Blush (29 page)

He nods and closes his eyes as he does.

“They will never touch you again. I promise
you.“

I look to Sera. “What about my sister?“ I ask
him.

His lips press into a thin line. “They will
try and they will fail.“

“Orgasms make
such pretty bows to presents.“

—NIKITA KING

WHEN GIOVANNI RUSSO pulls me off to the side to have
a "chat" I could piss myself. The man doesn't look lethal but I
know in his case looks are deceiving.

“We need to discuss your father,“ the old man
says and I want to hit something. Giovanni Russo. My fucking dad
owes Giovanni Russo hundreds of thousands of dollars. He’s a dead
man.

“He owes you money,“ I say flatly.

“A lot of money which I know he doesn't
have.“

“No, he doesn't. And neither me nor Ben are
giving it to him. We're done. We told him last time, he's on his
own,“ I tell him point blank.

He nods. “I see. Seeing as you're
Famiglia
I need to ask how you want me to handle this. Your
father is not
Famiglia
which means he has no special
privileges.“

“I don't expect him to,“ I tell him. And I
don't. I really don't. The man has had more than enough chances to
clean up his act and Ben and I are done bailing him out.

Giovanni just stares at me.

“I know what needs to happen here and I’m
okay with it so long as my sisters aren't involved. There were
threats against them which is why Janalee is here and Jeni is
locked down,“ I state.

He nods. “No harm will come to the girls.
Your mother, however, is a different matter. She's in as deep as
your father.“

“Not a surprise.“

“Business is business and he's been foolish
in his business. I don't fuck around with business,“ the old man
says flatly, the first curse word I heard pass through his lips but
I have a feeling that means he's pushed past his limit.

“As you said, business is business and
they're no longer mine. They did us no favors growing up and I'm
done doing favors for them now that I've made my own way.“ I turn
to the side, running my hands through my hair and see Ben standing
behind me.

“Do you agree with your brother, Ben?“
Giovanni asks.

Ben nods. “I do. They've had more than enough
chances.“

The old man eyes us both. “Alright. I
appreciate your candor and no leniency will be granted to Karen and
Kevin Kingston.“ He holds out a hand to me and I shake it.

“You have earned my respect, Kingston
brothers. That's not an easy thing to do.“ With that, he walks off,
stopping only to shake Ben's hand briefly.

“What do you think they'll do to them?“ Ben
asks.

I shrug. “I have no idea. I'm just glad the
girls are safe.“

“Do you feel guilty?“ he asks.

I don’t hesitate. “No. Do you?“

Neither does Ben. “No. Not anymore.“ Ben
turns and heads back to the other room and I lean back against the
wall, scrubbing my hands over my face.

That's a hell of a first private conversation
to have with your grandfather-in-law and head of the Russo family.
Shit.

“What are you doing over here, babe? The rest
of the food's here,“ Lucy calls out.

I shake off the bullshit and focus on Lucy.
Getting her well is what I need to focus on. That and keeping her
safe. With all the muscle around here, legal and illegal, I don't
see that being a problem.

THE FEAST OF Chinese takeout, burgers and fries from
a fast food place Lucy insisted on, ice cream, and enough cake,
pie, and pastries to keep Ben in his favorite sugar rush, was a
success. We had twenty people eating which included the five
security members who weren't allowed to leave the suites unless
every single one of us was planning on leaving. None of us were to
be unprotected according to Giovanni Russo and, as I'm coming to
find out quite quickly, his word is law.

I hadn't noticed but when Ethan remarked on
how much more Lucy'd been eating the last couple of months and now
I look back on it, he was right on. She had been eating more than
normal—and she ate a lot before. She'd also been sleeping a lot. I
just attributed it to the extra energy she'd been using up with the
band and everything.

But now I know. Now I know there are three
tiny little human beings in this tummy I'm looking at on eye-level
as Lucy lays in bed.

I look up at her and she's got an amused grin
on her face.

“You think they can hear us out here?“ I
ask.

She nods. “I do.“

“Oh man, you better stop screaming during
se—S.E.X. then.“

She laughs. “They don't know what any of it
is or what it means. Likely it all sounds like it does when we have
our heads underwater considering they're swimming around in a bunch
of amniotic fluid.“

I tilt my head and consider. That's true.

“Luce.“

“Hmm,“ she murmurs, her eyes closed, her body
relaxed as I draw circles on her baby bump with my thumb.

“There're three of them in there.“ I can't
stop looking at it, the baby bump, the babies.

“Mhmm,“ she says, unfazed. How can she be so
calm about this?

“Three. Lucy. Three babies. Three crying
babies in the middle of the night. Three babies to feed at the same
time. Oh God, are you going to breastfeed? You've only got two
boobs and three kids coming. Babe, what the hell do we do about
that? Oh man, what if they all have poop diapers at the same time?
How do you pick which one to change first?“ Yeah, I know I'm
panicking but, dude: Three. Babies. Three.

She snickers. My wife, snickers at me while
I'm freaking out about our triplets. Triplets!

“Wife of mine, how can you be so damn calm
about this? One baby is trying for normal people and I'd like to
think we're pretty normal. Well, okay, we're not so we're already
at a disadvantage. How the hell can we manage with three babies?“ I
ask, sitting up on my elbows. Panic making my heart beat faster and
faster.

She's got this amazingly serene smile on her
face and she's so damn beautiful, even with the bruising.

“You do realize there are a minimum of ten
people in our house. Let's not forget Mrs. Martinez, Spenser,
Carmen, Simone, Celeste—“

“The makeup and hair people aren't going to
be helping. They don't live here, Luce.“

“How long do you really think that's going to
last, babe? I mean, seriously. Celeste is moving in when we get
back as are Damian and more security, your sisters, need I go
on?“

I let out a groan. “That's both good and bad.
It's great for when the babies arrive, but how can we have sex in
peace? I mean, come on, Luce. They hear you screaming outside on
the patio.“

She giggles and shrugs. “I'll just have to
tone it down. Besides, once the babies arrive, I'll have to be
quieter anyway. I may as well get into the habit.“

“I guess. I'm panicking inside, woman, and
you're giggling.“

“There's nothing we can do about it now,
right?“ she asks.

“Right.“

“So why panic? Besides, do you really think
my mother is going to leave me on my own with triplets?“

“No. No way, Luce. Your mom is not staying
with us. Hell fucking, no.“ This I am serious about. Regina
Kingston living in our fucking house, being around her 24/7? No
way.

Lucy laughs. “I didn't mean she'd be living
with us. I just meant that if we needed someone to help us with the
babies like a nanny or something she'd be sure we got someone
reliable.“

“Oh. I never thought of a nanny, but I really
don't want some stranger raising my kids either.“

“Jesse, calm down, okay? Breathe. We got
this.“

I nod. She stole my line. “We do.“ And now I
stole hers.

“How many bedrooms are in this place anyway?“
she asks.

“Honestly? I'm not sure. I think something
like eighteen or twenty.“ It's pretty damn close to the equivalent
of a smaller hotel.

“Why did you buy such a big house?“ she
asks.

I shrug. “I don't know. I guess we all really
liked the location, how it's kind of off on its own and secluded,
the overall layout and the gated community. It just fit at the
time.“

“It's turning into the one place everyone
wants to live.“

I nod and shrug. Honestly, I don't mind. If
we need time alone, I've still got the keypad. “It's fine.“

“You sure?“

“Mhmm. I knew you came with a brood, I just
didn't realize how big it was going to be,“ I tell her with a
grin.

“So, uh, are you really okay with the babies?
I mean, it's not like we planned it and it's pretty much all my
fault for missing my doctor's appointment for my shot,“ she
confesses looking guilty.

“Baby, stop. It's great. I swear. Like I
said, yeah, ideally I'd have liked to have had more time with me
and you, but we've got babies in there. Mini-us's.“ I kiss her
abdomen. “What do you think: boys or girls and how many of
each?“

“I have no idea. No guess. I think one of
them for sure is a girl though. When I was talking to my Aunt
Lily—“

“Who?“

“My Aunt Lily. Sera's mom.“

“Um, Luce, isn't she dead?“ I ask
carefully.

“Yeah. I know this is going to sound off the
wall, but when I was unconscious out here, I was in what seemed
like a tunnel but it wasn't. It was like never-ending open space.
It was dark and all I could see was this bright light one way and a
red light the other way. I was afraid, you know? Lost and not sure
where to go so I headed toward the light thinking I'd find my way
out of this tunnel when I heard a voice tell me I was going the
wrong way. It was Sera's mom.“

“Huh,“ is all I say. That's fucking weird.
It's something I've heard people talk about before and I never
really gave it much thought one way or the other but now that it
happened to Luce, I'm sure it's true.

“Anyway, we were talking a lot. She mentioned
a girl and said something that implied multiple babies. I assumed
twins, not triplets. To say I was more than a little shocked when I
heard you and Xander talking about it, well… yeah,“ she shakes her
head and yawns.

“We should get some sleep, babe. We've got a
busy couple of days ahead.“

“Let's watch a movie,“ she hedges, even
though we both know she won't last ten minutes.

“Alright. Let's see what they've got. How
about this one? Action flick and with those two starring you know
you'll get your romance fix. It's win-win for us,“ I tell her.

“That works out perfectly.“

“Cool.“ I snuggle under the blankets with her
and she curls into my side, her head resting on my shoulder. Sure
enough, not even ten minutes later, she's snuffle snoring. On top
of all the damn trauma she's been through lately, I think,
massaging the fingers on her casted hand, she's got three lives
growing in there. Three miracles. I swallow. Hard. I don't know
shit about being a dad but I know I want to do my best for them. I
want them to have everything they need and I don't mean monetarily.
I want them to have all the love and support and understanding that
pretty much none of us guys had growing up. I want our babies to
grow up seeing their parents in love so they know how it's supposed
to be. What Lucy and I have is that kind of love. As she calls it,
the happily-ever-after love.

I never want our kids to feel neglected,
unloved, unsupported, or have any doubts about themselves or our
love for them. I just hope I can give that to them. With Lucy as my
wife, I'm pretty sure that's guaranteed. There's nothing we can't
get through together. There's nothing we can't do when we've got
each other.

I turn the TV off and kiss Lucy's forehead.
I'm exhausted. I haven't slept worth shit with Lucy in the
hospital. Hospital chairs are only so comfortable and I wasn't
leaving her for anything.

I yawn and tuck Lucy closer into my side.
We'll be heading home tomorrow or the next day. Security will be
crazy from the hotel to the airport, on the plane, then again in
the airport to the house but Lucy and I want to fly commercial.
It's just us two. The rest are flying private even though a few of
them complained they wanted to go with us.