Giulio kisses me slowly and it’s all I need to know that I made the right decision. It feels like thunder’s pulsing through my veins when he looks down at me and smiles. “Lencia, I don’t care how hard life gets, I still want you. Over and over again I will still choose you. I will still choose our beautiful children. I still want to experience the world with the woman I married. The woman I love. That woman is you. Valencia Giannotti, thank you for giving me life.”
And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Giulio
This has been a night I will never forget.
Tonight reaffirms that when it comes down to the wire, our marriage can withstand any lethal threat. Our separation has taught me love on another level. It has taught me how to resolve any tempest coming our way. That love truly does conquer all. That home can have a heartbeat. That healing can be found standing by somebody.
My somebody is and always will be Valencia.
Stepping out of that alleyway, we are stronger than ever. Sandro does his job efficiently. His men clean up, takes the car, and of course, the dead fucker too. Sandro drives us home discreetly and doesn’t make me pay. He says we’ve endured enough pain and we say farewell with a solidifying handshake.
Valencia doesn’t ask many questions and I take that as her way of telling me that what will be tonight will be. That soon the moon will fade and the sun will rise to a new reaffirmed hope and a strengthened bond. One that is unbreakable. Unapologetic.
When we arrive at our house in Madrona, Valencia disinfects my wounds and then we attend to our clothes. As she takes a shower, I discard our garments in the backyard fire pit and watch as they burn. The orange embers glow wildly until the only thing that remains is ash with a tattered story nobody else but my wife and I will ever know.
Sandro won’t say a word. He’s a respected and reliable contact. I trust him.
There’s a tugging tension in my chest when I step back inside. A gloom. Our marriage is restored but it’s not over for us. Our children are gone, all three of them, and that makes me feel helpless. I’m a meticulous man and all I want are my girls and my special buddy safe.
I miss them so much.
When the man Valencia killed presented himself on my doorstep I was ready to call the police until he mentioned the intruder I killed and showed a photo of the twins as evidence. I was on a conference call with Lance, Marcus, and my client, Tate, when it happened. And damn how I was lucky to have tapped the mute button prior to answering the door. I believed the man and was willing to take the chance to save them… I never expected to almost die doing so.
I share my somberness with Lencia when stepping into the shower behind her. My hands wrap around her waist and I hold her through the tears. It reminds me of the night she was with Bryce at the bar.
I’m in awe of Valencia. She has been so strong throughout all of this and tonight was the epitome of her dedication. The same one I shared with her. Tied down to that chair, I was willing to risk it all and sacrifice myself for the greater good, so at least she could have our children. But right now, as I hold her, I’m glad I’m still breathing. I never want to stop feeling my adoration for our family. I never want to stop living in a life with them.
“We’ll get through this together. It’s what we were born to do.”
“I know we will. I just miss them so much. This will be our secret. Helena knows about the intruder and your father, but she won’t tell anybody. Can I…ask you something?”
I kiss her neck and nuzzle my nose into her hair. It smells of my fresh, woody shower gel with a tinge of her own scent of vanilla. I love the way she’s cut her hair. It only barely touches her shoulders and makes me think it’s like a new beginning. “Of course, darling.”
There is a brief pause until I twirl Valencia around. Warm water licks our skin as I hold her closer. Those gorgeous hazel eyes stare up at me and amongst the havoc, I find courage in them. “When you killed your father and the intruder…how did you feel after?”
“For a few moments, I was in shock and then I felt…liberated in some sense and heavier in another. But with my father, it soon faded. You need to forgive yourself to find closure. The man you killed deserved it, darling. He would have killed us both and then gone on to kill others. Sometimes we resort to desperate measures because we need to. We just need to continue to be strong, even after we have our three musketeers back. Can you do that for me, baby?”
“Yes. A million times over.”
Yes.
I’m amazed by her resilience. Her bravery. Her devotion.
I cup her face and kiss her passionately against the shower wall. It’s foggy when I pull her away from it and note the most impeccable silhouette of her body. When I smile at Lencia, my eyes stray from the fire in her eyes to her natural curves, those beautiful breasts, and killer legs that step even closer to me when my stare lingers.
Holy fuck, I’m spending the rest of my life with this woman!
Her wet hand eases down my abdomen and out of desperation I crush my mouth to her full lips once again. I love her. I love her so fucking much. Valencia Marie Giannotti is my air, my home, my everything. She amplifies the idyllic feeling of being alive over and over again for me—until I believe it will never
