Weeks later
When my wounds have healed enough, I’m finally discharged. Of course, Harper stayed with me every step of the way. Fortunately, the clinic accommodates the richest of rich people in town, myself included, and that means special perks such as private rooms and guest rooms where you can stay as long as you need to recover.
But I did not wish to stay too long as I had far too much work for me waiting back home. So many men from the Irish and Polish decided to jump over to our side, not wanting to fight any longer. They will be put through extreme vetting, of course, and none of them will be forgiven for their crimes without appropriate punishment, especially if they murdered someone. We will make them atone for all the pain they put this city through.
I am glad we have finally managed to subdue the Polish and Irish families and stopped the fighting. Now that the turf war is over and the Italians have won, we’re finally entering a time of peace, hopefully. The Russians have proven to be great allies in destroying our enemies. Apparently, Mario managed to convince them to help by not only shoving the death of Igor in their faces but also the fact that Harper is his true and only daughter. And the fact that she is bearing a child means the Russians and the Italians are now bound by blood.
A lucky coincidence turned the odds in our favor.
I breathe out a sigh of relief as I grab Harper’s hand and look at the gates in front of us. “Are you ready?”
She nods. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
We walk into the graveyard and cross the pebble path until we reach the grave marked by the symbol of the Russians. The name ‘IGOR METDNER’ is written in all caps, along with a date of birth and date of death. No surname, probably to protect the legacy and keep people from finding out.
But we know who rests here.
A man who made mistakes, plenty of them. But he didn’t deserve the death he received.
Harper bends over and places a bouquet on his grave, whispering, “Rest well.”
I don’t know what to feel or what to think. Igor was not a good man, but perhaps he too did all the horrible things he did out of spite. Out of rage for what the Irish had stolen from him. I didn’t understand it before, but I see it now, as Harper rubs her belly and the miracle still growing inside her.
The protectiveness I feel for her and this baby, it’s fierce.
Unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
And maybe that is what drove all these families that fought each other insane. All they wanted was to protect their own. And we just kept on fighting, killing more innocent life, creating new generations of hatred.
But enough is enough.
It has to end.
I wrap my arm around Harper’s shoulder and pull her in for a hug.
“Is it all over now?” she asks with hope reflecting in her voice.
I nod. “With Frank and Molly gone … I’ve finally gotten rid of the only people I ever wanted dead.”
“So you’re done fighting?” she asks, raising her eyes to meet mine, her gaze stealing my breath away.
“With the Russians now on our side, and the Irish and Polish stopped, there is not much left to fight with.” I lift her chin with my index finger and say, “But I cannot ever say I’m done fighting … as long as there is always someone I want to protect.”
And when she smiles, I plant my lips on hers until her grin infects me with love and laughter and the incredible need to shout to the world that she belongs to me.
Harper
Months later
“Push!” the nurse in the private clinic tells me, but every time she opens her mouth, I want nothing more than to strangle her with my own damn hands.
“I know!” I scream back. “Stop yelling in my face!”
Marcello laughs as he holds my hand tight.
“It’s not funny!” I squeeze his hand so tight even his face flinches. “It fucking hurts.”
“You can do this, Harper,” he replies.
The feel of a football-sized human being slowly shoved down my vagina was not something I could mentally or physically prepare for, and it makes me want to punch and kick and bite.
“I’ve never met a stronger woman than you,” he adds.
“Thanks,” I say. “But that’s not gonna help me get this goddamn baby out!”
He raises his brow and pulls something out of his pocket. “Maybe this will.”
It’s a tiny box, and when he opens it, the sparkle of the ring inside makes me dizzy.
“Will you marry me?”
“Holy shit,” I mutter.
Marcello snorts. “Well, that’s not the reaction I expected, but I’ll take it since you seem to like it.”
I shake my head.
“What, you don’t want to marry me?” he scoffs.
“No, I mean, not now. It’s too sudden. Unexpected.”
Another wave of contractions hit me, and I brace myself against the bed. “I’m a little busy right now.”
“Of course,” he says, tucking the box back into his pocket.
But I could give two shits what he does with that motherfucking ring. I don’t care if he shoves it up his ass for crying out loud. I just need this fucking baby to come out already.
I push again, straining against the bed as a sheen of sweat covers my skin.
“FUCK!” I scream.
“That’s it! I see a head!” the nurse says. “Keep pushing!”
“SHUT UP!”
Marcello laughs again, and I squeeze his hand so hard that he starts to bite his lip and turn red from the pain. Good. I want him to feel just an ounce of the pain I’m feeling for laughing at me.
I push again, giving it my all, and something slips out of me with great speed. With a ragged breath, I lean over to witness a little girl being caught by the nurse. She’s so small, and her cries immediately wrench my heart open and make me cry.
“It’s a girl,” the nurse says, looking at Marcello, who has a proud smile on his face.
“Give her to me,” I say, beckoning with my hands. The nurse quickly places her on top of my chest, and the girl wriggles her way toward my chest. Her lips part, and she immediately starts to suckle my breast.
“OUCH!” I shriek as it almost feels like she’s biting me.
“Feisty little girl, just like her mother,” Marcello muses.
And even though I hated him mere seconds ago for making comments such as these, now I can’t help but laugh. Louder and louder, until everyone begins to laugh along with me.
Because none of it matters anymore … Not as long as I have this little girl by my side.
Now I understand what they mean when they say a parents’ love transcends all.
Because there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect this little girl.
“What should we name her?” Marcello asks, approaching us to softly caress his girl’s cheeks.
“Sophie?” I say, and I look up into Marcello’s eyes to see what he thinks.
He only briefly looks at me before returning all his attention to the little girl in my arms. “Sophie … I love it.”
I grin and press a kiss on top of her little head, taking in a whiff of that addictive newborn smell. “My little Sophie.”
“She’s already made me proud to be her dad,” Marcello says, and he takes her little fingers and holds them gently.
I take a deep breath and say, “About your question.”
Marcello lifts his love-drunken gaze away from our baby to meet mine. I’ve never seen him this happy, and it quite honestly brings warmth to my heart.
Maybe it’s not such a bad idea after all.
“The answer is yes.”
