“Sage filled me in on everything, with way too much detail, I might add.” He shudders, and I wince.
Damn Sage and his oversharing.
“Are you okay with that?” I ask, almost holding my breath while I wait for his reply.
“Tori, baby. As long as you’re alive and happy, I’m not going to judge you for any of your lifestyle choices.” He turns me to face him and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“From what I understand, you have no room to throw shade.” I glance over his shoulder and wave at Uncle Mickey, who is leaning casually against a black sedan with his arm around Carla. “Mario took great glee in showing me the live feed in your apartment, and I saw things I am never going to be able to unsee.”
I stare, somewhat startled, as my father’s cheeks turn red, and he avoids my eyes.
“Ah, yes, well, um…” He trails off.
“How about we agree never to discuss any kind of physical relationship with one another? And like you said, as long as you’re happy, that’s all I want for you.”
He heaves out a sigh of relief. “Agreed. I’ll see you back at the Lucky Diamond?”
“Yup, we will be right behind you,” I promise him, and he presses a kiss to my forehead and strides over to his friends. Mickey tosses him the keys and then drags Carla into the backseat, her giggle ringing out in the quiet, cold night air.
My dad shakes his head with exasperation, but he’s also smiling with happiness, and that’s all I need to see.
“Come on.” Xavier appears behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. When I turn to look at him, he reaches up and uses his thumb to wipe a smear of Stacey’s blood off my face.
“I’m going to get blood all over the seats,” I argue as he leads me to the car.
“The leather will wipe off,” he assures me, opening the door. “And if we don’t get moving, the backseat might turn into a moving orgy.”
I slide in and peer into the back. Colton, with Vienna on his lap, and Sage are doing their best to fend off a very handsy Tristan.
“He’s like a damn octopus,” Vienna complains as he motorboats her breasts while rubbing a hand over each guy’s crotch.
“Meh, he should pass out as soon as we start moving,” Xavier predicts as he starts the Hellcat with a rumble. “We’ll take the backroads to avoid running into any possible emergency services on the way. Unfortunately, unlike your father’s vehicle, this one is a little more recognizable.” He guns the engine and peels out of the parking area, gravel spitting up behind us.
“Yeah, it is,” I agree, feeling a small thrill of excitement at the speed and knowing things can only get better from here.
Epilogue
It took a little over a week for everything to get sorted out. The FBI finally ruled the case as cartel retaliation for Mario’s perceived betrayal. They did question why Tristan had left his own wedding, leaving his bride to be mutilated hours after they wed. Instead of the torrid affair story, he told them as head of security for the Maricuso-Russo empire, he was needed at the hotel after the discovery of Dad and Carla, who explained they had been held hostage since Mario staged their deaths.
The staff gave us all solid alibis, insisting we all arrived before the coroner’s estimated time of death from examining the victims.
Explaining Mickey’s, Sage’s, Gio’s, and Casey’s miraculous resurrections was a little harder, but Agent Garcia was ever so grateful for us rescuing his sister, he bought the flimsy excuse we gave and closed the case. His final warning that we’d be under deeper scrutiny for the next six months was appreciated.
Life returned to normal, or as normal as it can be for a mafia family. Business went on as usual, and all of our loyal family members returned to their previous lives and roles.
The mansion became the life and soul of our family, with everyone once again in residence. Dad had taken myrelationship with Mario’s four adopted children in stride, and like I thought, once he heard that they did what they did to protect Addison, all was forgiven—or mostly. He likes giving the guys shit, but Vienna and Addison have him firmly wrapped around their pinky fingers, especially when Addi declared that she was going to call him Nonno S.
Dad and his respective paramours live in their wing, and mine and Addison, as well as Gio and Casey, live in ours. We shuffled the rooms around a little, and Gio and Casey live as far away from ours as they could possibly get. They are fixing up a bedroom next to theirs as a nursery, and Addison has her own bedroom next to the future baby’s. She insisted as the big cousin, she should be close by in case the baby needed her. None of us argued with that.
We’ve all talked about what’s happening next, but none of us have made any solid decisions except Sage, who wept and cursed when he saw the state of his grow rooms. He’s going to resume his former position as Dad’s chemist, but everyone else is going to take their time making any major life choices. As for our relationship, we’re enjoying spending time together, and I’m still married to Xavier. What will happen in the future is anyone’s guess, but for now, we’re trying to make this untraditional relationship work.
Tristan inherited everything from Stacey and her family when no other living relatives were found, and Mario’s estate was divided equally between the three guys. Mario left Vienna out of his will, his thoughts on females previously made very clear, so she wasn’t actually surprised nor had any fucks to give. For now, they’ve put a lump sum in a trust for Addi and are still figuring out how to handle their newfound wealth. Dad has been giving them financial advice and helping them in any way he can, which I appreciate more than I can express.
Gio and Casey are going to finish college and wait for the birth of their baby. Gio finally told Dad he didn’t want to constantly put his wife and child in danger by being the head of the Russo family, and Dad accepted his decision. He offered me the role, since I had basically been doing it since his supposed death, but I hesitated. What I thought I wanted maybe just isn’t the end goal anymore, and he’s giving me time to make up my mind.
“Hmmm, the sun feels so good on my skin,” Vienna mutters from her position on the lounger next to mine.
“It sure does,” I reply, turning my head to look at her. “This was an awesome idea.”
