The drive home was quieter than usual. Izzy had a massive hangover and kept her eyes closed during the four hours, for fear she’d throw up all over my car. Last night, the men took two hours to arrive to haul Matías into federal custody, and Izzy had thrown back more drinks than she had in over a decade.

I carried her out, kicking and screaming, and back to the hotel room. I held her hair back as she emptied the contents of her stomach, and I gave her a bath to help her relax and clean her up. I felt like shit for putting her in the situation, and I promised myself I’d never let it happen again. Her life was too precious to me to get her mixed up in our cases.

Thomas stood in our driveway, hands on his hips, and looking a little more upset that usual.

“Hey,” I said after I parked the car and climbed out.

“That was a clusterfuck, eh?” he asked.

“Nothing more than usual.”

“Tommy,” Izzy groaned, unfolding herself from the front seat of the Challenger in the most ungraceful way.

His eyes raked over her, and he shook his head. “You look like shit.”

“I earned this hangover.” She tried to crack a smile but winced. “I need my bed.”

“Can we talk?” Thomas asked, rubbing the scruff on his face.

“Sure.” I looked over at my wife who was now heading toward the door. “I’ll get everything. Go relax.”

“Already doing it,” she said, raising her arm, holding up two fingers.

I motioned toward the trunk with my head. The least he could do was talk while I unloaded the suitcases that barely fit in the trunk. “What’s up?”

“I think, moving forward, we shouldn’t involve Izzy, or any of our spouses for that matter, in any more cases.”

“Already thought about that on the way home.”

He raked his hands through his dark hair and sighed. “My mother already chewed me a new asshole when she found out where you two were going.”

“I’m sure that was pleasant.”

“I don’t remember her ever being so angry with me. I swear my phone almost burst into flames.”

I’d been on the receiving end of one of those calls in the past. It wasn’t fun. I hadn’t thought anyone could yell louder than my mother, but I was wrong. Mrs. Gallo wasn’t afraid to express herself, especially when she wasn’t happy.

“It’ll never happen again,” I reassured him.

“She’s going to want to hear it from both of us.”

“I’ll make a point of seeing her this week.”

“Your ass better be at dinner later.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, wanting to collapse in bed next to my wife and sleep until tomorrow, but that couldn’t happen because it was Sunday.

“We’ll be there.”

“Good.” He started to walk toward his bike to leave. “I’ll catch you later, then.”

“Give us a couple hours.”

“I’ll tell Ma you’ll be late.”

He revved the engine, lifting the kickstand. “Bring your parents too.”

I nodded as I lifted the first set of suitcases and carried them toward the house.

I needed to convince Izzy that skipping dinner at her parents’ wasn’t in our best interest. Well, at least, not in mine. Her mother would have my head if she didn’t see Izzy was unharmed and safe.

The door opened before I stepped onto the porch, and my mother greeted me. “Welcome home.” She smiled. “The kids missed you.”

“Just the kids?” I asked as I walked past her and tossed the luggage on the floor.

“Us too.”

“I’ll be back, Ma.” I kissed her on the cheek. “I have a few more bags to get.”

“I don’t know why you two travel with so much stuff.”

That was funny. My ma didn’t travel light either. She always overpacked. It was why we made them their own suite and had enough closet space and a dresser to house her various outfits.

After I’d carried everything inside, my ma asked me to have a cup of coffee with her and my father. I needed jet fuel to get me through the rest of the day, which my mother provided in the form of a Café Cubano.

Ma poured me a larger than usual cup, probably noticing the bags under my eyes from the long night. “We think we found a condo.”

“Yeah? Where?”

“About ten miles away they’re building a new community of free-standing condominiums, and they have one ready to move in right away.”

“That’s great news,” I told them, lifting the cup to my lips.

“We’re going to keep both places so we can travel back and forth.”

That was the best news of the day. I knew they couldn’t survive without our family, and this would give them the best of both worlds. Our kids would get to know them and spend quality time with them, and they’d be free to come and go as they pleased.

“We’re excited,” my father said.

“I can’t wait to tell the boys.”

I yawned. The adrenaline from the trip had started to wear off, and not even my mother’s coffee could keep me awake.

“Go rest, Jimmy. We’ll watch the babies.”

“The Gallos would like it if you came to dinner today.”

“We’d love to.” My father licked his lips and rubbed his stomach. “I love her cooking.”

My mother gave him the evil eye because she didn’t like to be outdone. “I’ll whip up something to bring.”

“They’d like that,” I said before walking out of the kitchen and heading up the staircase, making sure to bring a few of the bags upstairs with me.

Izzy was sprawled out on top of the comforter with her mouth hanging open. I couldn’t tell if she was sleeping or passed out from the amount of alcohol still coursing through her veins.

I locked the bedroom door and stripped every piece of clothing from my body before curling up next to her. I pulled her almost on top of me, listening to her soft snores as she slept.

I could hear the faint voices of the boys playing in the backyard and the clanking of pots from the kitchen as my mother made something to bring to the Gallos’. There was a peacefulness to the noise that lulled me to sleep.

* * *

“I have a bone to pick with you.”

I wasn’t even three feet into the foyer at Izzy’s parents, and her mother was already poking me in the chest.

“How dare you put her at risk?”

There was nothing I could say. She was right for yelling at me, and it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already chastised myself for since last night.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “It won’t happen again.”

She let out a loud huff, blowing a strand of hair away from her face that had fallen free from her bun. “It better not.”

“I promise.” I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek lightly. “I love your daughter. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“If something does, I’m going to hurt you worse than you ever imagined.”

I didn’t doubt her words. One thing I knew about the Gallos, their word was gospel. None of them made idle threats. I’m sure if something happened to Izzy, they’d all slowly torture me until I died. That shit, I had no doubt.

“Ah, Rose.” Ma Gallo turned toward my mother as soon as I let her go. “It’s so nice of you to join us.”

“Thank you, Maria.” My ma held out a pan of flan. “I brought dessert.”

Flan wasn’t my thing. The slimy texture of it never sat right with me, but people went gaga over the shit. My mother’s was probably the best I’d ever tasted, and I swallowed it down while smiling just for her. But only because I loved her and didn’t want to end up with a hand to the back of the head.

“Come in. Come in.” Ma Gallo plucked the pan from my mother’s hands. “This is my favorite dessert.”

My mother’s face brightened as she smiled at the compliment. “Thank you, Maria. I made it just for you.”

It didn’t matter that they were both lying to each other. It was nice to see two of my favorite women in the same room together and happy. Although I married into this family, I was honored to call them both my mother.

“I’m going to go sit outside,” Izzy said at my side with a small smile. “I need the warmth to help settle my stomach.”

She needed a whole lot more than that, but whatever made her happy. “I’ll check on you before dinner.”

The boys ran past us, heading to the pool and stripping their clothes off before they made it through the open sliding glass door along the back of the house. They were in the water, cannonballing in for effect, before Izzy was able to take a step.

“You sure you want to go out there?” I asked her, laughing at the kids who looked more like a small army.

“I need sunshine, and the kids won’t bother me.”

I kissed her on the lips, dragging my thumb across her skin. “Love ya, doll.”

“You too, Jimmy. Now leave me in peace for a while.”

I laughed as she sashayed onto the lanai and practically collapsed in the lounge chair. She hadn’t even fully stretched out when the kids surrounded her like a swarm of bees.