“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Matteo growls a few seconds later as he comes stomping back into the living room. “I’m not—”
Flipping him off, I force the doors to close. “Come find me,” I laugh right before they shut completely.
Epilogue 1
Matteo
The Leone Room is empty except for me, the echo of my footsteps bouncing off the walls as I make final adjustments to the table on stage.
Sunlight streams through the cracks in the blackout curtains, catching dust motes in golden streaks that cut across the darkness like knife wounds. It’s been a week since Raven flooded the bathroom. And since that night, she hasn’t mentioned hearing the damn drips.
She’ll be here soon, fresh from lunch with Piper and her meeting with Holston. Just the thought of her returning to work makes something possessive twist in my gut.
These past couple of weeks have been… I don’t have the right word for it. We’ve been inseparable, my Little Thief and I.Watching her sleep, making her breakfast, fucking her against every surface of our penthouse. Healing, both of us, in our own twisted ways.
The official story about North Coast Effects has only just died down. The tragic firework warehouse accident intrigued everyone, especially since it allegedly claimed the lives of the Kearney brothers.
Remus himself carefully crafted the police report, detailing how Adam and Finn Kearney died when volatile chemicals ignited during a routine inventory check. No suspects. Case closed.
The Russo family’s power bought not just silence, but a narrative that kept us all safe. Funny how easily truth can be rewritten when you know which palms to grease, which throats to squeeze.
I run my hand over the smooth surface of the table, feeling the cool wood beneath my fingertips. We’re finally back at the Leone Room after the attack that took Vito and Kayla. The reopening is still a week away, but I needed this space today. For her. For us.
Today, I’m giving her exactly what she asked for—before everything went to shit. The oil is ready. The candles are prepared. The ice is freezing. Everything is set for what I have planned for her—a fantasy confessed on Freaky Friday.
My phone buzzes. A text from Raven.
Little Thief: I’m five minutes away. This better be worth skipping dessert for. *Devil emoji*
I smile, tucking my phone back into my pocket. My Little Thief has no idea what’s waiting for her.
Even with the bloodstains scrubbed clean and the bullet holes patched, I can still see Kayla’s and Vito’s bodies. But I can also see Raven here; dancing, laughing, and coming all over my cock.
The front door opens, letting in a shaft of bright summer light that cuts through the dimness. And there she is—silhouetted for a moment before stepping inside and letting the door swing shut behind her.
“Honey, I’m home,” she calls out, her voice bouncing off the walls. “Where are you hiding, Firestarter?”
My eye adjusts as I watch her scan the room, finally spotting me on stage. She’s wearing a white crop top that stops just below her ribs, showcasing the smooth expanse of her stomach, and a matching wrap skirt that’s knotted at her hip, threatening to come undone with the slightest tug.
Her legs are bare and endless, ending in strappy sandals that add three inches to her height. Her hair is gathered in a high ponytail, the dusky pink strands swinging as she moves toward me.
My gaze drops to the pink wrist wraps—perfectly matching her hair—covering the still-healing wounds from where those fucking handcuffs bit into her skin. The sight of them makes me wish Salvador was still alive just so I could kill him again.
But it’s her eyes that truly hold me—warm, alert, alive. The haunted look is fading, replaced by something bright and hungry that makes my cock twitch against my zipper.
“You got my text?” she asks, climbing the steps to the stage with deliberate slowness, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“I did.” I don’t move, letting her come to me.
“And what exactly was so important that I had to rush over here instead of having ice cream with Piper?” She stops just out of reach, hands on her hips, challenge written in every line of her body.
I close the distance between us in two strides, my hand sliding around to grip the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her ponytail. “Missing you isn’t reason enough?” I ask, my voice a low growl against her ear.
Her laugh is breathy, surprised. “You saw me this morning. You fucked me in the shower before I left.”
“That was hours ago.” I tug her hair, tilting her head back to expose her throat. “Too long.” When my mouth finds hers, she makes a sound that’s half-laugh, half-moan, opening to me instantly.
Raven’s hands slide up my chest, clutching at my shoulders as I kiss her hard enough to bruise, my tongue claiming her mouth with the same hunger that’s been burning in me since she walked out the door this morning.
