Long Live the King (An Italian Mafia Romance Duet #2) (29 page)

The asshole nods his head. “Sounds like you guys are finally getting your head out of your asses. We appreciate the hook up, Daniel.”

The owner of the Lakefront Anchorage shakes off the use of the name and prints out the receipt just before he makes keys for the family. While the black man signs the receipt, Daniel eyes the man who brought them. Sometimes it’s still difficult to hold it all in.

“There you go,” Daniel says to all of them, then he extends his hand for the angry customer to shake. “Sorry about the inconvenience, sir. Thank you for your patience.”

The angry customer happily reaches across the counter and takes Daniel’s hand, but his happiness is immediately replaced with agony as Daniel starts to squeeze, crushing the guy’s digits with ease. He thinks to say something, but the pain is too intense and he feels his knees starting to buckle.

“We’re really sorry about that,” Daniel says, glaring at the man. “Next time, I’m sure things will go a lot smoother. Won’t they?”

“Yes they will,” the man says, begging Daniel to let him go with his eyes. “Sorry, sir. Please . . .” before he can get the last words out, Daniel lets go and walks away, back to his office.

With the door to his office closed behind him, Daniel picks up his cell phone and dials his fiancé’s number. They’ve both been at work all day and haven’t gotten to speak since they left the house this morning. She’s in her third trimester, and he can’t shake the urge he feels to check on her and their unborn son every chance he gets. When she answers the phone, a smile teases his lips.

“Hi, Mr. Sullivan,” she says, her voice like a soothing lullaby. “How’s your day been?”

“Better now,” he says, grinning. “I’ve missed you a lot today. Dealing with these customers is something I’m still getting used to. How has your day been, Alannah?”

“Good,” she replies happily. “Dr. Monroe and Dr. Callaghan have been keeping us busy, but Aria and I make a pretty good team, so we’re knocking it out like champs.” Daniel can practically hear her smiling through the phone, and he’s thrilled to know how much she’s really enjoying working at Dr. Monroe’s practice here in Anchorage. He’s still getting used to living here, among many other things, but she’s right at home, and it’s helping him transition into his new life in Alaska.

“That’s good to hear,” he answers. “How’s my son?”

“Oh you know, just doing jumping jacks on my bladder,” she says behind an adorable giggle. “He needs to go ahead and come out already.”

“Well, I can’t wait until he does. Should be any day now, right?”

“That’s right. You sure you’re ready to become a daddy?”

Daniel smiles from ear to ear. “Fuhgeddaboutit.”

“Well, we’ll see,” Alannah says behind a giggle that still reminds Daniel how lucky he is to have her. “This kid has been through a lot just to make it into this world. I can’t really discuss it here, but you know what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, I do,” Daniel replies as the memories flood his brain like a dam just broke.

Images flash in Daniel’s mind of the night he almost died trying to get out of St. Louis. He remembers the sound of the gunshot that saved his life when the mother of his child had to kill a man. He remembers getting into the Mercedes, knowing full well it would explode in thirty seconds, and struggling to climb out of the door that was hidden from view by the wall of the casino. He remembers the feeling of fire in his shoulder and hamstring as he crawled out of the vehicle and slid underneath it, into a manhole that was waiting for them with the cover already removed by his friend Frankie. He remembers Alannah barely getting the manhole cover in place before the heat of the explosion became too much to bear, and they had to trek in the dark sewer until they reached the place Frankie had told them to go to in the motel room. They popped up right in front of the morgue—the same morgue Frankie owns and stole two unidentified bodies from—the same bodies Frankie placed in the front seats of the Mercedes that night to make everyone think two people were killed in the explosion—the same explosion that killed Dominic and Alannah, and gave two nameless people the freedom to fly to Anchorage and start their lives over.

The heat from the explosion was so intense the bodies couldn’t be identified, and Frankie made sure his guy in St. Louis PD put that in the police report, but the charred passports, found a few feet from the explosion, were enough for the police to know that the two victims were none other than Dominic Collazo and Alannah Sullivan. Daniel remembers how it felt being on the private jet Frankie chartered for them, when he realized the plan to kill Dominic and Alannah had worked to perfection.

More than anything else, Daniel remembers Frankie’s loyalty. It was Frankie’s loyalty that saved Daniel, and killed Dominic. That loyalty made Frankie the new and current boss of the family that believes he killed Dominic in a car bomb and collected on the million dollar contract. That loyalty made him worthy of the title of boss of the Giordano family. Loyalty to Donnie and Dominic is what made Frankie promise he’d kill Victor if the opportunity ever presented itself. Unfortunately it hasn’t yet, and Victor is still living out his days as boss of the Chicago Outfit, but Daniel hopes Frankie will get to fulfill his promise eventually. Regardless of Victor still being alive, Daniel just hopes the Family and mob life treats Frankie better than it treated Dominic.

Daniel remembers his mother and his father, and he remembers everything he went through to get to where he is now, and he’ll use those memories to keep himself straight when the temptation to act like Dominic creeps up on him. Daniel will never forget.

“How about the soon-to-be grandparents?” Daniel says as he smiles to himself. “Are they excited yet?”

“They sure are. Won’t stop talking about it. They’re excited about going to the courthouse, too. We’ve got a lot going on, but it’s all worth it. How are you doing with the name?”

“I fucking hate it,” Daniel admits. “But it’s worth it. I don’t need anybody from my old life figuring anything out, and now that my last name is officially the same as yours, it’ll be an easy transition once we’re officially married next week. That’s if our son doesn’t ruin our plans and decide to come out the same day we go to the courthouse. Did your parents ever ask why I changed my name when we moved here?”

“No, they didn’t ask, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t know. I think they’ve always known, they just don’t talk about. Anyway, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if I did go into labor that day,” Alannah says, giggling. “Either way, I think I’ll be good to go. As long as I have you two, everything is perfect. It’s us against the world, babe. Right?”

“Fuhgeddaboutit,” Daniel says, reminding himself of how things used to be, and of how awesome things are about to become for him and his family.

Daniel knows how lucky he is. He knows how bad things could’ve turned out for him and his wife, and he knows how wonderful the future will be. He just about has it all figured out. But there’s one thing he doesn’t know as he sits in his lush office chair.

He doesn’t know that four hours after he gets home tonight, his fiancé will go into labor. Before the sun rises in the morning, Daniel and Alannah Sullivan will welcome their first son, Donnie Stefano Sullivan, into the world.

THE END

Well, these acknowledgements are going to be awkward, but I’d be a total asshole if I didn’t do it this way. It’s the right thing to do, so let’s get this started, shall we?

Alright, so first of all, nobody has ever or will ever come before my wife. Baby, without you, you already know I wouldn’t be shit. I would’ve gotten arrested after missing that stupid anger management class back in 2003 if it wasn’t for you, and I probably would’ve turned into Dominic Collazo in real life. You’re all I’ve ever needed, baby, and we went from living in a trailer to living in Tokyo, Alaska, and Guam as bestselling authors. Let’s just call it what it is—we’re the shit, and we do this without any bullshit or magic fairies. We are who we are because we know the difference between right and wrong, and we manage to not be assholes because it’s the right thing to do. Our success in this game is just beginning. I hope you’re ready to take over the world, babe. I love you.

“So if we want something, we’re gonna get it, because the world belongs to us.”

Now, on to the awkward part. Bear with me . . .

Dominic Collazo is the best character I’ve ever created, as of now. I love him dearly. He’s everything I ever wanted one of my characters to be, and I’m so proud of the fact that his first book was my highest selling book to date, although I hope his second book outshines his first. Dominic—my badass Dominic—put me on the map, and I love him so much for it.

But the truth is, I almost let Dominic down. When I wrote
Kingpin
, all I could think about was Dominic. I even wrote it in my notes for the book that Dominic was the leading role and Alannah was the supporting actress, so I wouldn’t forget to focus on him and his badass-ness. I was all about Dominic in
Kingpin
, but I got a little lost when I was writing
Long Live the King
. Somehow, even after all the success Dominic brought me, I forgot about him and started focusing on the story around him. I started paying more attention to Alannah, and Gloria, and Tommy, and Victor. There was so much going on around Dominic that I forgot all the things that made me love him. In fact, I finished the book without ever remembering how badass Dominic is. I left him all alone while everybody else came up.

You know who brought my beloved Dominic back to life? My beta readers.

I admit it, I had fucked up and I didn’t even know it. But my beta readers told me the cold, hard truth. They didn’t hold back, and once I got over the fact that I hated being told I’d ruined my favorite character, I realized they were right. I won’t go into detail about how I’d fucked Dominic up, because well, you read the book and you saw how badass Dominic is in
Long Live the King
, but trust me when I tell you I had dropped the ball big time. If it wasn’t for my beta readers, this book would not be what it is. Dominic would not be what he is. So, even though I hated hearing it more than I could ever get anyone to understand, my beta readers saved my favorite character. I revised about eighty-five percent of Dominic in this story, and it really changed the entire book. All the characters in this book are strong, but Dominic is the strongest. He takes the least amount of shit and is still just as ruthless as he was in
Kingpin
, if not more. I really hate to see him go, although it is time for me to move on to the next insane story, and he is the way he is in this book because of the betas who saved him. So, I absolutely have to thank every one of my beta readers for bringing Dominic back from the dead. Heather Mize, Tracy Adams, Sharon Sastre, Shabby Arora, Laura Lee, Kimberly Ervin-Echols, Raeann Whitney, and of course Kizzy Williams, thank you all so much. I really mean this when I say it; you saved Dominic, and you saved my book. You did exactly what you were supposed to do as beta readers, and I’m truly grateful . . . although it may not have seemed like it at the time.

Thank you to my parents, Will and Loretta Greer, for all your love and support. We’ll be back in the states next year!

All of my cousins, aunts, and uncles showing me love in E. St. Louis, thank you! I’ll see you all soon, I hope.

Robin Harper, my fantastic, unbeatable cover designer, thank you for another knockout. All it takes is a glass, a cigar, and some smoke for you to make a powerful piece of art that catches the eye exactly the way it’s supposed to. Thank you, Robin! Can’t wait for the next one.

Christine Borgford, the best formatter ever, thank you for doing such great work on another interior for me. Me and the Wife have the best covers and interiors in the book game! A million thanks to you, Christine.

I also want to thank Enticing Book Journey for hooking me up with another blog tour and release blitz. We’ll be business partners for life!

I want to thank the mafia for being so illegally and murderously dope! I’m such a mafia junkie, and so much of this duet is inspired by the real La Cosa Nostra.

Lastly, I’ve got to thank every blog and blogger who showed love to
Kingpin
and
Love Live the King
. I’m finally writing the kind of stories I always wanted to write, and the fact that you all are giving so much love and attention to my books means absolutely everything to me. I’m eternally grateful for your support, and now that I have your attention, I’m never letting it go.

Buckle up.