Chapter 33

33

Maddie

" P lease. Please !" I beg through my sobs while kneeling on the floor in front of the guards. Despite screaming in their faces, shoving and punching their chests, calling them names, the bastards refuse to budge; to let me or Vanessa or even Cass and Cole leave the penthouse.

"It will be okay, honey," Vanessa says as she drops to her knees beside me and wraps her arm around my shoulders. Hugging her back, I bury my face on her shoulder, bawling so hard I feel it down to the marrow of my bones. It won't be okay.

I can't lose Jordan. Or Eli. If my father even hurts them because of me, because I was too weak to stand up to him and just tell him I loved them both…I'll never forgive him. I'll never forgive myself.

"I warned Dante we would both leave if he does anything stupid," Vanessa says.

Lifting my head, I study her face. "You're serious? You would…you would leave him?"

"Eli worships your father, and, while I don't know much about your friend…"

"Jordan."

"Right. I don't know anything about Jordan, but you obviously love him, so that's all I need to know."

"Thank you," I tell her through the hiccups.

"Boss is coming up," one of the guards informs us.

"Good," Vanessa says on a heavy exhale. "Maybe we can talk some sense into him."

"What if…what if it's too late?" I ask her, clutching her arms.

"It's not, honey. It's not too late. I know your father. While he frequently loses his temper, he won't ever do anything so…drastic without thinking it through," Vanessa says. "Besides, he's out of practice since Eli handles all his dirty work. Dante will hesitate. He will." It sounds like she's trying to convince herself.

Finally, I hear the ding of the elevator in the hallway. Vanessa and I are still on the floor when one of the guards opens the door for my father.

And he's not alone.

I crumble in relief, tears still pouring down my face when I see theirs.

Eli, face bloodied, reaches me first. He hauls me off the floor and I wind my arms around his neck, my legs wrap around his waist. "You're okay?"

"I'm great," he says just as Jordan comes up behind him. Thank god there's not a drop of blood on his body that's still mostly naked. Eli may have lied to my father, but Jordan never did anything to deserve his wrath.

Clutching my face between his hands, Jordan kisses me, slow and deep, as if we have all the time in the world.

"Jesus," my father huffs. "Don't make me change my mind. And put some fucking clothes on that boy!" he hollers as his footsteps fade down the hall as he heads for his office.

"Thank you, Daddy!" I pull my lips away from Jordan's to yell back to him.

"I'm so proud of you," I hear Vanessa say as she follows him.

"Yeah, yeah. They're all grown up. I get it, even if I don't fucking like it. Don't ever threaten to leave me again, butterfly," he says to her.

"Don't be a dummy, and I won't have to," she says just before the office door slams shut.

I kiss Eli once they're gone, only for someone to clear their throat behind us.

"Thanks for the show. Glad nobody died," Cass remarks, and I actually believe her. "But take your horny asses to your room before I barf all over the floor."

Laughing, Eli carries me to the stairs, Jordan right behind us.

While I never would've imagined feeling safe and happy in Eli's arms a year ago, now, there's nowhere else I would rather be. Well, except Jordan's arms at the same time.

"I can't wait to try every possible threesome position in the world," Jordan remarks as if reading my mind.

"We've got hours to try a few," Eli agrees. "But then we have to get ready for a family dinner at seven."

"Dinner?" I repeat in surprise, pulling back to scan his face. "I was ready to rip my heart out thinking you both were dead and instead we're just going to go fuck before having dinner with my father?"

"Not just any dinner," Jordan says as he follows us up the last flight of stairs. "It's a welcome to the family dinner. Your dad invited your other sister and her husband over too."

"That's right," Eli agrees. "All nine of us together—one big happy fucked-up mafia family."

"That's…wow," I mutter, at a loss for words. "And you're both staying in my room with me tonight?"

"Ah, no," Jordan answers. "Dante gave us a few ground rules. One of which is to never speak of anything we do with you again and no sleepovers in his house until him and Vanessa move out. He didn't mention the daytime, though. Bet he regrets that now…"

"We'll get us the best suite in the hotel," Eli suggests.

"One with a hot tub?" I ask excitedly, but Jordan just looks solemnly to Eli. Oh, right.

But Eli just says, "Yeah, let's get one with a hot tub. With the two of you naked in it, I may be able to finally face that fear."

Running my fingers through his long hair as he carries me into my bedroom and Jordan shuts and locks the door behind us, I tell Eli, "It's time for your past to stop haunting you. Jordan and I love you. We'll never let anyone hurt you again."

Eli

Jordan and I love you. We'll never let anyone hurt you again.

Those are my favorite words ever. Ones I never expected to hear.

And I never thought I would actually get to sit at Dante Salvato's dining table with him and his family or be accepted as a member of that family.

The mafia king is still fuming, but at least he's making an effort to try to welcome me and Jordan because he loves Madison.

Cass and Cole haven't stopped smirking, still amused by our situation, and Sophie's tatted up mobster husband Lochlan just seems uncomfortable, as if the thought of sharing Sophie with another man is one he can't fathom and he hates us for promoting such a notion.

In the end, everything worked out the way it was supposed to for us all. Sophie with Lochlan, Cass with Cole, and Maddie with me and Jordan.

I dig into the plate of braciole in front of me, knowing I won't have to worry about anyone trying to steal my food in this house.

As if sensing my thoughts in that considerate way of his, Jordan's palm reaches over to squeeze my thigh under the table. Maddie's on the other side of him, but I don't mind. Jordan fits perfectly in the middle. He's the glue that holds the three of us together.

But they're both mine, even though I know that Jordan is the better choice of husband and father for Maddie and her future children. Just being on the fringe of their love is more than I ever dreamed of having in my fucked-up life.

Maddie and Jordan will both always be mine, no matter what happens.

And I'll kill anyone who tries to touch them.