As soon as this is over, I’ll upgrade the gate system. I never needed to before, but I will now. One man whose ass is never at home needs little in terms of security, but a man who’s got a princess in the house needs more than the average.
Like an entire tactical unit. Created entirely out of ex-military soldiers who are all women. God, I’m thinking well up in this tree house.
Mentally filing away the Badass WoSquad hiring for later, I continue monitoring my target. Brando is halfway up the driveway and is entering the front gardens area. My princess is still at the window. She waves, and he waves back, jogging to the front door.
I still, clear my head, and peek through the scope, now aiming at the door. Brando enters my view and fixes his hair before knocking.
Seconds pass, and my heart drums steady and calm. When Benny opens the door, I get that old jolt of excitement I used to get while on a mission and aiming at the enemy.
Lord knows I loved the navy and the narrow view of the target afforded through the scope when timing and execution have to be perfectly aligned. Laser precision has served me well in the family business too.
Benny stands before her cousin.
“Move aside,” I whisper.
They appear to be chatting, and he steps inside the foyer, but she’s still standing in front of him, and I can’t pull the trigger and risk killing my wife.
“Get out of the way, Benny.” For a split second, doubt and betrayal run through my head. Did she set me up? Is he really her lover and they’re working together against me? I clench my teeth, note my heart rate speeding up, my nostrils flaring. Nothing can rile me up like she can, and that’s how I know I’m crazy in love with this girl.
Benny looks over the man’s shoulder as if she’s staring straight into the rifle scope. I don’t blink. I can’t now. It’s a spit-second window of opportunity to execute a perfect kill. I need her to step aside.
She does.
I pull the trigger.
Brando’s body stumbles forward, and he drops to his knees as Benny closes the door behind him. I lift my head and stare at the door for a minute to give her time to signal me in case anything went wrong. I know it didn’t.
I’ve never missed a target, and this one wasn’t even moving, but Benny could be freaking out inside the house. She doesn’t seem like a freaking-out type but one never knows.
Quickly, I put away my M82 and have double-checked I’ve cleared the space when I catch sight of a toy black Mercedesunder the small tree house window. I snatch it as a souvenir and climb down the tree, then back up the fence, then jog across the garden to get into my house.
Benny greets me at the door as I sidestep the body, which is already wrapped up in a plastic bag. She’s wearing gloves and carrying bleach. She smiles, “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”
“In the navy.” A place where men train to shoot. The legal way, not the way a Mafia family might learn, but I don’t say that.
“Sexy.”
My wife is ruthless. I expected her to cry over his death, but she seems…aroused. She really is a Mafia princess. I find that sexy and walk up to her and kiss her. She melts into me, her tongue eagerly stroking mine. I wish we didn’t have cleanup to do so I can put one of those boys I’ve been wanting into her belly right now.
EPILOGUE
Five years later
Sneaking past my boys’room so I don’t wake them up and so that I can have a quiet morning is like exiting enemy territory via a minefield. It’s seven in the morning when I tiptoe through the hallway, then down the steps to reach the ground floor of our family hotel.
It’s really a mansion not a hotel anymore since only we stay in it at the island, but Blake calls it a hotel, and Bishop and I don’t give a fuck about proper terminology.
In the kitchen, I grab the coffee someone’s already made and walk outside to the patio, where my sister-in-law is breastfeeding. She startles as she sees me and covers the top of her breast, turning a pretty shade of red.
I sit down on the other side of the table, going for nonchalant so as not to make her feel uncomfortable. Vanessa usually covers up while breastfeeding, so she probably forgot the light cotton blanket or didn’t think anyone would come down this early. Blake is awake, but it’s workout time for him, vacation or not.
I stare at the ocean and the waves, not looking at Vanessa. “I can leave if you’d like,” I offer.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll get used to it.”
“Did you not breastfeed Thomas?”
“No. Went with the bottle.” She clears her throat. There’s something more there, but I don’t pry, just nod in agreement, and surprisingly, Vanessa continues, “Just couldn’t with Thomas, you know.”
