CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

DALIA

My brothers walk in and, to say they are surprised, and not happy that Aries is here, would be the understatement of a lifetime.

Domenic glares at him and says, "Asshole."

Aries bites back, "Dickhead."

I scold them both, "Both of you stop. Little ears."

"Sorry, Pipsqueak," Dom says, as he comes over and kisses me on the top of the head.

All the kids come running in and immediately head outside to the backyard.

My four brothers and their wives make themselves at home on my large sectional sofa, Dom sits on the end with Giada tucked into his side, and addresses the elephant in the room, "So how the fuck did this happen after how long?"

"Six years," Aries says flatly.

Damian, the voice of reason, says, "More important than how this happened is if Dalia is happy. She looks radiant, but I want to hear it."

Drake growls obnoxiously, "This fucker makes only one person happy, himself."

I wait for Dante to say something, but he's too focused on Natalia, who is sitting on his lap. The honeymoon phase is definitely not over for them.

Aries is quiet beside me, but his clenched fists tell me he isn't happy with this response from my brothers, and I don't blame him.

"Alright. Enough," I say, taking turns glaring at each of them, "I love Aries. He loves me and he's amazing with Ares."

It's at that moment that I realize maybe it's weird that their names sound identical. I never really thought about it before using both of their names in the same sentence.

Dom stares at me with worry, "Logistically how does this work? He lives three hours away."

Aries grits through a clenched jaw, "I don't think that's your concern."

I interject, attempting to not let things escalate, "I know you're worried about me, but I'm okay. We will figure things out. It's not going to be easy, but I'd rather be with Aries, three hours away, than to not have him at all."

He leans in and kisses me on the neck, which is met by four groans that I choose to ignore.

They all break out into chatter and I sigh a breath of relief. This went better than I expected. Aries glances at Domenic, "Can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

Shit. What's that about? Did I feel relieved a little too soon?

"Aries," I grab his arm and shake my head. He rises off the couch and turns to me, and leaning down, he kisses me softly on the lips, "We'll be back, baby. Nothing to worry about. Just business."

ARIES

Domenic and I head upstairs to an office that Dalia has set up, but I'm not sure she uses it often. The computer monitor has dust on it like it doesn't get much use.

I take a seat behind the desk and Domenic takes the chair on the other side.

"What do you want?" He asks with annoyance and curiosity in equal measure.

I sigh loudly, "Ever heard of anyone leaving the mafia?"

He chuckles, "Yeah, there's been a few soldiers but they didn't live long. Why?"

I shake my head, "Not soldiers. Heads of a family."

Arching an eyebrow in surprise, he says, "Never. Why would a man even consider that?"

"Because his woman refuses to move because their kid is in a great school, and he can't fucking stomach living without her. Without both of them really."

He chuckles loudly, "Oh you've got it bad."

I rub my jaw as I admit, "The worst."

His expression turns serious, "So what… In theory, just walk away? You do realize the other families will consider you a threat. And the contracts you have? Breaking them will not be taken lightly."

I nod in agreement, "I was hoping you'd help with some of it."

Am I asking the man that hates me for help? I must have lost my mind, I'm just hoping he loves his sister enough to agree, because I don't think me walking away works without him.

"What exactly are we looking at here?"

He's still discussing it, so I guess that's a good sign.

"Mostly weapons contracts that you could take over. And you can have all the firearms I currently have with the exception of my personal supply."

"Protection?" He asks, as he leans back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other.

Shaking my head, I say, "I eliminated those after my family died. It didn't feel right to me."

He nods, "Good, because that's not something I really want to be involved in. That's more of a gang mentality, although some do it."

"When are you looking at doing this?"

Rubbing my thumb over my chin, I think through it before responding, "The sooner the better, but things have to be put in place. If you agree to it, then we'll need to meet with all the contracts to transfer business to you."

He nods, "Alright, we need to discuss price on the stock."

Shrugging my shoulders, I say, "Whatever you think is fair. I honestly don't give a fuck. The only thing I want is my family, with me every goddamn day."

Domenic chuckles, "Yet you didn't want a family according to my sister."

"She changed everything for me. I didn't want a family, there was no value in it for me. Your sister changed my entire world, she changed everything."

He laughs loudly, "It's that Dalia Effect."

"Truer words have never been spoken. She has a natural ability to worm her way into a heart you didn't even know you had. Hell, my sister still talks about her constantly, and they haven't seen each other for years."

"How is she?" He asks, which surprises me that he would even care.

"She's well. In college now. Following in Dalia's footsteps."

He nods, "Alright, before we put shit into play, are you sure about this? I think my sister is pretty fucking fantastic, but you're leaving a lot behind and putting a target on your back. A permanent one. And all three of you will need constant security. We'll have to beef up what we have here, because I'm not fucking around with their lives."

I assure him, "I've never been more sure of anything."

His face grows serious, "I'll put word out that if anyone attacks you, they are starting a war with the De Lucas. However, know this, if you ever fucking hurt my sister again, or my nephew, I will kill you."

Again, I agree with him, "I'll load the fucking gun myself."

"Anything else?"

As I rise from my chair, I say, "Yeah, one more thing. I don't want Dalia to know about this until it's done. If it takes longer than I expect, I don't want it stressing her or Ares out."

He shakes my hand, "I still think you're an asshole."

I smirk at him, "And I still think you're a dickhead."

We both laugh as we walk out of the room, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."