Top Dog

The paramedics placed Romeo on a stretcher and rolled him out of the building. I gripped his hand tightly as Matteo sat between his legs. I saw the small army Stefano had hidden all around the building. They were lined up on the pavement, face down with guns trained between their shoulder blades. SWAT team members were zip-tying the criminals’ wrists behind their backs as we rushed over to the ambulance, and someone automatically started putting my arm in a sling and poking around at the bruising on my face.

Without a word, the medics loaded Romeo into the ambulance. Matteo gripped tightly to Romeo’s shirt as I swatted the paramedic away. I turned my head and saw Stefano being led out of the building, bruised and bloodied and snarling for more. He resisted every step the police tried to make him take, and I watched them bring the butt of a gun down against his shoulder.

Served him fucking right.

“Mommy? You coming?”

The sound of my son’s voice pulled me from my trance. I stepped up into the ambulance, and the doors quickly shut behind me. I leaned over and planted a large kiss on Matteo’s forehead. I brushed away the dirt from his face and ran my fingers through his hair. He threw his arms around me as I held him close, burying my face into the crook of his neck.

Then I pulled away and turned my attention to Romeo.

I scooted to his head and gently fell forward, placing a kiss to his lips. I smiled into his pucker. Into the heat of his body as Matteo scrambled up toward us. I watched Romeo put his arm around his son as he dipped into the crook of his body, pissing off the ambulance staffers who were trying to set an IV in his hand.

“Thank you,” I said, my heart overflowing with gratitude. “Thank you so much for risking your life to save us.”

“I love you, Julia. There isn’t anything I wouldn't risk for my family.”

“I love you too,” I said with tears in my eyes. “I love you so much, Romeo.”

“Mom?”

I looked over at my son with his big eyes and raised eyebrows.

“Matteo?” I asked. “I’d like you to meet someone.”

“We’ve already met,” Romeo said with a grin. “Haven’t we, k

iddo?”

“Yeah, Dad. We have.”

My heart flooded with joy as I watched Romeo cup the back of his son’s head. He brought Matteo in for a forehead kiss and my son threaded his arms around his father. Cuddled into him for the first time in six years. I gripped Romeo’s hand as the ambulance rushed through the city, racing us to the nearest hospital so we could all be checked out.

“I love you, son,” Romeo said.

“I love you too, Daddy.”

We were safe. We were alive. And we were reunited.

I couldn't ask for anything more than that.

EPILOGUE

ROMEO

ONE YEAR LATER

“Everything okay?” I asked as I tossed a burger into the air.

“Yeah. I think so. It’s James. Russo. I’m not sure what he wants,” Julia said.

“Well go take the call. Matteo and I will man the grill, won’t we buddy?”

“We got this, Mom. Go work,” he said.

I winked at Julia as she picked up the call, her beautiful summer dress fluttering behind her.

It took us months to get everything on track, but we did it. Julia and I had successfully divested both families from the shady underworld dealings of the mafia. We broke ties with powerful people and pushed them out of the city, successfully partnering with the police precincts to help them when they needed it the most. Both the Bianchi and the Martine family names had been cleaned up, and Julia and I were running legitimate businesses and founding charitable organizations.