Page 45 of Nick

“Come and sit next to me, Mrs. Lombardi.”

“So, I have an Italian last name. What do you think of that, Grandpa?”

“I think it fits you perfectly.”

I pulled Opal closer, and she cuddled into my side. I heard Axel chuckle. “What’s so funny?” I asked Axel.

“What will they name their daughter when they have one; Jackie?” Everyone chuckled. It was just like Axel to lighten the mood for everyone.

We were waiting to hear a word about mama and baby when Jake entered the room with a big grin, “They are both doing fantastic. Both are sleeping and will be for a few hours. Why don’t all of you go home and get some rest?”

Everyone congratulated him and left. We went home, and Axel started dinner. He was cooking hamburgers, and Opal made a pitcher of tea. I carried some of my stuff upstairs while Opal helped Julia put some things away.

“I told Julia’s grandparents they could still watch Julia when they feel up to it. I also invited them for dinner,” I said when the doorbell rang. “I hope that’s okay?”

“Of course, it is. You can invite anyone you want to ask over for dinner. I’m sure we have plenty of food.”

“I cooked extra hamburgers anyway. I wasn’t sure how many Nick could eat.”

Dinner was fun with my ex-in-laws. They always did make me laugh when I wasn’t angry with them.

My phone started ringing, and I ignored it. I was having dinner with my family and didn’t want any interruptions. Then someone knocked on the door. I got up to answer, and Owen stood there. “What’s up, Owen?”

“I know it’s your wedding day and all, but we have an emergency, and we need to leave for the airport.”

“Is this a joke? There is no way I’m going anywhere on my wedding day.”

“What’s going on?” Opal asked, walking up beside me.

“We have an emergency, and as much as I hate saying this, we need Nick. He’s the one who is familiar with Italy,” Owen looked at me. “The admiral has been kidnapped. They showed pictures of him on YouTube. They say they’ll start cutting his body parts off if they don’t get what they want.”

“Who said that?” I demanded.

“The Bellos.”

“Who are the Bellos?” Opal asked.

“The red mafia.”

“The red mafia,” my ex-father-in-law whispered, standing behind Opal. Then he crossed himself.

Opal looked at me, “Who are they? I’ve never heard of them.”

“They are a bunch of crazy people made up of street scum who kidnap and kill people they think deserve killing. Sometimes they will take money for their victims.”

“Who is the admiral?”

“He’s a hero. He worked with us a few times. He saved my life, and he was severely beaten, but he wouldn’t stop. The Taliban held Matt and me captive, and we were almost dead. We were in a deep hole. We called it hell. When we heard someone whisper they were going to save us, those were the best words I had ever heard.

“When that night came around, a rope was dropped into the hole. I wondered how the hell we were going to climb that rope. Since Matt was worse off than I was, I pushed him ahead of me, then this guy reached one hand down and lifted Matt the rest of the way. Matt was deadweight, but he still did it.”

“It took me a while before I was close enough for him to reach for me. When I was out of the hole, I got a look at the man. His arm was broken; he was beaten almost to death but he threw Matt over his shoulder and took off. I could barely keep up with him.”

I held Opal’s hands, “Sweetie, I have to go. I don’t want to, but I’m not going to let them hurt and kill Ethan. I can’t. I owe him too much.”

“Is he a Ranger?” Axel asked.

“No, he’s a Navy Seal.” By now, we were all in the house. I soon walked up to my room and Opal followed me.

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