Ravenous Kingpin (Kingpins of the Syndicate #4)

Epilogue

KILLIAN

Fifteen Years Later

E veryone who was anyone was at St. Jean d’Arc School for their tenth anniversary celebration. It was supposed to be informal and simple, but considering who the organizers were, there was nothing simple about it.

I watched my nieces and nephew stick to their object of infatuation like glue, but not my Amara. My daughter was convinced she’d earned the badass female badge. She sure as heck loved to kick everyone’s ass.

Just like her mamma.

It was fine by me. I’d prefer she kicked ass than be boy-crazy.

“How does it feel to be in your last year?” Emory asked, trying not to cry. She bawled when our daughter left for college, and now she was ready to tear up again with just the mention of her upcoming graduation.

It was Amara’s last year of college and our daughter couldn’t wait to spread her wings. Maybe it was a slightly unconventional upbringing, first by Liana Volkov and then us, but I didn’t regret her independent streak.

“I’m debating taking accelerated classes for the last semester so I can finish school faster,” Amara answered, completely clueless that her mother wanted to keep her as close as possible. “I can’t wait to set off on my backpacking tour.”

Emory’s eyes snapped to me, wordlessly warning me not to agree to it. After all, it’d been a summer fling overseas that resulted in Emory’s pregnancy.

“Well, we haven’t quite agreed on it,” I reminded her. “I might want to pass on some responsibilities to you. I need help running?—”

“Holy shit, Papa,” Amara exclaimed, her backpacking trip completely forgotten. “You mean it?”

I nodded, and before I could say anything else, she ran off, and I watched her join a group of friends and her cousins at the other end of the patio, right in front of the cafeteria doors, which took up the entire wall. The doors were open and people mingled in and out of the area and onto the spacious patio and lawn. People from all families were here—the Vitale family. The Morrellis. The Kings. The Marchettis. The Callahan clan, and so many more—celebrating the accomplishment of the four girls who decided to start the school amidst their robbery schemes.

The whole fucking underworld. Sometimes I wondered how Wynter and the girls succeeded in keeping the school a neutral ground where children got along no matter their background.

“Oh, Killian.” Em sighed and I glanced at my wife. “I’m not sure if putting Amara in the Syndicate is a good idea. It’s too early.”

My gaze darted back to our daughter, who was gesturing animatedly to her cousins.

“She’s probably telling them she’ll be the baddest boss bitch they’ve ever seen,” Emory muttered.

I let out a sigh when I noticed some boys throwing glances her way, and it took all my self-control not to stalk over there and punch them all to kingdom come.

“Better that than the alternative,” I grumbled.

“Which is?” she demanded.

I never got to answer her because Basilio came up. “If you’re putting Amara in the Syndicate, then Fallon is in too. There are too many boys staring at her.”

“And how is that going to help?” Emory questioned.

“They’ll be too scared to approach her,” Basilio stated matter-of-factly. “Look at those horny bastards.”

“They are all staring at our daughters,” I grumbled. “They should learn to be scared of them.”

“Well, they’re getting older.” Wynter appeared by her husband’s side, taking a break from welcoming all the families. “Love is bound to follow.”

“The fuck it is,” Basilio and I answered at the same time.

“My daughter isn’t ready for boys,” I justified. “She’s only?—”

“About to turn twenty-one,” Juliette reminded me, and I glowered at her. “What?”

“Are you trying to piss me off?”

Emory chuckled, slipping her hand into mine. “You know the answer to that question.”

Dante came up behind my sister, wrapping his hands around her waist. “Speaking of love and trouble, did you guys hear the rumor?”

All of our gazes snapped to him.

“What rumor?” Emory asked curiously.

“Luciano Vitale’s son?—”

“Matteo,” Juliette chimed in, as though we didn’t know who he was. Luciano only had two kids, a son and a daughter.

“He’s disappeared with Nico Morrelli’s daughter,” Dante finished, and all our eyes turned to the Morrelli family across the lawn.

“Why?” My brows furrowed. “Did they elope? Kids today rush into shit.”

“Weren’t Matteo and Hannah already arranged to be married?” Emory questioned. “So it really isn’t that big of a deal.”

Juliette smiled smugly. “He disappeared with the other twin daughter.” Her words sunk in along with a few gasps running around, before she continued, “And Hannah… apparently she set a building on fire and then disappeared too.”

A heartbeat passed and all of our eyes shifted across the lawn to where Nico Morrelli and Luciano Vitale were facing off. I could feel fury rolling off them from the opposite side of the lawn.

“Should we take bets on whether Nico will punch Luciano?” Juliette whispered, her eyes locked excitedly on the two men. Luciano was smirking, but Nico… fuck, he looked scary.

Then Luciano said something and Nico punched him in the face hard enough to wipe the smirk off Luciano’s face. The buzz of chatter around us faded into tense silence as everyone waited with bated breath for a fight to break out.

But then Luciano wiped at the blood on his lip, his eyes lit with something dark and amusing, then he turned around and left.

Basilio let out a bark of laughter, breaking the tension, while shaking his head. However, judging by the serious expression marring Nico’s features, there was nothing amusing about the situation.

“Christ,” I sighed. “I hope wars don’t start over it.”

“Of course they will,” Basilio deadpanned. “They are probably starting right now. After all, wouldn’t you start a war if some young punk disappeared with your kid?”

I narrowed my eyes on him and my heart stilled with just the thought of any boy with Amara. I wasn’t ready for that shit. And if they disappeared, I’d scorch the earth to ash to find them.

My eyes traveled to my daughter and I watched as Grayson, Fallon, and Amara talked to a group of kids and Grayson came to stand between his sister and cousin, glaring at any boy who got too close. Basilio and I watched him with pride, and I couldn’t help but wonder about the times when Grayson wouldn’t be there to keep boys at bay.

Emory wrapped her arms around me. “Our daughter has a good head on her shoulders.”

“But boys don’t,” I muttered as I contemplated whether it would be going too far to murder every boy on this planet who wasn’t related to her.

Emory chuckled, leaning her head against me. “You do you, Papa. You have my full support.”

I was the luckiest man on this earth. My wife always supported me and sometimes even held the matches while I set fire to anyone who dared threaten us.

I pressed a kiss to her head and smiled. “Don’t worry, álainn . I will. Those boys won’t know what hit them.”

I shared a look with Basilio and could see he was contemplating the same as I was.

It was time to assign a bodyguard to our daughters.

We’d protect our family until our very last breath, and nothing or nobody would stop us.

THE END