Page 72 of Redemption
It’d sped by much too fast. A week could never be enough time to spend with my family. My mother was by my side nearly every moment, and her love enfolded me in a way I’d never before experienced. My father slapped my back and hugged me as he explained all that would be Aurora’s one day. It was the most idyllic week of my life.
The unconditional love of a family was incredible.
Even knowing some of what I’d done and who I’d become, they didn’t hold anything back. Nothing mattered but the moments we shared and the joy that was ever present between us.
When the week ends with us back in my mother’s conservatory on Lago Maggiore, I know that no matter what happens next, I’ve been given the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. I’ve been loved beyond belief and without condition. My family welcomed us with open arms and showered us with hospitality and love unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before. Without a doubt, I know that my wife is safe and that my daughter’s future is more than secure. It’s bulletproof. Aurora and Keira will want for nothing—ever.
As a father and a husband, that is the fulfillment of my greatest wish and the abolition of every one of my deepest fears. They will be protected, cherished, and loved. There is nothing more I could want or need.
With the hours ticking down on my last evening in Italy, I know that I can die happy. Come what may, the consequences of my decisions and actions will not affect those I love most. I might be called to Judgment Day, but my blood and my love will live on forever in Italy.
“I do not want you to go,” my mother says, her tone hushed, as she holds my hands between hers. “But I know you must. I pray for forgiveness and mercy to be showered upon you, for the life you have lived was not of your choosing. You survived to come home to us. You have given me the greatest joy of all my years this past week. I am complete. I am whole. I am no longer a mother with a lost son. I am a mother of two strong, noble men. I have a husband who has been restored to me. I have the daughter for whom I have always wished. And now, I am a grandmother to a beautiful angel who will no doubt light up the world in her own way. If you could see my heart, you would watch it overflow with joy, for even though it feels ten sizes too big, it is still not big enough to contain all the love pouring through me right now. And that is all because of your presence here with your family.”
I don’t care about appearing strong. I let tears pour down my face as I bow my head and kiss my mother’s hands. It could be the last time I ever see her. I know that. She knows that. We are both in silent agreement that we are going to soak up every moment we have together.
“Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for never giving up hope that you would find me. Thank you for praying for me. I love you more than I knew it was possible to love. I thought Keira and Rory had taught me all there was to know on the subject, but I was wrong. I was wrong.” My shoulders shake as my chest lifts and falls with my words and tears.
An arm wraps around my shoulders as my father hugs us both.
“Francesca is right. We are complete. This is the greatest gift. For all of us.”
I lift my head to see Keira and Marco both crying. I release my mother’s hands and hold out my arm to them and Aurora. We all come together, arms turning into lifelines, locking us in the unbreakable bonds of the family I never knew I’d get to have.
This is what I have waited my entire life for—this moment. Right here. Right now.
Thank you, God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Keira
I’m really, really glad I didn’t kill Marco.
The thought has floated through my mind a million times this past week. I had no idea that family could be this way. I was raised with love and wanted for nothing as a child, but it wasn’t the same as the overwhelming love that has been poured over us for the entire time we’ve been in Italy. The Giordanos have treated us like we are a precious gift every single second we’ve been here. Quite frankly, I don’t ever want to leave. I want my daughter to grow up here, surrounded by beauty and love and peace. I already know she won’t be spoiled, because I will make sure she understands how lucky she is to be the daughter of Lachlan Mount and the granddaughter of Alessandro and Francesca Giordano.
These are things I know.
These are things that give me peace and hope for the future.
It’s everything else that I’m trying not to focus on that could destroy that future.
All week, I’ve been radically present in every moment, soaking up the joy, fun, excitement, and reactions of my husband, our daughter, his brother, his mother, and his father. It was the only way I could enjoy all of it while knowing what is coming after.
Lachlan told me what is waiting for him in New Orleans. A manhunt designed to take him from me forever.
Others might judge me for marrying the kingpin of a criminal empire, but I couldn’t help falling in love with him. I saw through the exterior he showed to everyone else, and I saw his truth—buried beneath the surface of Lachlan Mount, the ruthless king of New Orleans, I saw how honorable, thoughtful, protective, and lovable he was. And now, with only hours before he leaves me here with his family, I know that I might never see him again.
How do you face knowing that you might lose the person who has brought you the most happiness in your life and taught you to love at depths you didn’t even know were possible?
That’s the part I haven’t yet figured out.
How do I not cling to him and beg him not to go? The words are on my tongue at every instant.
I don’t want you to go. Please stay. Don’t leave us. Your daughter needs a father, and I need my husband.
I want to scream them. I want to drop to my knees and plead with him. But I haven’t. And I won’t. Because I’m stronger than that.
I know the piper must be paid. I know the actions he’s taken have consequences. But still, I don’t want him to have to face any of it. I want him safe and happy and free.
