Chapter 54

“Cillian Kelly, did you really think you could get away with fake marriage certificates like that?” Nessa mock scolds as we get into the rental car.

Boris and Kai are in the back while I sit up front with Nessa. After the clean-up crews arrived at the property, we paid off a few people to say there was a gas leak that led to the explosion of the O’Brian manor. The four of us are heading to Boris’ jet to fly back to Russia while the others take Alexi’s.

“I didn’t fake a thing, Love. You’re married, to both of us.”

She slams on the brakes, and throws the car in park before getting out. We all follow her, Kai seeming very amused by the situation.

“Don’t you go grinning at him like that,” Nessa says. “Who the hell taught you to diffuse a bomb?”

“Akio and Adrian.”

She throws her head back, mumbling intelligibly. “I agree to train the kid, and apparently, that means that nothing is off limits.”

“Are you mad?” Kai asks, rubbing the back of his neck in that way he does when he’s nervous.

“Mad?” Nessa turns to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “I’m only mad you had to use that skill. If it were up to me, you would never need to know the things we teach you.”

He laughs, hugging her back. “Then, try to keep crazy mafia lords off your ass.”

She ruffles his hair, and we all fall silent. Boris is leaning against the car, ankles crossed.

“Alright, spill. What connections of yours made a marriage happen without the knowledge of the other party?” she asks Boris.

“I know people,” he says as if that were a real answer. She doesn't pry though.

“And whose idea was all of this?” That question is directed to me.

Raising my hand carefully, I grin. “I have this theory that our plans only go to shit when we say them out loud. But if I keep them a secret, then everything will run as smooth as a water slide.”

And it did too. The videos to the kids, Sullivan showing up at just the right time and sacrificing himself after making sure the catering staff and any innocents got out in time. The whole marriage certificate thing, just in case Ronan got his hands on Nessa and tried to force her to marry him.

Some might call me a genius. Go ahead, you can do it. I won’t tell anyone.

“So your plan was to marry me in secret while also making it impossible for me to ever marry anyone else?”

“Who the feck else would you want to marry?” I growl, crossing my arms.

Nessa shrugs as a playful smile teases her lips. “You never know. You were a surprise. Maybe one day, we’ll need to add one more.”

Oh, okay, my girl’s got jokes . “Do you have another long lost love we should know about?” Boris asks.

“Never know,” Nessa taunts, swaying her hips back and forth teasingly. If it weren't for our kid being right here I’d pick her up, bend her over Boris’ lap, and spank her arse.

“I’m good with two dads. That’s enough for me,” Kai adds, shattering my thoughts of revenge.

When it gets quiet again, she looks between Boris and me.

“If you want this to stick, I expect a ring. Don’t go simple with it either. I want all the bells and whistles and a ceremony that Laney helps plan. If we are doing this, we’re doing it right.”

I nod my head to agree, but she shakes hers.

“And you have to ask me. Both of you. On your own too.”

Kai’s laughter echoes around us as he clutches his stomach.

“This is going to be fun,” he says before getting back into the car.

Nessa smirks at us before doing the same, leaving Boris and me to stare at each other.

“That went better than I had planned,” I admit.

Boris shakes his head at me. “Be honest, you had no idea how you were going to tell her what we did.”

“I totally did.” I didn’t.

Boris gets into the car, and I can’t help but remember where this insane journey started.

Opening the door, I slide in to sit beside my girl, taking her hand in mine as I remember our first car ride together. My feet were covered in second-degree burns, and my heart was beating out of my chest with adrenaline, but she was there, and somehow, that made it all better.

“Hey,” Kai says from the back, “Pops here promised me ice cream, and none of that toothpaste shit, Daddio.”

I laugh as I pull up ice cream shops on my phone. Sure enough, there’s one just around the corner.

“I’ve got you, kid, but one day you’re going to have to admit that mint chocolate chip is superior.”

The way he looks at me in horror is enough to have me laughing.

“I would rather drown in a pit of chili peppers.”

“You do not enjoy chili peppers?” Boris asks.

“Don’t tell me you like them, Pops. Just when we were starting to bond here.”

Nessa cracks a smile, twisting the bracelet on her wrist, her thumb grazing over Aiden’s name. We may have never wanted to be parents, but now that we have our sweet angel flame and a teenage boy who’s no doubt going to cause all sorts of trouble, I feel like my life is finally full.