Page 82 of Borrowed Bride

We’re silent until Fawn appears thirty minutes later. She’s quiet but there’s something lighter about her. She stops nearby and looks at Marco. “Sorry I spent so much time trying to kill you.”

Marco chuckles. “Sorry my family fucked you up so much.”

“And ours,” Leo adds. “Our own father…Fawn, I’m so sorry.”

She rolls one shoulder and sighs. “This is gonna take a shit ton of therapy.”

“Will you come home?” Leo asks, taking a step toward his sister.

The hesitation is clear in her eyes. “Maybe. I need to think. Process.”

He nods and as they hug, I turn to Marco and cup his face. “Let’s go home. Let me take care of you.”

A new sadness weighs on Marco as he nods. “Let’s go home.”

34

MARCO

In my youth, I never would have envisioned giving up the top spot of power. I worked hard to get the Barrone family to where it was, especially from where my father left it. It was my pride and joy and my sole focus in this world. It was, in a way, my baby and the only thing I was proud of when it came to my various accomplishments.

Two weeks after my father’s death, I signed the papers merging the Barrone and Simone families and stepped down from power. Many were surprised, and the rumor mill ran rampant with theories and stories about Leo and what he had on me that could force me out of power, but the truth was it was simply the right thing to do.

Anton and Ben, my two most loyal guards, easily accepted the merger because they point-blank refused to leave my side. In their words, it didn’t matter where I was, I was still capable of getting into shit and they would be right there to help me out of it. I couldn’t say no to that.

Afterward, Leo and I worked with Fawn to wipe out the remaining stragglers from the Ricci family, and we sent a clear message that nothing and no one would be exempt from ourwrath if there was even a hint of human trafficking happening in this city. The Russians sent through a few strongly worded threats when we tore apart their underground ring. Since they weren’t Stateside and too scared to confront us in person, those threats remained exactly that, just threats.

Fawn came home. She turned up one night on Leo’s doorstep a month or so after the city began to settle and said she was ready to try and rebuild things. With Tara and Cherry by her side, she was a formidable force to have on board and Leonardo was just happy to have his sister back. He was able to piece together some semblance of family.

I was the same. Emilia had been nearing her end when my father died so I kept the news from her for fear it would be the one thing that sent her to the grave. It turns out the news told her for me, and a few weeks later, Emilia was stronger.

She still had life left in those bones.

With the city at peace and a new power maintaining it, I was finally able to turn my full attention to the two people who mattered the most to me: Gianna and Freya.

“You know, if we’re late Emilia will kill us,” Gianna laughs, touching one hand to the blindfold I carefully secured to her face before driving her out to the country.

“Ah, don’t touch,” I warn her gently, taking her hand in mine and threading our fingers together. “It will be worth it, I promise. And we won’t be late.”

“We’re always late.”

“So she gets a few extra hours playing with her niece. I don’t think she’ll hold it against us.”

Gianna grumbles to herself as she follows me up the winding gravel path, clutching at me each time her heels lose balance on the ground. “Are you going to give me a hint about this surprise?”

“Nope,” I say gleefully, lightly squeezing her hand. “But I know you’re going to love it.”

“How do you know?” she asks. “Maybe my taste in things has dramatically changed overnight and only a hint will serve to get me back on track?”

I bring us to a stop at the foot of some smooth stone steps, and lightly cup her face with my hand. “You’re a sneaky one,” I say, leaning in close until my lips are an inch from hers. She tilts her head, expecting a kiss but I hold back with a smile. “But I’m sneakier.”

“Oh really?” Gianna laughs. “Then what exactly are you—oh my God!”

I remove the blindfold as she speaks and her scolding fades into shock as she gazes up at the gigantic house that is to be our new home. It’s an old build with Victorian-style windows and stone pillars lining the steps up to a beautiful oak front door. Around us is a large garden filled with trees, flowers, and every outdoor child’s activity I could find when I was ordering.

“What is this?” Gianna gasps, placing one foot on the steps.

“This?” I reply casually, watching her beautiful face light up. “This is our new home. Or it can be if you like it. It’s just out of the city so we’re far away from those memories, but close enough that we can get to whatever school you choose for Freya and civilization is just over the hill behind us. After our wedding, this can be our new home.”

---