don’t need the legal hassle that goes along with assault. If JR reported me. Chances are, he’s not alone and his choice in women runs in the whiny bitch direction. I’m so opposite from that I have no idea what attracted him to me in the first place.

I claim being young, stupid, and virginal on my poor choice. I choose to look at my three blessings instead of my poor choice of a husband. Well, ex-husband.

Chapter 12

Charlie

I’m in the produce section when my phone dings. I pull up the text. It’s from Wizard.

Calabria, Sardinia.

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