Page 42 of Desperate Crimes (Mergers & Acquisitions #6)

I close the bedroom door behind me and sag against it for a second, breathing in the quiet.

Nico’s finally asleep again—thank God.

It took warm broth, pain meds, and me all but sitting on him to get him to rest.

Seriously? I was considering using the chloroform I found in the medicine cabinet, but I refrained. Just.

He doesn’t know how to stop.

Doesn’t know how to be still.

Not even when he’s held together by gauze and sheer stubbornness.

Eight broken ribs.

A dislocated shoulder.

Torn ligaments.

Sixteen puncture wounds in his hands and feet.

And more bruises than I can count.

He looks like war.

Like Hades after he clawed his way out of Hell just to come home to me.

And somehow he still has the audacity to wink at me and make lewd suggestions.

Like everything was no big deal.

Like he didn’t almost die.

Like he didn’t shatter me and glue me back together with three words I never thought he’d say.

I love you.

He said it. Finally.

And once he started, he kept on saying it.

Again and again.

Whispering it into my neck, my lips, my heart, my soul.

I wish it was just us right now, all alone in our castle.

But now there’s noise downstairs.

Voices. The kind that carry the weight of dynasties.

I walk into the living room and find the entire goddamn family, some pouring over into the foyer.

His parents.

His little sister, Annabella, whom I haven’t even seen in the past year while she’s been studying abroad.

My parents.

All our aunts and uncles.

Most of our cousins and their significant others.

Mom and my aunts brought over fresh sourdough bread. I can smell it.

It’s probably still warm and delicious as ever.

I nod back and whisper a few hellos, stopping when I see my sister.

Michaela’s here, with Liam standing protectively behind her, their two kids running around.

Honestly, I adore my niece and nephew. I’m just not good company right now.

Aunt Maria is chatting with Aunt Destiny, and they’re already pouring over the art brochures I left on the coffee table.

Cora and Jade are having a pillow fight right there in the living room until Amber breaks it up with Clementine’s help.

Uncle Marat has started making a pot of coffee.

Anna’s a little weepy, of course. But Nico Sr. gathers her up and brings her to a settee.

Sammy and Josef are talking about strategy in the corner. Dad and Uncle Andres wander over.

It’s like a summit convened while I was upstairs wiping blood from my husband’s skin.

I spy Michaela wandering outside with the baby, Adrianna, my new niece.

She sits on one of the several swings Nico installed on the grounds and starts nursing her sweet baby.

This place.

This garden.

My husband really thought of everything. My heart squeezes as I imagine life without him, and I shove that thought away.

I can’t bear it.

The scents of roses and pine trees carry on the breeze.

She’s sitting there, the very picture of a good mom, and I wonder at how different we are. And how similar.

I always looked up to my big sister, but I guess we haven’t been close in a while.

I almost turn back.

Almost.

But she hears my footsteps.

Doesn’t look up.

Doesn’t stop taking care of Adrianna.

“You know what surprised me the most?” she says, voice quiet. A little tense.

“It’s not even the fact that you married him. Or that you ran off in the middle of the night and didn’t tell a soul.”

“Michaela—”

“It’s that you never told me about you. About this side of you. The side that apparently trains with mercenaries, negotiates art deals during panic attacks, and walks into the jungle with an assault rifle like she was born for it.”

She turns now. Her eyes are shining. Hurt.

“I’m your sister. And I didn’t even know you.”

That slices through me harder than any blade.

I close the space between us, swallowing the lump in my throat.

“I didn’t mean to shut you out. I just, you were always so perfect. The golden girl. The rule follower. How could I explain that darker side of me and expect you or Mom to believe it? How could I expect the two of you to love me once you knew about that part of me?”

I can feel wetness tracking down my cheeks, and as she shakes her head, I see her tears mirroring mine.

We were close once. When we were small. Michaela is ten years older, so I always used to traipse after her like a puppy.

Now that I think about it, I was probably annoying, but she was always patient and kind.

“I would have accepted you, Lee-Lee. You’re my sister, I will always accept you.”

“I know that now.” My voice cracks. “And I’m sorry. So sorry.”

Silence stretches between us.

Wind rustles the roses, scattering petals darker than blood. That summer breeze through the pine needles on the tall trees standing as sentries murmurs its endless refrain.

Then I move, I join her and the baby on the swing, and I reach for her hand.

“I was scared. That if people saw who I really was, they wouldn’t want me. That I’d be too much. Too complicated. And as for Nico,” I make a sound between a laugh and a sob. “I’ve been in love with him forever. I just never thought he could love me back.”

She snorts softly, wiping her face with the heel of her hand. “Oh my God. Leanna! Anyone with eyes could see Junior’s been clocking your every move for years.”

“What?”

“You need to get your eyes checked. And I thought shit with me and Liam was complicated? You went and married Nico fucking Fury Jr. You fell in love with a Viper, Lee! Now, I want to hear the whole story.”

“I do,” I whisper. “God help me, I love him. And truthfully, well, our story is kind of different,” I confess.

“I bet. So, was it an unconventional courtship? What did the snake do? Strike when you least expect it?” she asks, waggling her eyebrows.

“I mean, if you count kidnapping me and bringing me to this house without me knowing who he is or seeing his face for the first few hours unconventional, then blowing my mind with earth-shattering sexy times? Then yes. He did all of that,” I confess.

“What? LEE!” she whisper-screams. And Adrianna objects with a loud wail.

I start to giggle. Then it gets louder. She joins me. And soon we’re both full-belly laughing,

“Oh, but Micky, Nico sees me. All of me. He loves me in ways I never expected. But I know I should have told you. You’re my sister. And I should’ve let you see me first.”

She looks at me for a long time. Then, she pulls me into a bone-crushing hug with just one arm.

“Okay, so I still want to kill him for kidnapping you, by the way. But I think I can let it go if I know you’re happy, Lee-Lee.”

“I’d expect nothing less, and yes, Mick, I am so happy.”

We laugh a little more. But it’s enough.

“I’m really glad. Just don’t disappear anymore, okay? Mom was driving me nuts. Ooh, and looks like this one is asleep,” she whispers, and I smile at the precious bundle in her arms.

“I’m here now,” I whisper. “I’m not hiding anymore. From you or Mom or anyone else.”

“Good,” she says. “Because next time you’re planning a jungle extraction mission, I want in.”

That makes me snort out loud.

“Deal.”

And just like that, I feel steadier. Stronger. Because the truth is—I’m not alone.

I never was. And now with Nico, my sister, my parents, and our families with us, beside us, I know whatever comes next, we can face it. Together.

As long as I have my Viper— I’ll survive anything.

We walk back inside together, and she hugs me, wiping a stray tear before joining her husband and children.

I stay in the kitchen a second longer and try to regain my composure.

“What’s going on?” Nico’s voice rumbles behind me.

I spin. He’s standing there, shirtless with thick bandages wrapped around his bruised torso, a sling on one arm and a crutch under the other, leaning heavily against the wall, eyes bloodshot but burning with that familiar fire.

I rush to him, easing my arm around his waist, trying to lead him back to bed, but he digs in his heels.

“You shouldn’t be up?—”

“I’m not letting you deal with all this without me, Wife,” he grits.

“Nico,” I whisper, “you can’t even sit up without grunting.”

He leans into me, pressing his forehead to mine.

“Then I’ll grunt, and I’ll still be here with you, Princess.”

Swoon.

“The guys are all talking,” I tell him.”

“Okay, want to go listen?”

“With you?” I ask him. And yeah, I’m a little bit stunned.

“Of course. I want you by my side always, Leanna. I thought you knew that,” he murmurs, cupping my neck and dragging my face towards him for a slow soft kiss.

“Come on, I need to know what’s next, Wife. Because someone tried to take me from you, and that’s a death sentence.”

Before I can argue, Nico is holding my hand, pulling me into the hallway towards the living room where all our family waits.

“Wait,” I tell him, and I duck into the laundry room, grabbing a button down shirt from the rack where the cleaning service leaves them before putting them away.

He smirks as I gently help him put it on one arm, and draped over the other.

I can’t help it. I don’t want him walking out there with his inked up muscles on display for everyone to see.

“I feel the same about you, Wife. No one sees what’s mine,” he growls, and I lift my head for his kiss.

It feels—it feels so right when he does that. And it settles something deep inside my gut.

I do belong here. With him.

My Viper. My Hades. My love.

He nods and grits his teeth as we start to walk. I see it, the pain that would have any other man doubling over, but only makes my man walk taller.

I doubt anyone else will notice. But my heart squeezes for him all the same.

We make our way toward the living room, where the unspoken power lines of two empires crackle with tension.

“Hey,” Aella says, approaching us with a soft smile.

“Aella,” he nods hello. “Princess, are you okay if I join the guys?”

“Sure,” I reply easily, and watch him coil through the throng of family.

She places a gentle hand on my arm. “How are you holding up?”

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. Just a trembling breath.

“I-I honestly don’t know. I mean, it was terrifying,” I whisper. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. But what else could I do?”

My eyes flick toward the sitting area. Toward my husband.

“I can’t believe you did that,” she says.

“Did what?”

“You rushed off into a jungle with guns and faced warlords and criminals, Lee-Lee!”

The rest of the girls, my cousins and his, have joined us. They’re looking on with approval and nodding their heads.

And I can’t believe it.

Here I thought my family would never understand the darkness inside me, the thing that craves violence and vengeance when something or someone of mine is hurt or disrespected.

But maybe I was wrong.

Maybe we’re all cut from the same cloth, fighting battles in our own ways. Wolves. Vipers. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

But maybe I never had to hide mine.

And that makes me think. It makes me feel.

“Well, I love him, Aella. I love my husband,” I explain simple.

“That’s it?” Andrea scoffs. “You love him so you went into war for him?”

“Yep. That’s the whole simple truth. I love him, and I’d do it again. The blood, the danger, the rescue—it was all worth it. Because he’s mine. And I’m his.”

One by one, they all nod. No judgment. Just fierce pride.

“Then I guess there’s only one more thing to say,” my mother’s voice cuts through the rest and my gaze flicks to hers.

“Congratulations, sweetheart. And can I please throw you and my strapping new son-in-law a belated wedding reception?”

Laughter breaks out, and I walk to my mother, throwing my arms around her as we hug, and cry it out.

“That would be great, Mom.”