Page 80 of Marcellus: House of Drakos
“His eyes gave him away. They looked over at this table one time too many. Now may I go see about my daughter?”
Alex and Oz smiled. “You have my permission,” said Oz, and Marcellus, smiling too, went to Kalayna.
As Alex and Oz stood guard over those remotes, Johnny hurried in with Bobcat Grishom, who they picked up from Oz’s safe house on the way, so that he could safely diffuse the bomb of his own creation. Which Bobcat did. Then he removed it from Kalayna’s lap.
It was only then did Marcellus untie her hands. But she was already hugging him before he could untie her feet.
“I knew you wouldn’t let him hurt me, Daddy. I knew it!”
Marcellus finished untying her feet and she finally got out of that death chair. She wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and began sobbing. “I knew you wouldn’t let him hurt me,” she said again.
And Marcellus held her tightly too. He was acting cool, but he was a nervous wreck inside. He knew how badly it could have gone. He held her tighter still.
EPILOGUE
Marcellus was scared. He ran up the stairs inside his island home on the southern coast of Saint-Tropez as fast as he could. Then he ran down the hall to his bedroom and slung the doors open, his heart pounding. When he saw Kari sitting on his bed with her gown off and the dress she had chosen for the reception now on, he hurried to her side. “What’s wrong?” he asked her urgently. “What happened?”
Now she was confused. ‘Nothing’s wrong. Why would you think something was wrong?”
“What do you mean why? They said you needed me.”
Savannah smiled. “I do need you, silly. But not because something’s wrong.”
“Oh good!’ he said, relieved. “Then what is it?”
There was hesitation. He might have even saw some trepidation. “What is it? You can tell me anything.”
“I found out this morning,” she said, “but I decided to wait until now.”
“To wait for what? What is it, Vanna?”
She decided to just come out with it. “I’m pregnant, Marcellus.”
Did he hear that right? He stared at her. “Pregnant?”
She wasn’t sure if he was happy or angry. “Yes.”
A slow smile began to appear on his face. And then an all-out grin. “Oh baby, that’s wonderful!” he said as he stood up, lifted her up, and then twirled her around. “That’s just marvelous!”
When Savannah was back on her feet, she looked into his eyes. She saw his joy, which was what she was after. “I was afraid you’d be upset.”
“Why would I be upset?”
“Because your youngest child is twenty-six years old. And I’m thirty-seven. I’m no spring chicken myself. I didn’t think you wanted another child.”
“I didn’t want another child,” he said, and her heart dropped. Then he smiled. “But I want your child. I want you to have my child. That’s the difference.”
Savannah smiled a grand smile and placed her hands on the sides of his gorgeous face. “Thank you.”
“You’re thanking me for knocking you up? It was entirely my pleasure,” he said, and they both laughed.
“Now come on,” he said as he grabbed her by the hand and ushered her toward the exit. “They’re waiting for us downstairs.”
They were married earlier that day at the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, which felt like a dream come true for both of them. After the wedding, all of their guests piled onto Marcellus’s private jet and headed to his island for the reception. It had been an eventful year, but everything had settled down beautifully. Bobcat was in jail awaiting his trial. There were no more crashes and no more talk of hearings on Capitol Hill and no more kidnappings. And just as importantly every single one of his children, and both of his brothers, were in the wedding.
Olivier, Scottie, and Fredrick, along with Oz and Jordan, were his grooms. Alex was his best man. His son Niko walked Savannah down the aisle. Kari and Kalayna were her bridesmaids and Tyla, newly divorced, was her maid of honor. And his baby mothers, although in attendance at the wedding, were not in the program per Savannah. They were a part ofthe family and Marcellus wanted to keep it that way. She understood that they should be invited. But she set boundaries on just how much a part of their family they were going to be. Marcellus didn’t object.
Now the wedding had gone on without a hitch and they were downstairs at the gorgeous reception, mingling with their guests, and soaking in the aroma of being a newly-minted married couple.
