•Nolani•
6 Months Later...
I'm nervously playing with my engagement ring, spinning it around and around my finger. I glance down at it and straighten it back up, the diamond gleaming under the harsh lighting above me. I shift in the plastic chair and take a deep breath trying to calm my nerves, not that it does much help. I'm more nervous now than I was when I met my mom after she 'died'. The table is cold beneath my hands, the top rough and scratched. I glance around at the others waiting and then to Giovanni who's leaned against the wall chatting with the guard as if they're old friends. My guess is he's a made man. When he guided us into the room he bowed his head at me as if I were a queen and refused to look me in the eye. After Giovanni kneeled at my feet in front of his men in Italy I became royalty in their eyes according to Nico.
Finally the doors open and the prisoners are lead into the room in a line and then I see him. He favors one leg as he walks and I know it's because a bullet wound he got to the thigh that shattered his femur a few months before he was locked up.
My heart is in my throat as he takes the seat across from me and flashes me a friendly smile. "Hello, Kiyana."
His voice is deep, his Chicago accent thick and it's crazy hearing someone casually call me Kiyana after all these years. He's tall, shorter than Giovanni but still taller than me. His arms, neck, and hands are decorated in tattoos and his gray hair is cut close to his scalp. When I had Toni look more into Amari he showed me a picture of him so I knew what he looked liked prior to today, his face so similar to Angelo's it made my heart ache, but seeing him in person has me fighting tears. Angelo's entire facial structure came from the man in front of me.
I clear my throat and finally reply to him, "I go by Nolani."
All the questions I wanted to ask him disappeared now that he's in front of me, I desperately dig through my mind for them.
"I know." He nods.
My brow furrows. "I'm a little confused, I thought you'd be more surprised to see me."
Instead he acts as if he knows exactly who I am.
He lets out a light chuckle, shifting his cuffed hands on the table. His hands are large, the dark brown skin tone even deeper than my own.
"I've known who you were since your rise to fame, you look so much like my Mom it would be hard not to." He admits.
Mom said I looked like Amari's Mom so at least I know she was truthful about one thing.
I frown. "But you never came after me."
He arches an eyebrow at me. "Why would I come after you? Your Mom was the one I wanted. She took off with you and a shit ton of product. My men hunted her for years until her death."
"She said you would so she sent Angelo to look over me."
He nods. "Angelo was a good boy, I tried to stay away from him for his sake. He was better at staying out of trouble than the rest of my kids."
When Toni looked more into Amari I learned exactly how big my family tree is. I have four brothers Darius, Colby, Angelo, and Xavier. Darius is 33, Colby is 31, Angelo was 29 when he passed and Xavier is 20. I have Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Amari's Mom, my grandmother, is alive but his father died a couple years ago.
"If you knew about me why didn't you ever say anything?" I ask, hurt seeping into my words. Learning a father you didn't know about knew where you were for years but never contacted you stings. "I didn't know who you were until recently, I didn't even know that I had any family alive."
Because my Mom lies like it's a career, I think but don't bother saying it.
"You were thriving in your career, making money and living a good life. The life I lived would've easily wreaked that. The longer I'm in this place the more I regret my past." He runs a hand down his face. "None of your brothers or my family know who you really are, if they do they figured it out themselves. I didn't want anyone with bad intentions coming after you." His hazel eyes flick over to Giovanni. "You've chained yourself to one of the most dangerous men in the world now though so I guess my efforts of keeping you safe are laughable."
It's weird thinking of Giovanni as one of the most dangerous men in the world, to me he's sweet, gentle and loving. He's a good dad, so attentive with Rome.
"I love him, he's good to me." I reply defensively and glare at Amari.
"No reason to get upset, I'm just being honest." He laughs. "Guess that saying is true, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I didn't even raise you and you still found your way into organized crime."
It is a crazy thought. He thought he was protecting me by not contacting me and I end up in love and engaged to a mafia boss.
"We have a son together, his name is Rome."
I don't know why I feel the need to tell him but I do. He doesn't seem like the man Mom said he was although she did say he was good to me, he just wasn't good to her. We'll probably never have a father daughter relationship with him being locked up but I would like to know him and I want him to know me.
"You gonna raise him in the Family?"
I nod. I don't know if there would ever be another choice, I'm in almost as deep as Giovanni now even after the way things have changed. Once you're in as far as we are I don't think there is an out.
"When he's older you let him know he'll always have allies in Chicago." He glances around the room. "I won't ever get out of here alive but my boys are still loyal. Your brother Darius runs things now."
I plan on meeting Darius and my other brothers soon. I feel like I wasted so much time with Angelo as my bodyguard not knowing he was my brother, I don't want to regret not trying to know the others now that I'm aware of them. Mom knew about them and she never told me, it pisses me off that because of her I've missed out on so much. I try not to think of her because sometimes it makes me so mad I'm tempted to fly to France and strangle her and I'm still not sure I can live with knowing I killed my own mother even with the way she treated me. I know Giovanni or one of his men would do it but they would be doing it because of me, I don't want her sitting heavily on my mind for the rest of my life, she doesn't deserve to take up that much space in my life.
"You got something on your mind?" Amari asks and I realize I've gotten lost in thought
"Moms not actually dead." His eyes widen in surprise. "Giovanni's men found her and I talked to her. She said you were awful to her after she got pregnant. She said you would constantly scream at her and bring women home."
He lets out a barking laugh that catches multiple eyes around the room.
"Your Mom is bat shit crazy and there just isn't another way to put it. If things weren't her way then she wasn't happy." He shakes his head. "Did she tell you how we met?"
I nod. "Yes. She jumped in your car trying to get away from an employee at a store that caught her stealing."
"Did she tell you how she pursued me afterward?"
I shake my head no. "She said you pursued her."
"Nope. She would show up everywhere I went. I was younger and stupider than I am now so I enjoyed the attention. She talked me into having sex with her without a condom, claimed she was on birth control. She wasn't and she got pregnant with you. I'm not blaming her, you obviously aren't my only kid so I'm not innocent either just explaining. She threatened to hurt you throughout her pregnancy, swore I was cheating on her when I wasn't... not at first at least.
"After she had you I became focused solely on you and she didn't like it. She would go missing for days, coming back looking like she'd been sleeping on the streets. I did cheat on her then. I had plenty of women willing to get in my bed and I didn't love your mom so I let them. She caught me one day, surprised me at a friends apartment and found me in bed with another woman. She ran off with 50k worth of product and you. That's the last time I ever saw you until you did that show in New York that ended up going viral. Knew it was you immediately."
I remember the show, it was the third one I'd ever been in and a socialite sitting by the runway snapped a picture of me and put it on her Instagram and the world went crazy. After that I got job offers from the hottest brands and my career skyrocketed.
Amari tells me about my brothers and what it was like growing up in Chicago. He asks me about my life and I skim over my childhood, sugarcoating most of it because it feels too personal to admit the things Mom put me through with so many people around and I also don't want to make him feel guilty for not saving me from her. Visiting time ends and Amari gives me a smile and tells me to write him before getting in line with the other inmates and leaving the room.
• • •
"It looked like things went well." Giovanni says, lacing his fingers with mine as we exit the building.
Dario is waiting by the door, he falls in step with us as we walk by and Marcello pulls up in the rental car, idling by the curve as we approach.
I nod. "It did."
Much better than my reunion with my Mom.
We stop in front of the rental car and Giovanni cups my cheek in his large hand. "Do you want to get a hotel for the night or fly home?"
I get lost in his amber gaze, the same color Romes have changed to, and rise up on my toes to press a long, slow kiss against his lips. When I think about how far I've come in life I get very emotional. I never believed I'd be where I am now but I always dreamed about it. I'd lie awake at night, praying for my life to get easier, for a bed to sleep on and a full stomach. I have so much more than I ever imagined. I know there will be more rocky patches to come, it's inevitable especially when dealing with organized crime, but with Giovanni by my side there's nothing I can't overcome. He's my peace and my chaos, sometimes my love for him makes me crazy but I've never felt as good as I do when I'm with him. He's my safe haven, my...
"Home." I whisper the word out loud against his lips. "Let's go home."
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The storyline continues in book 2, The Deep End 😈
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Hey babe's, well there she is, she's complete. I procrastinated this epilogue after my internet came back on after the tornadoes because I had anxiety about it being done 😅🤦🏼♀️
I hope you guys had a good New Years Eve/Day!
I'll discuss the schedule for book 2 in the authors note of the next chapter
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Love youu🖤🖤
— Katy