Page 42 of Lured By the Cartel

I settled against him, listening to the quiet sounds of our home—the distant footsteps of guards on patrol, the soft whir of security systems, and the occasional murmur from the twins' room through the baby monitor we still kept on out of habit. Thiswas our normal, our perfect blend of family life and underworld empire.

"Marco?" I whispered into the darkness.

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever regret any of it? The danger I've been in, the risks we've taken?"

His arms tightened around me. "Never. Every risk, every fight, every moment led us here. Besides," I could hear the smile in his voice, "you've saved my life as many times as I've saved yours. We protect each other. That's what family does."

I closed my eyes, feeling the truth of his words in my bones. That nervous college student gawking at the dangerous older man seemed like a stranger now. These days, when I looked at Marco, I didn't see the age gap or the power dynamics that once made me hesitate.

I saw the way he taught Alessandro to tie his shoes with infinite patience, how he checked under Matteo's bed for monsters every night, and how he still looked at me like I was the most fascinating puzzle he'd ever encountered.

The years between us had melted away like morning frost, leaving behind something raw and real and uniquely ours. However, I still enjoyed reminding him he was practically ancient, especially when he complained about his knee acting up during our morning runs.

"I love you," I murmured, already drifting off. "Even if you are ancient."

His quiet laugh was the last thing I heard before sleep took me. "I love you too, brat. Always will."

In the morning, we'd wake up to twins jumping on our bed, demanding breakfast and stories and attention. We'd handle whatever business needed handling, maintain the delicate balance of our world, and continue building the life we'd fought so hard to create. But for now, safe in each other's arms, we werejust Marco and Lucas—mates, parents, and partners in every sense of the word.

Age gap and dangerous lifestyle be damned—we'd proven that love could flourish in the most unexpected places, between the most unlikely people. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Marco's Epilogue

Sometime in the near future…

I watched from my office doorway as Lucas expertly mediated a territory dispute between two of our younger captains, hiding my proud smile behind my coffee cup. At twelve years old, the twins sat quietly in the corner, observing everything with those sharp eyes they'd inherited from both of us. We'd started including them in some of the less violent aspects of our business, just as my father had done with me, though Lucas insisted on a more balanced approach.

"The arrangement stays as is," Lucas declared, his voice carrying that quiet authority he'd developed over the years. "Unless either of you wants to explain to Marco why you're disrupting our carefully maintained peace? Do you want to do that?"

Both captains quickly shook their heads. Nobody wanted to face my temper these days, especially not over something so trivial. They'd learned that while Lucas might be more diplomatic, crossing him often led to dealing with me. We'd perfected this good cop/bad cop routine years ago.

"Daddy handled that well," Alessandro whispered to his brother, probably thinking I couldn't hear. "Better than Papa would have."

Matteo nodded. "Papa would have just growled and they would have run away."

I suppressed a chuckle. They weren't wrong. While I'd mellowed somewhat over the years, my reputation still preceded me. Lucas, on the other hand, had carved out his own unique position within our organization. His intelligence and strategic mind had earned him respect entirely separate from his status as my mate.

As the captains left, Lucas turned to our sons. "What did you learn from that?"

"That sometimes you have to be subtle," Matteo answered immediately. He was always the more analytical one, while Alessandro tended to favor direct action—like me at that age.

"And sometimes," Alessandro added with a grin that was pure Lucas, "you have to remind people that Papa will eat them if they misbehave."

"I do not eat people," I finally spoke up, entering the office fully. "I merely strongly discourage certain behaviors."

"With extreme prejudice," Lucas teased, accepting my quick kiss with a smile. "And occasionally with bullets, too."

"Papa," Matteo's serious voice drew our attention. "When can we start learning about the more... complicated parts of the business?"

I exchanged a look with Lucas. We'd been expecting this question and had discussed it extensively. At twelve, the twins were old enough to understand more about our world, but young enough that we still wanted to protect them from its darker aspects. Our situation wasn't something easy to handle.

"Soon," I promised, sitting behind my desk as Lucas perched on its edge—his favorite spot during family meetings. "But first,you need to understand something very important: everything we do, every decision we make, is about protecting our family and our people."

"Like when Daddy shot that man who tried to hurt us last year?" Alessandro asked innocently.

I blinked in surprise. We hadn't known they were aware of that incident—a failed kidnapping attempt that Lucas had thwarted with his usual efficiency. These days, he was as deadly as any of my trained men, maybe more so because people still underestimated him.

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