Chapter Fourteen

Jack

"So how are the marriage plans moving along?" Connor asks after a blissful week at home. I've been so damn busy buried inside Nora that I nearly forgot about my other obligations. Connor and I headed to the docks where we received several shipments and oversaw some other matters before I could return to my beautiful fiancée and my little brother.

"So how is Dad taking this whole situation between you two?" Connor asks, driving us back to the estate.

"He's asked about John, but that's it. You know he never gave a fuck about him, and it was just a show."

"Yeah, it was only because of Mom that he didn't send John away to a mental facility."

"It pisses me off. Nora told me that if he'd gotten more help sooner, he might be speaking full sentences." I shake my head, wanting to beat my father's ass. Hell, I want to kick my own ass for not taking the initiative, but our world was crumbling around us and losing our mother had been hard on us all. Still, I should have done more.

"Are you serious?" Connor snarls, slamming his hand on the steering wheel.

"Yes, so Dad might have kept John, but he didn't do a damn thing for him." We arrived at the reinforced gates and entered, monitoring the scene. I'm always looking for defects or ways for penetration after the last attack. There are always ways to get in, but I've added multiple layers of reinforcement.

"Well, at least you have Nora now who is a Godsend when it comes to John…and you."

"She is great. Nora sent out the invites this morning, which will be interesting."

"What do you mean?" he asks as we pull up to my driveway.

"I told her to include her family." I say just as I open the front door and his mouth falls open.

"That's good. Do you think they're going to be pissed because there wasn't a deal this time around?" We walk to my office because I need to lock up my guns before I see John.

"They can go fuck themselves. It's not like they had any hand in the relationship. If anything, they gave me damaged goods."

"Whoa, what the fuck, Jack?" Connor's eyes widened. I see Nora standing there behind me in the doorway.

"I'm only kidding," I insist, walking up to the love of my life and sliding my hands around Nora's waist, bringing my lips to hers, but she turns her face, and I catch her jaw. "That's what I'd tell those assholes. I didn't get a mafia princess. I got a fucking fairy queen. I'm marrying the woman with a heart of gold."

"And a body that is…"

"Watch what you say," I snarl, tugging Nora tighter to my side. She giggles at my jealousy, but she has no fucking idea how insane I am when it comes to her.

"Going to give you kids," he teases, tossing me a smirk before downing a glass of whiskey.

"Anyway, before you rudely joked about our arranged marriage…I came to welcome you home and let you know that John was taking a nap. Now that that's done, I'll leave you two knuckleheads to discuss whatever thuggery you need to."

"Thuggery?" Connor asked, pressing his hand to his chest with a gasp.

"Yes, you heard me. Tell me I'm lying." She rolls her eyes.

"Well…at least give me another kiss before you go," I tell her.

"Fine," she huffs, and then turns her head upward with a pretty pout. I wrap my arms tightly around her sexy ass and kiss that smart mouth until she's moaning my name.

"Perfection," I whisper as our lips part. Her eyes widen and a smile lights her face.

"See you boys later."

"We're men," Connor shouts.

"Whatever." She waves us off and closes my office door. I smirk and shake my head, pouring myself a drink because my dick is so damn hard and I want to hunt her down and fill her up.

"So, any news on the fuckers who took John?" I ask my brother, needing a change in conversation.

"No, but Giles called and said that you weren't responding to his calls."

"Fuck. I meant to call him back, but I got a bit distracted last night and this morning."

"Be careful, Brother. Don't let pussy go to your head." He chuckles, pointing at my crotch.

"She's my wife," I snarl at him.

"Not yet."

"She may as well be."

"Yes, and we all love her, but you're the head of an empire and we have enemies who would love to take it over at all costs, including harming a beautiful little teacher with a heart of gold." If anyone dared to touch my Nora, I'd rip their heart out.

"You're right. Stay here while I make the call. I might need to handle some shit." He nods and sits down with his glass, and I dial Giles from my desk.

"Damn, you're a hard man to reach," Giles grumbles.

"Sorry, I'm not sure if you heard, but I just got engaged. What's going on, Giles?"

"I've got more info on that Julia Sanchez you asked about. She's the sister of Fernando Espi—" A door slams open on the other end of the line. "What the fuck are you doing here?" A shot rings out. Connor and I stare at each other.

"Giles, Giles!" I shout. Then the call is hung up. We both know damn well what happened. Someone gunned down my damn guy who gathered me intel. Was it because I asked him to pull info on Julia, or was it something he was tied to?

"Did he just say she's related to Fernando Espinosa?" Connor asks.

"He did. That motherfucker's involved somehow; I know it."

"Or maybe he just helped Julia escape. That could be the crux of it. He's a big pussy, but do you think he'd go to war with us just to get Joanne or Julia out from under our thumb? It doesn't make sense." My brother does have a point.

"Damn it. Is Giles still in Philly?" I asked.

"I thought so."

"I have to check it out. Can you stay here and watch over Nora and John? I'll ask Ian as well." They're the only ones I trusted with my family. I sure as fuck wouldn't trust my father to the task.

"Of course, but do you think it's safe?"

"I'm not taking more than twenty-four hours. Hell, I might only be gone twelve because I refuse to leave them for so long." Shit, my chest aches to leave, but there's no way I'm leaving anything up to chance when it comes to them.

"That pussy got you good." If I didn't know better, I'd think he was jealous, but my brother loves her in a brotherly way and enjoys teasing me.

"Damn right. Excuse me, but I have to tell my bride-to-be to plan without me."

"Go ahead."

I fuck her twice before I board my private jet back to Philly. Leaving John was hard, but he was a good boy and clung to Nora.

The cops discovered Giles's body on the edge of town in the water, but I know damn well that wasn't where he was at. He more than likely had been in his hotel room, but I don't have access to it and I'm not going to leave my DNA anywhere near that shit, so Espinosa can tie shit to me.

I decide to go to Nora's old house and see if she needs anything while I plan my next move, but when I arrive my blood runs cold. This is the motherfucking crime scene. Giles had been inside Nora's home. Why?

Things are trashed, totaled, everything she owned ruined, but I can't fathom why. Thankfully, I'd decided to install cameras in her place before we left. They aren't hooked up to the internet, but they were activated via motion sensors. I have to pull the data, and then I can copy it.

I snatch the cameras and go straight to my rental and drive away, parking down the road two miles so whoever had been there doesn't see me. Turning on the video, I spot Giles. He's the one who comes in cursing.

"You fucking bitch. You picked that old fuck over me." He picks up a picture of Nora and John and then smashes it on the ground. "Damn it, I hoped you'd come back to me. His plan didn't work. I did all this for nothing. I hoped to get rid of that brat, but no, fucking bastard had other ideas." He picked up a bat and swung it around the room, smashing everything.

The bastard deserved to pay for what he did, and someone took him out. I wait for the footage to appear, and it does. I don't see who shoots him until he comes into the frame. It's fucking Espinosa. He picks up the picture frame and sighs. "Fool. I should have killed the kid when I had the chance. Now, my sister's dead for nothing."

Son of a bitch, it's all starting to make sense. Espinosa is involved in all of this. He killed Giles, had my brother kidnapped while killing a dozen of my men. I'm guessing Nora was a bonus to get us to turn on the Fieri family and start a war with them once she was found with John, but they underestimated my attraction to her and her willingness to protect him.

I drive straight to the airport and board my plane with all the evidence I need. Before we take off, I call my brothers. "How is my woman doing?"

"Good. She said she was taking a nap."

"And John, he's playing in the room with us. What information do you have for us? Please tell us you have something important to tell us." I tell them about Espinosa's involvement, but I don't understand Giles's comments and his interest in Nora.

"You should ask her."

"I will as soon as I get home." It's pissing me off that I don't have an answer, but there's nothing I can do about it.