17. Felik

FELIK

"What now?" Jeremiah asked.

He was in my lap on the couch in his suite. Our suite, now, I supposed.

As soon as we confirmed Vince was dead, I got Jeremiah far from there. Andro and Orsino showed up just as we were leaving. I left them to talk with Cord about what the next steps would be.

Once I got Jeremiah home, I brought him straight to the shower and removed his bloody clothes. I held him as he cried over Trev because we hadn't yet heard if he would survive his wounds. And as he allowed me to scrub him clean, he finally ran out of tears.

"I don't know what happens next." I held him tighter, never wanting to let him go. "Except that we'll be together. Cord will likely fill the void Vince left with my family business, and with any luck, an alliance will form between our two families."

"I'd like that." The rise and fall of Jeremiah's chest was soothing. Just that morning I'd held him with such joy and optimism, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.

"You'll graduate soon. After that, I assume you'd like to live near your brothers or perhaps here at the house."

I felt him smile against my chest. "I love my family, but I would rather have a place of our own. One we could raise our children in…" He lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes were red-rimmed and tired, but there was a sparkle of joy there.

I grinned. "Do you have something to tell me, Jer?"

He slapped my chest. "You already know!"

"Trev had the ultrasound picture on him. Andro told me. I'm sorry you weren't the one to tell me that you're going to have my child."

"Children."

I cocked my head, trying to catch his meaning. "What?"

"Children. There are two. In about nine months, we'll have twins."

His words made sense, but I just stared at him, dumbfounded. Two. We would have two babies, not one. "You're sure?"

He nodded, and his eyes sparkled even brighter now. "Yeah. I woke up this morning and I was bleeding a little bit. It scared me, so Trev took me to the doctor. They did an ultrasound. I'm sorry I did it without you, but I had to know if something was wrong?—"

I kissed him, pressing my lips to his and silencing his words. I put all the love I had for him in my kiss as I held his face like he was my most cherished possession. Because he was.

"I take it you're happy about this." Jeremiah chuckled once I let him take a breath.

"I am. I'm happy with anything you provide me. All I need is you."

"Thank you, Felik." He cupped my cheek and stared into my eyes. "Thank you for coming for me. I'm sorry you had to?—"

I put a finger to his lips. "I don"t regret it. Not for one minute. You're more important to me than he has ever been. I would kill him a thousand times if it meant keeping you safe and out of his clutches."

Jeremiah rested his forehead against mine. "I love you."

I closed my eyes and soaked in the weight of the moment. "And I love you, my omega, my mate. The father of my babies. You're it for me."

I went to kiss him again, but a knock stopped me. "I can make them go away."

Jeremiah sighed. "It's probably my brothers. They'll want to know I'm all right. And I want to know how Trev is doing."

It was Andro at the door, followed by Joey, Connor, and Louie.

"Orsino and a few of our guards are still with your brother," Andro said. He and Joey sat in the chair across from the couch. Louie and Connor settled in another chair. It seemed that none of us were letting our mates get far from us tonight.

"How is Trev?" Jeremiah asked.

Andro took a deep breath. For the first time, I was seeing a fatigued man who seemed to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. "He's doing okay. His surgery to remove the bullet and repair some of the damage went well. He's not out of the woods yet, but the doctor is optimistic. But he'll have a very long road to recovery."

"How did he get back here?" Jeremiah asked.

Andro shrugged. "I don't know. His phone was on him but not working. It broke during the struggle or when he was shot. Our best assumption is that he held on long enough to drive back so he could let us know what happened."

"If he had stayed at the hospital…" Jeremiah left the rest unsaid.

Trev would have been treated a hell of a lot faster and lost significantly less blood had he stayed where he was. But the man was doing his job. His actions allowed us to get the heads-up we needed that Jeremiah had been taken. I would forever be thankful for that.

"We'll ensure he gets the best care possible." Louie was staring out the window, just as worried about his cousin as the rest of us.

"And the Mennettis? What of that whole situation?" Jeremiah asked.

Surprisingly, I didn't even care. Their world could crumble beneath their feet. Well, Cord didn't deserve that, but Vince did.

"Orisino will help Cord with the transition of power. Vince didn't have any strong allies, at least not that we can tell. It shouldn't be too crazy, but it can be dangerous if anyone else wants to challenge him for leadership."

"Cord will do well." I was glad to hear things were amicable between our families.

Andro nodded. "I agree. He's much more reasonable than Vince."

I snorted. "A fucking rabid racoon would have been more reasonable than Vince."

"Are you okay, Jeremiah? Truly?" Andro didn't try to mask his concern for his baby brother. It was a moment of vulnerability I never expected to see on the mafia boss's face, yet there it was.

Jeremiah nodded and blew out a long breath. "I am. I have all of you, and Felik. And we're going to have a baby."

Andro smiled.

Joey laughed. "We know. Trev kind of ruined that surprise."

"Yeah, but you must not have looked very closely at the ultrasound, or you would have seen not one, but two babies. Felik and I are having twins."

There was a round of gasps and squeals of surprise in the room. Then Joey and Connor were hugging Jeremiah, and I was trapped under not one but three omegas.

"We're so happy for you!"

The two omegas released Jeremiah, but I could tell there would be a lot more squealing in my life around those three.

"Anything you need, let us know."

"Of course, I'll have so many questions." The happiness in Jeremiah's voice rang true, and I loved hearing it. We could finally begin the next part of our lives now.

After a little more chit-chat and reassurances that Jeremiah was okay, the family left us alone in the room again.

I still held Jeremiah in my lap. I was not willing to let him go.

"I love you so much, my omega."

He sighed and kissed my chin. "I love you too, my alpha."