EPILOGUE

 

Luca

 

MY BOOTS THUMP heavily against the hard linoleum floors as I follow the guard to a room filled with small dividers. Each divider has a pane of bulletproof glass and a telephone on both sides. I take the seat the guard indicates and wait. Sweat beads on my forehead. Not because I’m nervous. It’s from the ferocious anger coursing through me. It’s been a year since Theo was sentenced to life in prison for all the crimes he committed. At the fifty-year mark, he’ll be up for parole, but by then, he’ll just be a frail old man.

Sexual assault, sexual battery, rape, domestic violence, and two counts for attempted murder. Those were only the worst charges he was convicted of. There were several more. The jury was only out for ten minutes when they came back with their decision.

I’m reclined back in my seat, my ankle over my knee, when I see a guard leading Theo toward me. My jaw tightens at my first glance at him since the day he was sentenced to life in prison. The anger I felt toward him is still just as strong as it was the day I found him hovering over Jules, getting ready to rape her for the second time.

He glares daggers at me when he takes his seat and yanks down the phone receiver then brings it to his ear. I don’t grab mine right away, opting to just stare at him. I hate that we look identical.

Dropping my boot to the floor, I pick up the phone.

Theo’s voice sounds small when he growls, “What do you want?”

“Answers,” I grunt heatedly.

He barks out a laugh and it grates on my nerves. Originally, I wasn’t going to wait this long to pay him a visit, but I knew I needed to have a level head when I came, and it’s taken me this long to accomplish that.

“Why would I tell you anything?” he asks.

“Because you’ve got nothing to lose, and because you fucking owe Jules and me.”

He scratches the scruff on his face and doesn’t say anything for several minutes. Finally, he nods, and I get right to the point. I want this over and done with as soon as possible.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted her,” he answers simply, like it’s perfectly normal for someone to do the shit he did.

Theo’s lawyer tried to play the insane card, but the prosecuting attorney knocked that shit out of the water real fucking quick. My brother isn’t crazy, he’s just really smart and determined.

I move on to my next question. “Why did you take Jules to the hospital after you attacked her?” And why not blame me and have me arrested when I woke up with no memory? They saw the damage done to her. Someone had to be blamed for it.

He shrugs. “I freaked out when the bitch hit her head and wouldn’t wake up. I took her to the hospital and told them someone broke into her house.”

My jaw tightens, but I hold back my snarl as he continues.

“And you not remembering her was poetic. You both loved each other so much, and it was fucking perfect when you didn’t remember her. Why take the chance of getting caught in a lie when I could just take your place? And I wasn’t taking the chance of you remembering.”

I’d give anything to reach through the glass and wrap my hands around the smug bastard’s throat. Nothing would be more satisfying than watching the life drain from his eyes.

“Once she woke up, you must have been worried that one of us would remember,” I state through gritted teeth.

He sits back in his chair, crosses one arm over his chest, and rests the other elbow on top of it. “It was a chance I was willing to take. And it was so fucking satisfying having her so close to me right under your nose.”

“What in the hell did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much you’d fuck with my life like you did? Your own fucking brother.”

He sighs and scrubs his hand down his face.

“It wasn’t you, Luca. It was her. When I saw you come in with her that day to pick up her car, my whole fucking world stopped. I had seen her first, she was always supposed to be mine. You fucked up my life.”

I bare my teeth. “If you cared for her so much, why did you keep Aria from her once she woke up?”

Anger flashes in his eyes and he sits up straighter in his seat. “Because she was supposed to be mine too. It was just another way to punish her for picking you over me.”

“Why did you move her from across town to our hospital?”

His lip curls up into a sneer with that one. “It had been years and she still hadn’t woken up, and you never regained your memories. I thought it was safe to think she’d never come out of her coma. In the beginning, I wanted to keep her as far away from you as possible. United was the safest bet. It was my fuckup to move her to General. I should have fucking known you’d come across her eventually.”

It was divine fucking intervention he did move her. I never went to United, so I have no doubt had he not moved her, I would have never laid eyes on her again. It makes me wonder if she would have ever woken up had I not found my way into her room. I like to think it was my presence that brought her back to life. She was waiting for me to find her way back.

I ask one final question. The answer doesn’t matter, but I still want to know.

“Do you regret it?”

His answer is immediate and the sinister look in his eye is maniacal.

He leans forward until his nose practically touches the glass. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Over and over. You may have her now, brother, but never forget, I had her too. She was never meant to be yours.”

His words break the final single thread of feeling I had for my brother. I didn’t realize until just now there even was any feeling left, but it’s fucking gone now.

My voice is void of emotion when I tell him. “My brother died the day he raped my wife and tried to steal her from me. You’re wrong, Theo. Jules was never yours. You may have kept her from me for years, but we would have always found our way back to each other. There’s nothing you could have done to change that.”

I hold his eyes, ones that look identical to my own, for several moments before deciding I’m done. I didn’t really learn anything new from the bastard; most of it was what I had already guessed.

I pull the phone away from my ear, ready to hang it up, when Theo calls my name. His eyes look desperate and despondent as he pushes himself closer to the glass. I bring the phone back to my ear. Not because I feel sorry for him, that ship sailed a long fucking time ago, but because I’m curious if he’ll give me something else.

“How’s….” He drops his gaze to his lap then looks back through the glass. “How’s Aria?”

His hopelessness has my blood turning cold. He deserves no answers from me. He played with Aria’s life just as much as he played with mine and Jules. If it were up to him, I would have never known about Aria.

I give him the only thing I can, and only because I know it’ll hurt. Even so, his pain could never compare to my family’s.

“My daughter is fine. Goodbye, Theo.” I replace the receiver back on the cradle and stand, uncaring of the pained expression on his face. I take one last look at him, knowing it’ll be my last, before I turn and walk away.

I leave the prison, get in my truck, and drive back to my family.

 

 

I SIT BEHIND ARIA, my legs, chest, and arms cradling her, looking over her shoulder and helping her as she smoothly runs the tattoo machine over the fake skin in front of her. Not that she really needs my help. She’s a fucking natural. Both of our breathing is even, our hearts beat in time, and our hands are steady.

I bought her a small tattooing kit with fake skin to help her practice on. The kid still has it in her mind that she wants to work at Ink Me when she’s old enough. I want so much more for her. I want her to go to college, get a degree, and become something big. To leave this shitty town behind. She’s only nine, ten in a few months, so she could still easily change her mind, but something tells me she’s too much like me for that to happen, and in a way, that makes me so damn proud. I’m honored as fuck she wants to take after her daddy. Once she’s old enough, and if her life choices stay the same, I’ll compromise with her. She can intern under me, but I want her to at least go to the local college at the same time and earn a degree that’ll be useful should she ever change her mind.

She pulls the machine away and releases the pedal.

“How’s that, Daddy?” she asks, looking over her shoulder at me.

“Really good, boo. Almost perfect.”

She beams a smile at me and it fills my heart with so much love I can feel the seams stretching to accommodate it all.

I kiss her cheek and take to my feet. My eyes land on the drawing hanging above our TV. It’s the one that I had been working on when Jules came back into my life. A wisteria tree with low-hanging branches. A girl beneath them. I had to redraw it because the silhouette across from her was me. At the time, my mind wouldn’t show my face because I had no memories of her. The full vision came to me soon after they returned. I added dandelions because the field was full of them when I asked her to marry me. I remember them blowing around us like snowflakes. I realized as I was redrawing the picture that the tiny lights in my dreams were the seeds of the dandelions. The tattoo on my arm, the one of the dandelions, I got four years ago. I woke up one day with the vision in my head and an uncontrollable need to have it tattooed on me, along with the words l'amour est gratuit, love is free. It was what Jules said to me after I asked her to marry me. It was just another way my mind and heart wouldn’t let her go.

I look over when the floor squeaks and see Jules standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Her smile is vibrant and so damn beautiful.

“Hey, Mom!” Aria calls. “Come look what I did.”

Jules ambles over and looks down at the heart wrapped in ivy. Her fingers shift naturally through Aria’s hair without thought as she carefully looks over the design.

“That’s beautiful, Aria. Your lines are getting better.”

“Thanks,” she says proudly. Her eyes move to mine. “Can we do another one?”

“How about you do the next one on your own. Show me what you can do.”

“Okay.” She turns back to the table and grabs another piece of fake skin.

I turn to my wife and pull her against me. Her growing stomach prevents me from getting too close. She’s eight months pregnant, and I can’t wait to hold our baby in my arms.

As if agreeing with me, a nudge knocks my lower abdomen, followed quickly by another.

“Junior is restless,” I murmur, and run my hands along the sides of Jules’s stomach.

She smiles at me and slides her hands up my chest to my pecs, her diamond ring sparkling in the light. “He’s hungry.”

“Well, then, we better feed him.” I nip at the tip of her nose.

She groans and plants her face against my sternum. “I’m tired of eating. It seems like it’s all I do nowadays. I’m going to be as big as a house by the time he gets here.”

I chuckle at her mumbled words, then bend and scoop her into my arms. “Wouldn’t matter,” I tell her. “Hey, boo. We’re going to feed Mom and Junior. I’ll be back to check on you in a few.”

She doesn’t even indicate she heard me, her mind already focused on the new design. Aria takes after me in so many ways, one of them being her complete dedication to her art, whether it be drawing, painting, sketching, or working with the tattoo machine.

I carry Jules to the kitchen and set her on the counter beside the fridge. When she makes a move to get down, I point my finger at her and order, “Stay.”

She pouts at me and snarks, “I can make my own food, you know? I’m not an invalid. Just pregnant.”

I open the fridge and pull out a can of sliced pineapple, a jar of mayonnaise, and a package of bacon. Yes, my wife has some bizarre-as-shit pregnancy cravings. Bacon, mayonnaise, and pineapple sandwiches. That shit turns my stomach, but if it satisfies her and Junior, that’s all that matters.

I deposit the items on the counter beside her hip and pop open the can of pineapple before wedging myself between her legs. I hook one slice of pineapple with my finger, bite away half of it so it’s not too big to fit in her mouth, then offer the rest to Jules. Her lips skim across my fingers and it sends shockwaves straight to my dick. Her moan when she chomps down on the juicy fruit doesn’t help my growing erection. Unable to help myself, I lick away the residue of juice from her lips.

“You know taking care of you is one of my favorite things to do.”

Her legs hook around my waist and her heels dig into my ass to pull me closer. “I do. It’s one of the many things I love about you.”

This pregnancy is very special for Jules and me. Neither one of us got to witness or be a part of her first one, so we’re both enjoying the experience to the fullest. Part of that for me is waiting on her hand and foot. So what if I take it a bit too far sometimes?

I grab another slice of pineapple, bite off a portion, and give her the rest.

“Are you ready for your exams?”

She blows out a breath, her fingers tracing over my shirt. She’s been taking online courses to get her degree in interior design and she’s nearly finished. I left the decision up to her on whether she wanted to attend a physical college, but she said she’d rather do it from home, where she could be with her family all the time. We’ve been working on a business plan for her to start her own company once she has her degree.

“No. Yes.” She laughs. “I don’t know.”

“You’re going to do great.” I squeeze her hip in reassurance.

Her lips twist to the side. “I’m glad you have confidence in me.”

I cup her cheek and bring her face up. “You’re going to do great,” I repeat. “Say it.”

She smiles and nods. “I’m going to do great.”

“How did Teresa do on her driving test?” I ask once she’s done with her bite.

Her hand moves to the locket around her throat, another piece of evidence that Kale took for me. Theo took out the picture of Jules and me when he found the locket. It now carries the one of Teresa on one side and a picture of Jules, Aria, and me on the other.

“She passed and now thinks she’s the queen bee.” Jules laughs with an eye roll.

“Your mom and dad are going to have a hard time reining that one in.”

Her fingers crawl up my stomach, the tips grazing my nipple rings, pulling a hiss from me. “You just wait for Aria to reach that age.”

I scowl. “She knows the rules of no boys until she’s thirty.”

She bursts out laughing, and her legs tighten around me. I can’t help but smile down at her, even if she doesn’t believe me. What I said is gospel, whether they want to believe it or not.

“You’re delusional, Luca,” she informs me with a giggle.

“Am not. My girl isn’t dating until I say she can.”

“And when will that be?”

“Forty,” I answer with a straight face.

She laughs again. “But you just said thirty.”

“I changed my mind.”

She shakes her head. “Silly man. Our daughter has you wrapped around her little finger. All she has to do is give you her big blue eyes and you turn to putty. She’ll be using those eyes to get her way with boys too.”

“Lies. All lies. My girl is sweet and innocent. She’d never manipulate me like that,” I declare. She’s partially right though. Aria does have me wrapped around her finger, more so now that she’s my daughter and no longer my niece.

Jules snorts. “I’ll remind you of that in a couple of years.” Her hands fist my shirt. “Now, kiss me.”

Discussion over, I move in as close as I can get and land my lips against hers. She tastes like Jules and pineapple, one of the many combinations that have become my favorite. My hands snake up her thighs and under her skirt, not stopping until I get to the juncture of her thighs.

Our kiss is lazy, but no less passionate. Pregnancy has made both of us ravenous, something we take advantage of as often as we can.

I slip my thumb underneath the edge of her panties and graze it against her clit. She’s drenched, just as she always is for me.

She releases a low moan, and I swallow the sound, not wanting little ears to hear and come to investigate. I know we can’t take it any further than what we’re doing now, but I’m not done with her yet. I listen and still hear the light buzz of the tattoo machine and know we’re still good.

Her elbows go to my shoulders and she surrounds the back of my head with her arms, effectively caging me in.

Fuck, this woman drives the sane right out of me.

I pull my hand from her panties, grip her ass to tug her to the edge of the counter, and try to grind my cock against her. Her belly is in the way, and it makes me want to weep. Thankfully, she releases the caged hold she has on my head and leans back, moving Junior out of the way.

Right fucking there. That’s what I needed. With her hands on the counter behind her, her hooded amber eyes watching me, biting her lip, I rock against her. Her skirt is pushed up; the only thing between us is her panties and my jeans, so I feel her heat. It’s damn near scorching me.

A nudge on the left, a poke on the right, and Junior makes his presence known once again, reminding us he’s waiting to be fed. I look down and scowl at her stomach, and Jules giggles huskily.

“Patience, little man,” I grumble. It’s all a front. I love every single one of his nudges.

I bend down and kiss the spot Junior just kicked. I lift her shirt higher, seeing the heart tattoo. The one I gave her two weeks after we met. Theo claimed she got it to signify their love, but it’s was actually our love it represents. It’s her light and my dark. Two halves of a heart mending into one. I kiss the beautiful piece of art before lowering her shirt.

“Duty calls,” I tell Jules once I’m standing straight.

“Hey.” She tugs me back to her by my jeans pocket before I can walk away to start the bacon. Her fingers slide through my hair. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

I gather her hair into one hand and pull the mass over her shoulder. I smirk. “Yes, but tell me again anyway.”

When she smiles, it damn near knocks me on my ass. “Infinitely. There’s no beginning and no ending. Forever and always.”

That’s what she always says, from the first time she told me she loved me, and every time she does, I thank my lucky stars. Many men have thought it, but I know down to my soul I’m the luckiest man alive to have found the woman in my arms, to have our child in her belly, and the one she gave me in the next room.

“Eternal, everlasting, and bottomless,” I repeat what I always say back to her.

She smiles, I smile, and we’re both rewarded with another kick from Junior. We laugh against each other’s mouths, then I get my ass to feeding my woman and baby.

 

 

 

The end