I slid my hands to her shoulders, not sure which of us needed this more. The three of us were closer than an average family. After all the things I had done with Alex, Luca, and the Knights, we had an unconventional relationship.
She leaned her back against my chest, and I hugged her from behind. We stood there in silence for a while, allowing the slow and steady beeping of the monitors to fill the air. Eventually, Luca’s eyes fluttered, and Alex slipped from my grasp.
Luca opened one eye and looked up at her. “Don’t look so surprised I’m alive. You can’t kill the Devil, baby.”
She sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her fingers down his arm. “You scared the shit out of me, Luca. You may think you’re invincible, but you’re a man, not the Devil.”
He glanced at me, both eyes now open. “Dad is dead?”
I nodded. “Wellington tried to resuscitate him. He died quickly.”
Luca groaned, then moved his hand to Alex’s stomach. “My dad used to say that with new life comes death. This baby, our wedding. He got everything he wanted. His death had a purpose. He didn’t die in vain.”
“He died with honor,” I agreed.
Alex rolled onto her side, her eyes on Luca. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
Luca drew a breath from between his teeth and winced. “Yes. But nothing I can’t handle.” He raised his hand and beckoned me with his finger. “Come closer.”
I took a few more steps toward the bed.
“You have to accept your place in the family. I need you by my side.”
“I like where I am.”
Alpha Command was my life. But after my team failed us, which meant I failed my family, I wasn’t sure I was the right person for the job anymore.
“I know, but we will need you around more.” Luca tipped his head to Alex, rubbing his hand over her belly. “This child needs a family. We need you, Marcello.”
I sat in the chair beside Luca’s bed, contemplating my future with the company. A few minutes passed before I said, “Okay, I’m not going anywhere. But I have one stipulation.”
Luca cocked his head at me, eyebrows raised.
“I want to move Rhiannon O’Shea into our house.”
As the head of our family, Luca was in charge of the company, the estate, and our father’s assets.
Alex’s mouth opened in shock.
Luca’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “Absolutely not.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in the chair. “It’s non-negotiable, Luca.”
He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. “Fine. But you will learn the family business starting on Monday.”
“I’ll be there.”
Alex glanced at me. “What about Sonny? Does he know about you and Rhiannon?”
I shook my head. “He thinks his cousin ran away.”
“And you know where she is?”
“I’ve been keeping her at my safe house for close to a month.”
“That girl will be the death of you,” Luca boomed. “She’s nothing but trouble. Her father is looking for her. So is her fiancé. What do you plan to do about Sean Donnelly?”
“I have a way around their engagement.”
“Oh?” Luca seemed amused. “And how do you plan to go about that?”
“I’m going to marry her.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Marcello
I waited for Sonny in the sitting room, nervous about telling my best friend I had lied to him for years. My on-off relationship with Rhi had gone long enough without him knowing. And since we were getting married, I had to come clean. Besides, Rhi deserved better. Our lives would never be perfect, but it would something we created together.
When Sonny entered the sitting room, I stood up with a glass of scotch in hand. He beamed with his usual golden boy smile, unaware of the bomb I was about to drop on his head. Rhi was upstairs in my bedroom. I’d moved her into the house after Luca gave his blessing.
Luca wanted me close to him and Alex. I was still learning the family business and training my replacement at Alpha Command. We were also fielding threats against the Knights. Several of our higher-ranking members had been victims of cyberattacks. Our enemies were trying to taunt us, attempting to lure us out, so they could pick us off one by one.
Sonny pulled me into a hug and patted my back. “You look like shit. When was the last time you slept?”
“I have a lot on my mind.” I extended my hand toward the couch, then moved across the room to the bar to pour him a drink.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
I handed him the glass, sipping from my own. “Rhiannon.”
He drank the scotch, his eyebrows raised in confusion. “What about her?”
“I love her.”
I figured if I started with that, it would soften the blow.
“Excuse me?” Sonny set his glass on the coffee table and rose to his full height. “You what?”