Epilogue
Lana
I’m up. I’m struggling. Nevertheless, I’m trying.
Sitting at the table across from Mack eating toast, I’m attempting to stomach food for the first time in three days. My throat’s been too raw from crying to eat before now.
Today I woke up and found my tears had dried up. Did I run out? That was my first thought, and then water hit my eyes and I realized no, they’re still there, but today I found I could control them a little bit better than yesterday.
I showered, dressed, and came downstairs on my own to a shocked room full of men.
Mack has been with me almost 24/7, but I’ve pushed him out of our room a few times to get information on Della and Dom.
After Della was taken to the hospital, they found the bones in her wrist were shattered, but her head was fine. She has scratches and bruises from some sort of impact. But Della says Rex pushed her out of the way at the last second, so the doctors think it could have been her hitting the ground or possibly the train, but they said that’s really not probable and if it was, then it’s a miracle she’s alive.
The police questioned everyone at the scene and Slater had an argument with Sheriff Johnson, who mentioned Della had only recently been discharged for a bullet wound. He told Slater straight out if he wasn’t such a disgusting criminal then maybe his sister wouldn’t get hurt.
Mack and Pacer had to physically remove Slater from the Sheriff’s presence before Slater did something he’d regret.
Della was in the hospital for three days, two days post her hand operation before Dom got word that Lucini had heard about Rex’s death and he was sending his enforcers to pick Della up.
Dom said my great Uncle Frank Lucini wouldn’t hear that Rex committed suicide. He said if Rex was unstable, Bone would have noticed and reported back to him. He thinks it’s foul play and he’s coming for Della. Lucini considers two deaths an attack against the family.
Dom and Slater got into it badly. I was lying on Mack’s bed, surrounded by tissues. But even I got up and out of bed after hearing the shouts. Opening the bedroom door, I went to the window at the end of the hall and peered out through the glass at the two men on the ground fighting and throwing punches.
Mack said that Dom came up with a plan, but it entailed him taking Della with him to his hometown up North, to Dom’s friends and to Della’s real family. A twenty-five hour drive across the country.
Slater forbid it.
Della and Dom still left. Della left behind her brothers’ backs, willingly. Slater promised to go after her, but Piper talked to him. She explained what we all knew, Della was doing this for them. She knows the safest place for her brothers is for her to be far away from them. And as long as the Kings are still in Portland and are seen going to visit their sister in the hospital each day, the enforcers have no idea Della’s already left town and it will give Dom and Della the head start they need. However, Slater has sworn, the moment they get even a hint that the enforcers know they’ve been played, they’re going after their sister.
Della and Dom are on their way to Minnesota. Once they arrive and Della meets her new brother, William—who’s going to be in Minnesota with his cousin Joseph and his partner Alexa—they will decide where to go from there. Della’s other two brothers, Matthew and Alexander, are still in Mexico putting plans together to offer Lucini a trade for Della’s life. Mack says the brothers understand that kind of life, they know the only way to save Della is to make a trade for something Lucini wants and they think they have something he won’t be able to refuse.
“Lana,” Mack calls to me softly. “Thinking pretty hard there, Dove.”
I lift my eyes. “Just thinking about Della.”
“Slater’s already been in contact with them this morning. So far so good. No tail.”
I nod. “That’s great.”
“Lana, I want to take you out tonight. Get you out of the house. You good with that?”
I’m surprised at the small spark of excitement that ignites inside me.
I force a smile. “Sounds great.”
“Don’t do that,” Mack states.
“What?”
“Push out a smile when it’s not real. I don’t want you to be excited or happy about going out tonight. I want you to feel how you feel, and I’m gonna get you out of the house because I think it might help, but no pretend bullshit with me, Lana. I’m here, even if it takes you years to grin again because your beautiful smiles are worth waiting for.”
Water hits my eyes. I mean what does he expect after he says all that.
Mack walks around the table and bends on one knee and holds me and I say, “These are happy tears.”
I feel his body shake as he says, “We’re getting somewhere then.”
Gosh, I love this man.
***
Mack and I are lying under the stars, on the lush grass of Iroquois Park, twenty minutes south of Portland. He brought me to an open space, where there are no trees, only open sky and millions of beautiful stars.
He placed a picnic blanket down and a basket, which I knew held Chinese food. I could smell it since the moment he got back home from running an errand, and rushed me to get dressed. I quickly threw on a wallflower patterned playsuit and then Mack hustled me into Fang and the smell of my favorite takeaway caused my stomach to growl all the way here.
Two hours later and quite a few of my favorite prawn spring rolls, Mack pulls me down to lie against his chest and we lie in silence. Only listening to the crickets and feeling the fresh cool breeze against my skin. I close my eyes and enjoy this peaceful, beautiful moment with a man I thought I’d lost five long years ago.
A few minutes pass and Mack wriggles his arm free from underneath me and we both sit up at the same time.
“I have something to show you,” Mack says.
Immediately, I think he’s trying to joke around with me so I reply, “If it’s two inches long and wrinkly. I’ve already seen it before.”
Mack’s expression turns serious and his brow furrows. I grab my stomach and laugh out loud. Strangely enough, it feels as if it’s the first in a long time, but really it’s only been just over a week.
Mack’s lips split into a wide smile. “Very funny. Seriously, though, I have a surprise for you.”
I rub my hands together and cross my legs and say, “More than this picnic? What is it?”
Mack reaches over his shoulder to his back and pulls the black T-shirt off he’s wearing. My eyes roam up as the shirt disappears. Smooth, tanned and toned abs. My eyes continue to go up over Mack’s sexy sprinkle of chest hair and then I freeze and gasp.
Mack has a new tattoo, over his heart.
A dove with a keyhole in its chest. The words, ‘Happily Ever After’ are etched in the exact same calligraphy that I have on my thigh.
Mack has matched my, ‘Once Upon A Time’ writing.
He’s matched our tattoos.
I trace the intricate lines and shading of the stunning dove. Moving to the lock, I'm surprised to find it’s shaped like a castle. My eyes blur and I wipe at them quickly, not wanting to take my stare off the matching tattoo Mack got for me.
“Ink, something engraved in us forever that we will be buried with.”
My sight blurs as Mack repeats the words he said to me a long time ago. Words I had re-lived in my mind many times.
“You’re my life-long love, Lana. I still want to give you a ring and have you take my name, but this…” he places his right palm over my hand and our tattoo “…this is forever.”
Mack rubs his thumb across my cheeks. “Don’t fall apart yet, Dove.” He smiles, “I have one more thing to show you and then you can cry your happy or sad tears.”
I laugh because damn there’s nothing that can top this.
Mack pulls a white piece of paper out of his back pocket and says, “You told me you don’t want to visit Rex’s grave because you don’t believe he’s there. You think he’s passed on, gone to Heaven.”
I nod, tilting my head to the side, waiting patiently, but curious as to what Mack is getting to.
“Well, now you have a new place.” Mack points to the night sky and says, “I bought you a star and named it Rex. The lady from the local Astronomy group told me if I brought you to this park and if we looked up, Rex’s star would be directly above us. I also have coordinates and a new telescope for you in the car so you can see it clearer anytime from home. You can look up and find your brother, whenever you need him.”
My chin trembles and fresh tears threaten to spill. I’m not sure what to say. How do I thank someone for giving me a beautiful place to talk to my brother? A gift to remember who I saw Rex as; my shining light in a dark world. My big brother who will always be looking down on me now and I have Mack to thank for that.
“I don’t know what to say,” I stutter.
“You don’t need to say anything, Lana.” Mack kisses my lips gently. “I’m going to give you everything, Dove. I’m going to bust my ass every day to make you happy, and in a few years when things have calmed down and we can build a life together, we’re going to have a family. I’m going to give you as many babies as you want, and I’m going to love them as much as I love you. We’re going to keep them safe. Love them. Encourage them. Tell them they can be anything they wanna be.”
I shake my head and smile. “Where did you come from, Mackson King? It’s as if you were created straight from my dreams as a little girl.”
"I might have been, Dove. Because if there's one thing in this life I'm certain of, it's that I was made to love you."
The End