Epilogue

AUGUST 28 – SUNDAY 5:10 AM

N ash

The rhythmic sound of my strokes, as I pushed my speed, was a sweet slice of heaven. Reaching the end of my final lap, I touched the wall, looked up at the massive clock, and smiled.

"Yes," I said. I'd shaved off a whole second. That was fucking huge. All my extra training this summer had paid off. I jerked as someone clapped and looked over at the bleachers, relaxing as I spotted Ren. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"I figured you do it to me enough. Why not a little payback?" She smiled.

"You're funny. Wanna go for a little swim?"

"No, not even in the slightest. I did want to see you before you left on your trip, though." I narrowed my gaze at her. "Myles said you were heading off on a business trip. He didn't mention where, so whatever secret mission you're on, it's still safe," she said and stood.

"It is a business trip. I just hate how he tells you every fucking thing," I said, pushing myself up and out of the pool. I stripped off my cap and shook out my hair. Wandering over to my towel, I grabbed it and wiped off as she picked up a small black bag.

"That is how a relationship works, Nash."

I turned to look at her. "And that is just another reason why I don't do them. So, what is so urgent that you crawled out of bed with Myles to come see me before the sun is up?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, and it drew my attention to the bruises made by my father. Before I killed him, I would cut off his hands and hang them around his neck.

"If I come closer, will you throw me in the pool," she asked, and I smirked.

"Maybe. We had fun the last time." She cocked a brow at me, making me laugh. "As long as you don't plan on pissing me off, you should be fine."

"So comforting," she mocked but walked to me and cleared her throat.

"Are you planning on proposing? If so, you better get on your knees and suck my cock first."

Ren glared. "For fucks sake, I don't know why I bother." She turned to walk away, and I grabbed her arm.

"I'm sorry." She looked up at me. Her eyes were still angry, but all I could picture was her kissing me back yesterday. I squashed that quickly. "I mean it. What did you want to say?"

Sighing, she faced me, and I let go of her arm. "I didn't get a chance to give you your birthday gift."

"You got me a gift," I asked, shocked. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? It was your birthday, why wouldn't I?" I had many answers to that question, but they would all end up with us fighting again or her feeling sorry for me. I didn't want either of those to happen.

"I'm just shocked. Didn't think you even liked me enough to want to give me a gift," I said, tying my towel around my waist. "Even though you wear my Christmas gift all the time." Her face screwed up, and she looked down at herself.

"What are you talking about?"

I burst out laughing. "You really don't know?"

"What?" She patted herself, confusion written all over her face.

Stepping in closer, which was dangerous, she backed up, doing the same little dance one step at a time until she hit the wall. I braced my arm and ran my finger along her neck. Ren shivered under my touch. This was stupid. Thoughts of pulling her down to the tiled floor filled my mind, and I sucked in a steadying breath.

"What are you doing?"

Ignoring her, I tugged the chain out from inside her hoodie and held the charms she always wore in the palm of my hand. I moved them apart so she could see all of them, then lifted the crowned snowflake.

"No…you?" I nodded. "But…I thought…I told Myles I loved the necklace, and he didn't say anything. I thought he gave it to me."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't there for the conversation, but I left this for you last Christmas with my card. I wondered why you never said thank you. Thought you were just so pissed off with me that you decided to ignore it." She licked her lips, and unable to resist the temptation, I brushed my mouth against hers. "But now that you do know, what do you say, Princess," I whispered.

"I'm tempted to say fuck you," she said, and I smiled, loving the sass she continuously fired at me. "But thank you, it's beautiful. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Neither did I," I admitted and groaned as I pushed back. "My father is right. You should stay away from me. One of these days, I'm not going to be able to resist, Princess. You push a very dangerous button inside of me." She swallowed, and I looked down at the black bag she was holding. "Is my gift in the bag, or are you my gift? I'll take a blow job if you are," I said and laughed as her eyes shifted from unsure and full of the same dangerous lust that was coursing through me to ‘I'm going to kill you' in a blink. "I'm teasing you." Stepping back to a safer distance, I crossed my arms.

"Here." She held out the bag. "But there is one condition, and I'll tell you after you open it."

"Mysterious." Taking the bag, I reached inside and pulled out what seemed to be a necklace box. "If you got me a matching charm, I'm not wearing it."

"Shut up and open it," she said and rolled her eyes at me.

Cracking the lid, I opened it and stared down at a ticket. I didn't understand until I pulled it out and read it. My heart stopped.

"How did you get this?"

She shrugged. "It took some negotiating, but that is the second part. I need to go with you. It kinda came as part of the deal to get the tickets."

Walking away from her, I sat down on the bleachers and stared inside the box. I'd tried to get into this dinner so many times. I'd sent in my interest form early, called, begged, and couldn't understand why they wouldn't give me tickets when I had some of the best times in the country.

"I don't understand," I said, my eyes lifting to hers as she slowly walked over to join me. "I never heard back from them. I submitted my results over and over again and never got an invite."

Ren rubbed her hands on her legs. "That's not true. Apparently, Mr. Paval was very confused as to why you would submit your times, get an invite, and never RSVP. I'm guessing your dad intercepted the mail. I'm sorry, Nash."

"My father hates that I swim. He hates that I want to make a team and go to the Olympics. He thinks I should worry about the family and the business, and that's it. But to steal and destroy my invite…should've seen it coming."

Closing the lid, I handed her back the box, and her face fell. "You don't want to go?"

"No, I want to go, and I'm shocked and full of a bunch of emotions I can't put into words. But if I take this home, there is a good chance they'll go missing." She smiled and nodded.

"I'll keep them safe."

Reaching out, I ran my finger down her cheek. "Thank you. This is the most thoughtful gift I've ever received." I looked away as I choked back the flood of emotion that had me wanting to cheer, fuck her, and cry all at the same time.

Ren stood and placed her hand on my shoulder. "You work too hard not to get a shot. Fuck your father." She gave me a small smile and walked away. It took everything in me not to grab her arm.

"Wait. Let me change, and I'll walk you back to the main building. You shouldn't be out alone."

"It's okay, Myles is waiting for me. Have a safe trip, Nash. I hope it goes the way you want."

"Me too," I whispered as she pushed out the doors and left me alone. Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. Not able to hold back the flood of emotion anymore, the tears quietly fell and hit the ground at my feet. One thing was clear: it didn't matter if I found what I was looking for in Italy. I'd never be free until I killed my father. On graduation day, he was a dead man. I didn't care who I had backing me. He wouldn't steal anything else from me.

Never again.

ROME

AUGUST 29 – MONDAY 1:30 PM CET

Nash

Okay, I completely understood Theo's anger now. That was the worst flight I'd ever been on. Grabbing my suitcase from the overhead bin, I had to fight with it to get it free and then started the journey off the plane and to baggage claim. People buzzed past me in all directions like ants on speed. Finally finding my bag as it came down the carousel, I grabbed it and headed out the exit.

Now, all I had to do was find…what the hell? I stopped in the middle of the walkway as I stared at a man who stood out like a sore thumb. He was tall, and his eyes found mine as he held up a sign with Nash Collier written on it.

I walked toward him but kept my eyes peeled to make sure that I wasn't about to be tackled out of nowhere.

"I'm Nash," I said, and he snapped his fingers. Four men, who were very obviously mafia with their long black coats and black-out sunglasses, walked over, took my bags, and surrounded me. This didn't look good.

"Welcome to Rome. I've been expecting you." He held out his hand for me to shake.

I shook it, mildly creeped out that he knew I was coming. "And who do I have the pleasure of talking to," I asked, and he smiled.

"Name's Mr. Genovese. I trust you've heard of me?" I barely managed to keep my jaw from hitting the floor.

"Yes, I've heard of you. I'm sorry, I've never seen a picture of you."

"On purpose, my boy. Come, we have a lot to discuss."

I swallowed. "Dean Henry told you that I'd be coming?" He smirked but didn't answer, which was answer enough. What really freaked me out was that I hadn't told Dean Henry about my flight. How the hell had he found out?

"You look unsure, but I promise you that there is nothing nefarious planned." He smoothed the front of his suit. "Once we are at my villa and you've had a chance to rest, we'll eat and have a meeting."

So, the dean wanted me to meet Vicky's father, but why? Was he thinking of switching alliances from my father? We got into a black SUV, and soon, we were talking about everything. He was not what I expected at all for the Don of Dons. I'd been taught that only brutality and fear earned you respect, and I was sure that he used both when needed, but he was open and warm and genuinely easy to talk to.

We pulled into a massive villa that made my father's mansion look like a backyard shed. "Wow," was all I could say as we pulled up in front of the white home with massive pillars. It looked like a smaller version of the Colosseum.

As we got out and headed inside, Mr. Genovese spoke in Italian to servants, who nodded and scattered.

"Nash, please follow Antonio. He will take you to your room and will get you when dinner is served. Please feel free to make my home your home. You are my guest and will want for nothing."

"Thank you."

I had no idea what was going to come of this, but for the first time, I was optimistic.

6:30 PM

I stood at the floor-to-ceiling window and stared down at the gardens that led to the water's edge. I'd never seen a more beautiful sight. This kind of wealth was even beyond my imagination. No wonder Vicky treated everything like it cost pennies.

One thing that became very clear in the last hour was that Mr. Genovese was very nice, but he was no slouch in negotiations. By the time we concluded, I was in disbelief over what I'd agreed to. From today on, I would have his complete support. Having his backing was like winning the lottery of investors and clout, but he wanted me to wait until the end of my senior year to announce our alliance. That was fine with me. It gave me more time to finalize things on my end. I didn't want my father to find a way to slither out from underneath my boot before I could crush him. My hand tightened into a fist.

Walking back to Mr. Genovese's desk, I sat down and waited for him to return with all the paperwork. Even knowing what this meant and how making this deal single-handedly solved all my problems, I couldn't help but think that this was a bad idea. It was complicated and explosive, and I had to keep it secret from my guys. I hated that, and I wasn't sure I was ready for this, but…I was going to sign anyway. This was a decision that not only impacted me but would stop the insanity that had taken root with my father at the helm. That was more important than anything else.

"Alright, here we are," Mr. Genovese said as he walked in and sat down across from me. I wiped my palms off on my pants. "I have the two contracts drawn up." I watched as he signed his name. "Antonio is going to be our witness." I nodded as he held out the pen in my direction. "Are you sure you want to do this, Nash? Once you have signed, I will expect you to hold up your end of our deal and all we discussed. I don't take kindly to people who go back on their word. They always meet an untimely end," he said casually, like we were discussing the weather. There was no bragging. He was simply stating facts. I swallowed hard, sucking in a deep breath.

"Yes, sir. I'm sure."

He pushed the alliance contract across first. I took the pen and scribbled my name on the document that would see to it that everything I needed was provided. Millions would be sent to the offshore bank account and more whenever needed. I'd just secured weapons and an infinite number of connections, as well as his army at my disposal. In a single meeting, I'd been invited to sit at the big boy's table, a spot my father had never been offered. The snub he received from the largest families drove him mad. I smirked at the thought of the day he found out I had a seat.

Mr. Genovese pushed the marriage contract across the desk next. My heart pounded hard, and my throat went dry. Before I could contemplate it anymore or talk myself out of doing this, I scribbled my name across the bottom and sealed my fate.

Mr. Genovese stood and held out his hand, smiling. "Congratulations, son, you're officially part of the family. You better not hurt my daughter, or I will kill you."