Page 126 of A New Days Don

“Let’s get you out of here,” Massimo guides me from the house, my entire body coated in blood.

Massimo may call me an angel, but I am not. Especially not now.

As I stand in the sun-baked sand of the desert covered in blood, I resemble death and the fallen more than anything as sacred as an angel.

“Y-you shot him?” I ask, and Massimo nods.

“Nobody will ever put their hands on you or threaten you without repercussions.” He says it as if it were the most normal thing in the world, and maybe it is, because the world I once knew is no longer the one I live in.

Raphael speeds off with Adriano and Caleb in the SUV, presumably to do as Massimo commanded, while Ren splashes red cans of gasoline everywhere. Ren hands Massimo a cigarette, lighting it so the cherry glows brightly.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” I tell him.

“I don’t.” He shrugs, flicks the cigarette onto the ground, and the fuel ignites in an instant.

“An unfortunate accident.” Ren winks at me.

Massimo keeps me pressed to his body, shielding me from the fire.

I was wrong. This love between Massimo and I isn’t fragile or vulnerable. It’s fierce, wild, and uncertain, but oh so beautiful and strong like a hurricane rolling in off the ocean. It comes in strong and hard, leaves you breathless, and your skin crawling with electrified energy. His love is something so sweet that you can’t help but become addicted to it. We are stuck together in the eye of the storm, and I think I kind of love it.

Epilogue

Mila

It has been a month since Vicek took me out to the middle of nowhere. A month since he was killed. A month since his family laid him and his brother to rest. I didn’t go to the funeral. Annalese suggested it would not benefit me mentally, and Gerardo agreed that it would stir up the rumour mill that had started since his untimely demise.

I think Gerardo knows it was me who killed him, but he also knows who Vicek was, thanks to the evidence Ren supplied. I think knowing that I killed the man who raped and murdered the woman he loved, he has been playing a role in ensuring the rumours stay just that, rumours.

Richard Vicek’s house, computer, and phone were all looked into, and all his dirty laundry has been aired out since then. Everyone knows who was terrorizing the streets, and Kaden and I have been working to put measures in place to ensure that people like Vicek never return to the department.

I have also been visiting Daisy a few times per week. I spent the day with her while she mourned her friend, then took her for the day so we could host a funeral for her. Many of the women she has helped get clean showed up, as did Gerardo.

Daisy is doing much better since being admitted. She is taking rehab seriously, and once she is out, Massimo has already organized a job for her that she graciously accepted. She will be the housekeeper of his mansion on the outskirts of town. It comes with a place to stay on the grounds and enough pay to live in comfort.

A few staff members race past me with a bunch of plates and utensils. I stumble, and one of them turns, horrified by what she did.

“Miss, I am so sorry!” She squeaks.

“It’s okay, Leanne. Though I would be careful with all those plates in your hands. You don’t want to hurt yourself.” I tell her, brushing her haste off.

She nods, thanking me, before slowing down as she enters the massive dining room.

Massimo is the rightful heir to his father’s famiglia, so this induction that he is hosting for all the Dons is more of a formality.

Is it weird to be proud of your mafia boyfriend for becoming a don?

You know what, I’m sure someone on Reddit has tuned in on this.

I squeal as two large hands pull me into a firm chest, then giggle as he begins to pepper me with kisses, “Stop!” I giggle some more when he begins to tickle me, “I’m trying to see if it's normal to be proud of your mafia boyfriend for becoming a don!”

Massimo pauses his kiss attack, “You’re proud of me?”

The look he gives me with a little tilt to his head reminds me of the look a curious puppy might give.

My cheeks warm, “It feels like an achievement.”

Massimo’s lips land on mine, moving deftly as he groans into our kiss.