Page 103 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

“Do you understand what this means?”

We turn to face each other, while my heart threatens to pop out of my chest, overflowing with joy. “It means we got them. We got them by the short and curlies.”

It means Spike didn’t die a victim. He went down fighting, and he delivered the ultimate blow to the fabled, final boss. There was enough incriminating evidence is in the hidden folders to destroy the entire Mancini bloodline and each of their businesses across the United States. Not only am I finally safe from them but so are the many people who have been living in fear of retaliation from these monsters.

“It means we can put a lock and key on this and finally move on with our lives, baby,” Nathan says and pulls me into a long, ardent kiss.

Goodbye, dark past.

The future is finally here, and it is just within my reach.

As soon asthe judge bangs his gavel, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Guilty on all counts,” Cassius says, beaming with satisfaction as we step outside the courtroom. “It is a fine day for serving justice.”

“Alexandra will rot in prison, just like her father,” River says. “And her uncle.”

“Uncles,” Nate adds. “And cousins. And aunts. And nephews. They’re all going down for this, and none of them can touch you, Christa.”

I give them a warm smile. “After how you saved me in that apartment? I’d steer clear of the Hawthornes, too.”

“It’s not just that. We put word out to some of our friends who work in the department of corrections,” Nathan replies, the corner of his mouth ticking up with dark amusement. “Every single person affiliated with the Mancini crime family will receive a stark warning regarding any form of retaliation against the people who took them down.”

I’m amazed by the extent of their power and influence. “You, gentlemen, are simply extraordinary.”

“You motivate us,” Cassius smiles and points at the car waiting for us at the base of the courthouse steps. “Now, let’s get you home. We have plenty to celebrate.”

Half an hour later,we’re in our bedroom, or playroom, as we like to call it. A sprawling slice of heaven with cream-colored walls and plush carpets covering the hardwood floor, a massive four-poster bed in the middle with the finest silk covers, and all the accoutrements we need for our intimate time together.

Golden rays of sunlight filter into the room along with the summer warmth, filling my heart with sparkling hope for the future ahead. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way. Pure. Eager. No longer bogged down by the shadows of the past.

“I’m glad we can put this behind us,” Cassius says as he closes the door.

“Me, too,” I reply, slipping out of my shoes.

“Before we can glean what the future holds for us, I think we need to get a few things straight,” he says. His tone feels rather serious.

Yet my hands keep moving, fingers working on the buttons of my shirt. River and Nathan look at me. They seem to be on the same page as Cassius.

“Okay. What are we talking about here?” I ask with a shy smile.

“There have always been rumors about us,” Cassius says. “About how we like to share our women as brothers. I think we’ve had this conversation before, but it bears reiterating.”

“You are truly the first woman we want to be with forever. We’ve made it work thus far, despite the snags we hit along the way,” River adds, his voice softer, slightly more comforting as hecomes closer.

His mere proximity is enough to send my pulse racing in a most delicious way, my skin catching fire at the first touch as he helps me out of my shirt, and I help him out of his.

“Well, if you call being in the crosshairs of a murderous mob family a snag, then yes, I agree,” I giggle, then gasp when Nathan joins River in undressing me and hooks his fingers into the waist of my jeans to pull them down.

Cassius gives me a solemn look. I can’t tell whether he’s angry or nervous. Perhaps I should be worried.

But their body language tells a different story.

“I understand why you did what you did and how you did it,” Cassius says. “I’ve tried putting myself in your shoes more than once, and I’ve gone over our decisions as well in times of crisis—recent events included. And the truth is, we all do crazy things, maybe sometimes self-destructive things, to protect ourselves and the people we love. So, it’s not my place or my intention to judge you for keeping secrets, for trying to handle things on your own. If anything, it speaks to your strength and honorable nature,” he adds. “But Christa, going forward, we need to be completely honest with one another, no matter what.”

I nod again. “I completely understand and agree.”

It’s hard to keep a serious demeanor when I’m in my lacy underwear and halfway done with undressing two of the three men I am so deeply in love with. My eyes keep bouncing back to each of their gorgeous bodies—muscles twitching and stretching, soft skin begging for my lips as I marvel at their wide shoulders and linebacker thighs. These men have seen the horrors of war, and they came back to do right by their people,by their family.

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