Page 141 of Freeing Denver

“Stop teaching my kids to commit felonies,” I mumble at him.

Alistair places Holly on her feet. “I’m promising nothing. How’s my favorite family? And you, Denver.”

“Ha-ha,” she says drily.

He kisses her cheek and whispers, “Happy birthday, killer.”

I’ll never say that Denver and Alistair are best friends, but they’ve come a long way from screaming at each other. They even sometimes talk on the phone without me having to mediate, which is progress.

“Give me my niece,” Alistair demands, taking Jessi, who immediately squeals excitedly. “Finn, there’s a PlayStation in the second bedroom.”

“And a laptop?” Holly asks, eyes brightening. Alistair gives them both a thumbs up and they dart away.

Denver sighs. “We’re not going to see them for the rest of the day, are we?”

“Good, I can get you drunk,” Alistair says, grinning mischievously.

Okay, maybe they’ve made more progress than I’m giving them credit for.

True to his word, Alistair gets Denver a drink, and people start arriving. Danielle and Samuel arrive with little Hattie, who immediately disappears to go find Finn and Holly. Danielle married the head of the Triads two years ago, uniting two crime families across the country, but she still makes a point of covering her ears and leaving the room whenever anything nefarious is discussed.

Ronan arrives with Taf, both cheering when they see us. They hug me and practically shake Denver in an embrace before taking turns holding Jessi. Ronan has expanded the McEwan empire to an extent that I think even Finn might have struggled with. He’s in more legal trouble than he’s ever been in, but he’s also taken over two other families in the city and even bought some of Ranger’s businesses from Denver. He’s quickly becoming the most powerful man in the country, not just on the coast.

JJ and Charlie arrive, and after saying his hellos, JJ immediately goes to Taf’s side. Charlie is ranting about Sandy being late, and when she finally shows, she’s on Sebastian’s back, whispering in his ear as he laughs. I would never in a million years have put the two of them together, but it seems to work.

Sebastian also brings two friends I haven’t met, who introduce themselves as Zeke and Ace. Friends of Ethan’s, Sebastian tells me, who are visiting him in the city.

Dante shows up with too many plus-ones, but he brings expensive whiskey and swears his gun isn’t loaded. Denver takes it anyway and hides it behind the bar, and mid-lecture about behaving, Dante drops to a knee and proposes to her. Denver’s response is an eye roll, and I tell him I’m happy to test the theory on whether his gun is loaded. Alexei brings all six of his kids, and they all ditch us for Holly, Finn, and Hattie.

Music is playing, drink is flowing, and Charlie is parading a delighted Jessi around on his shoulders.

And through the entire evening, Denver is laughing. Dancing. Holding my hand. I watch her as she talks to Sebastian, both of them smiling brightly while Sandy hangs off the doctor like she’s worried he’ll disappear if she lets go.

“Dad.” Finn tugs on my hand. “When are we going home?”

“Not for a bit yet, kid,” I say. “Why?”

“I want to stay.”

I smile. “Ask Uncle Al.”

He nods and shoots off in the direction of Alistair.

“Dude, your kid is British,” JJ says. “It’s fucking adorable.”

My grin almost splits my face. “I know.” Charlie offloads Jessi into my arms to get a drink, and she’s gnawing on a toy cell phone.

“That reminds me. I’ve got two more on the way,” Alexei says, putting a lollipop into his mouth. He grins at Jessi, and she giggles.

“Eight kids?” Dante says. “How often do you and your wife—” He pauses, blinking in bewilderment as Jessi holds her toy phone out to him. He returns his attention to Alexei. “That’s a lot of kids.”

No one speaks. Taf and JJ stare at Dante, and Alexei looks disgusted. Ronan looks like he’s ready to throw hands.

“What?” Dante asks.

“Answer the toy phone, Capelli,” I say. “What is wrong with you?”

The head of the Italian mafia looks between us all. “Are you serious?”