I turn around in his arms, smiling down at a sleeping Aliana, and cup Landry's cheek, nodding. "You're right. I love you, Landry. Thank you for never givin' up on me, never tryna change me."
"I love you too, and there was not a chance in hell I was gonna change you. The world needs you just the way you are, Magnolia Marie Laurent, and so do I."
Extended Epilogue
Magnolia
I pace outside the prison, wondering what the hell I’m doing, but I need answers. Something doesn’t add up; something is going on. If no one's gonna tell me, I need to find out for myself. I take a deep breath and walk through the prison doors, signing in at the desk with the plexiglass window.
“Giacomo Cervelli,” I respond.
The guard nods, unlocking the side door as he leads me down a hall and to a bunch of cubicles with phones on the walls. I sit, looking around, and shiver at the smell.
Sweat. Filth. Horrors.
I see movement out of the corner of my eyes, and when I peel my gaze to Giacomo, I suck in a breath. The young man that was so tender to me for the first few weeks of our marriage appears, his face clean-shaven, his hair short, how he had it when I first met him. His dark brown eyes still shine with an authority that scares me even to this day, and I discreetly touch my hand to the glass that separates us, making sure it’s sturdy.
I believed him when he said he wasn’t the one to hit us or wreck Landry’s car, but this was still the man who abused me without much remorse for two years. I can take him now, though, stronger than ever; no longer that little girl he tried to mold into the perfect wife.
“The greatest mistake of my life was not treasuring you, topolina.”
“Don’t call me that,” I grit through my teeth. I didn’t come here for a walk down memory lane. I came for answers.” He gives me a smile and leans closer. The cut on his lip and the purple shade under his eyes causes me to furrow my brows. “What happened to you?”
“What happens to guys like me in here,” he shrugs. “What questions do you have? I should warn you, I may not have the answers.”
“My father. How is he involved with yours? Why did he come to my house and tell me that he stayed away from me to protect me? My mother? I wanna know it all.”
He exhales, leaning back in his chair as he crosses his arm over his chest.
“Your mother is sick.”
“What?” I gasp. “H-How do you know that?”
“Because my father is the one paying for her treatments. Luca marries my sister, your mother gets the care she needs.”
I shake my head, not believing it. “My father has money, so much money. Why would he need your father?”
“Where do you think he got the money from? Your father’s been working for mine for a long time. Now though, the DA has been sniffing around, and word on the street was that your father was gonna start talking.”
“Jesus Christ,” I whisper, running a hand down my face. “So he’s not? Where does that leave you? None of this makes sense!” I’m frustrated. Giacomo’s cryptic circles are starting to piss me off. I just want to get straight to the point and then get the hell out of here.
“That leaves me doing what I should have done a long time ago.”
“Time’s up,” the guard says, tapping me on my shoulder.
“What?” I say with panic. “No, no. One more minute. Please.”
“He’s got another visitor. Let’s go.”
I take one last look at him and shake my head as he puts his palm up against the glass.
“Believe me when I say I didn’t intend to hurt you, Magnolia. A parent’s persuasion is a powerful thing.”
His words swirl around in my head as I remember thinking the same thing. They drag me back to the front as I sign out, and a sleek, elegantly dressed red-head catches my eye, walking through the door. She looks familiar, but I can’t place her.
“Excuse me,” I ask the guard. “Who is that?”
He turns to look over his shoulder and then back to me. “DA Redmond.”
Skyla Redmond. Now I remember. A few years back, she was the ADA that was kidnapped along with Travis Redmond, that football player from the Gladiators. Why the hell would she be here talking to Giacomo? I watch as a dark haired man slides a hand around her waist and when he turns, I lock eyes with the blue eyes that stepped into the RISE office last year. Octavian Delgado.
“What the hell?” I whisper.
Octavian stops walking, putting a finger up to Skyla and I shake my head, quickly turning to leave.
“Magnolia!”
I squeeze my eyes shut, cursing myself for being so nosy and turn to face Octavian, knowing now that I am in way over my head. I have no idea what any of this means but I know it’s serious if the DA and a DEA agent is visiting Giacomo in jail.
“Mr. Delgado,” I say with a nod.
“Glad you remember me. I must say mask or no mask you’re still ravishing. The darker hair threw me off though.” He smiles, two huge dimples take up his face and as a warm blooded woman, I can appreciate how handsome he is, but that doesn’t make the pit in my stomach disappear.
“I’m not here to cause trouble, I just want answers.”
“I’m sure you do but you’re not gonna get them, at least not yet. I don’t think you know how serious this is, how big this web is knotted, Ms. Giordano.”
“It’s Mrs. Laurent now and I think if it has to do with my family, I should be allowed to know what that web entails,” I grit out.
“My advice? The less you know the better and the less people that know the safer everyone is, if you get my meaning.”
I exhale, closing my eyes.
“I don’t keep secrets from my husband, Mr. Delgado.”
He lifts his hands in the air and nods. “Fair enough. I can think of a few more people that you should keep them from, though.”
I press my lips together and nod, hearing his words as I quickly leave, walking back out to my car and head straight to our apartments. I debate on just going back to my apartment, telling Landry and leaving the girls out of it but keeping secrets from them after all this time would kill me. I stop the elevator at Eden and Addison’s floor and text Everleigh to come down. Pounding on Eden’s door, she finally opens it, her face twisted with concern and annoyance.
“Someone better be dead. I was takin’ the best nap of my life.”
I push through her apartment, pacing her living room as I try and piece together everything Giacomo told me, everything my father and Luca have hinted at. Landry’s car. The wreck. Octavian and Skyla. Everything.
“What’s the big emergency? I gotta lesson plan,” Everleigh groans, walking in as Addison follows.
“I…” I can’t do this. I can’t bring them into this, not until I know more. What if I tell them everything I know and somehow Antonio gets to them? What if something happens to them? I would never be able to live with myself. “I just...I think Landry and I might try for another baby, I just...I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made it into such a big thing, I’m just nervous with everything and...”
“Magnolia, come here,” Eden whispers, opening her arms as I wrap my own around her, feeling the guilt of not coming clean but knowing that all the girls went through enough in their life, they don’t need this too. Everleigh and Addison come in for the hug now and I feel a tear run down my cheek as I discreetly push it away.
“I know it feels like everything is still so unsolved but everything is gonna be okay. Y’all have a beautiful family and I’m sure you got some more rugrats on the way. Plus, you got us. No matter what life throws our way, we rise, right?” Eden asks.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “We rise.”
Blurb for Star-Crossed Secrets by Kali Brixton
By day, I, Everleigh Greene, am a dutiful elementary teacher.
* * *
By night, I become Madam Isis, the unattainable ice queen at RISE.
* * *
Co-owning a gentlemen’s club with my best frien
ds was supposed to grant us all freedom. So, why does it feel like my wings are being clipped, one feather at a time?
* * *
I conceal my identity so my family won't know where I spend my nights. I put on a brave face so my girls can’t see how their fortress of freedom shackles me. The hardest one of all to wear is the mask of indifference whenever he's near.
* * *
The man I can’t have. The one who’s promised to another.
* * *
I tell myself that I can keep up this charade, that I can be two people—even that I can stop loving him.
* * *
But aren’t the saddest lies the ones we tell ourselves?
Star-Crossed Secrets premieres January 13, 2021
PRE-ORDER NOW
Sneak peek at Star-Crossed Secrets by Kali Brixton
Prologue
Everleigh
January, Sophomore Year
“All right, ladies. Time to pick your poison.” I motion to the men of various ages and skill sets behind me. Eden and Addison, my two newest best friends, scan the room, looking for any newcomers to my bi-weekly session with Dad and the guys in his department. Now that they’ve become proficient in their own rights at self-defense, I always let them choose their victims—ahem, training partners for the sessions before singling out my own.
Dad brought a few other guys in today that we usually don’t spar with to keep us on our toes, so it promises to be a vigorous day.
Always assume you know nothing about your opponent’s fighting style, Kher Bear. Because when it’s for real, chances are you won’t.
“So, what're their stories, morning glory?” Eden drawls as she and Addy eye up the men for a whole different reason than what brought us here today.
I smile at her candor. Given what she’s been through, getting to choose the man you fight—or fuck, if that look in her eyes is any indication—is a gift. “Well, you already know the deal with those two twits,” I joke, pointing to my brother Kieran and his best friend Luca, who are chatting up the new guys.
Thankfully, my best friend since childhood Lia was busy studying for a quiz and couldn’t join us today; otherwise, one look at her brother and she would have bolted for the door. They haven’t spoken since her dad had kicked her out of their home and lives last year for divorcing her dickface ex-husband, so the tension is palpable when she hears his name.
“The tall blonde one over there is taken,” I say, pointing to Decker, “But Hastings in the blue shirt and Phillips in the black are single and ready to mingle.” My eyebrows waggle as the girls size them up.
“I call dibs on the big guy,” Eden comments, her eyes shamelessly dragging up and down Phillips’s frame. “He looks like he might be fun to break in.” Addy and I chuckle, knowing Eden is calculating how many rounds he might be able to handle in her bedroom, not in the ring.
“Fine by me. If that bulge in the front of Hastings’s pants isn’t a cup, I’ve found my after-training treat,” Addy coos as she winks, her inner-vixen shining through.
“You ladies ready to go?” Luca asks as he and my brother, who’s apparently in a foul-as-fuck mood, approach.
I ignore the prickles on my arms that his voice always brings to the surface. “We were born ready.”
“Hold on. What’s the deal with that redheaded fox over there?” Eden teases as she waves at my dad.
I shake my head at her silliness as I finish wrapping my hands. “Happily married, I’m afraid.”
“Damn. They always are,” Addy sighs, adding a wave of her own. My dad smiles back at them and waves, unaware of our conversation. “Kids?”
“You bet. A daughter who’s the apple of his eye,” I beam, then point to my moody-as-fuck brother, “And a disappointment.”
The girls and Luca burst into laughter as Kieran scowls. “Quit fucking around, Ev.”
The girls raise their eyebrows at him as Luca clears his throat. “Eden, Addy, why don’t you two come with me and I’ll introduce you to the new guys?”
They hesitate before I nod toward my dad and the guys. Sidling up to my brother, who’s now taping his fists up like a fiend, I assume the caring sister persona—or at least my version of it. “That’s what you’ve been doing all evening, K,” I point out, which earns me a deep scowl. “You actually gonna show up to spar or just keep moping around?”
Without looking up from his handiwork, he scoffs. “I’m not moping.”
“That pout says otherwise. What crawled up your ass and died, hateful?”
He looks at my now crossed arms and realizes he isn’t going to walk away from this conversation until I get a satisfactory answer. He starts stretching and his eyes bounce around the room, avoiding my stare. “Just got some…things on my mind.”
“What? Did you finally impregnate some dimwit with your spawn?” I chuckle until I realize he’s gone deadly silent and frozen in place. “Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“The tests were negative.”
My eyes widen at his admission. “Tests?
“As in, plural tests…or plural girls?” The sincere question is met with incredulity. “What? I never know with you.”
“Go ahead and say it.”
“Say what?” I ask, knowing full well what he means, but needing to hear him say it.
“Say ‘I told you so.’ I know you’re dying to.”
Ah, sweet victory. “I believe those negative tests said it eloquently enough, Kieran. Who—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he cuts me off, his stance stiff even after stretching.
That tone of voice, though. “Why do you sound so disappointed?”
“Disappointed? I was scared shitless,” he mutters angrily. “What if it would’ve gone the other way?”
I pause to think about the possibility of my brother, the man destined to be the eternal bachelor, as a father. It paints more of a Jackson Pollack rendition than a mental picture. “Then, you’d be asking for a minivan instead of that Charger you want for your graduation present.” A huge grin spreads across my face. “I’d still be the favorite child, though.”
“Not funny, Ev,” he smarts, clearly off-kilter with this conversation, which is completely unlike Kieran.
“You are aware that pregnancy can happen when you’re having sex right?”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“You sure about that?” I laugh, trying to lighten the mood. “Why do you think I raze you and Luca all the time?”
“Because you’re a ballbuster who gets your jollies from it?”
That’s…not entirely untrue. “You’re one to talk. As I recall from twenty years of experience, you’re the one who’s obsessed with giving me shit.” I place a hand on his broad shoulder, sensing his need for some encouragement. “Regardless, if those tests would have been positive, you would've done the right thing. You’re a Greene. We follow through on our commitments.”
He sips his bottle of water, lost in his own thoughts. “I’m not ready to be a dad.”
And the world breathes a collective sigh. “I don’t think the world’s ready for the fruit of your loins to be unleashed from Hell yet, either. Although, if you want to lessen the likelihood of it that happening, don’t you think it might be a good idea to tone down your…activity level a tad bit?”
“Just gotta be more careful with who I choose to exercise with, I guess.”
Not the approach I was thinking of, Brother. “Doesn’t it ever get old, flitting from girl to girl?”
“Variety is the spice of life.”
“Keep saying telling yourself that. Instead of putting notches on your bedposts, you’ll be building extra shelves on the spice rack to house all those little varieties. Why don’t you go ask Dorian how it feels to part with half his paycheck in child support payments,” I point out as he grimaces. “Condoms are cheaper than childcare. Just sayin’.”
Stealing a glance at Dorian Fredericks, a decent guy who made some poor
choices in his younger days and ended up with not one but two baby mamas from Hades, he shudders. “I used protection.”
“Things happen, though, K. Let’s take a step back from that part for a moment. Was this someone you’d actually want to have in your life forever?”
“Not…really. She’s just a random hookup from a few weeks ago. Larrah will murder me if she finds out.”
“Who’s Larrah?”
“A girl I started talking to after Jeanine and I hooked up.” In Kieran-speak, that means they’ve slept together at least twice, possibly a third time.
“Then, maybe instead of going for quantity, why don’t you try to have a relationship with someone? Get to know more about her than her bra size and what style underwear she leaves on your bedroom floor.”
“Ha. Ha.” He flexes his fingers, making sure the tape isn’t too tight and to make last-minute adjustments. “I’m enjoying my college years, not picking out who I want to be the mother of the children—not that I want them.”
He may change his mind on that last part one day. “What’s so wrong with wanting to be with just one person?”
His green eyes, so like mine, bulge. “You know how fucking boring that would be? Shackled to the same person all the time.”
Yeah, like you’d be a real treat to deal with for life. I shrug. “It’s not being shackled if you willingly tether yourself to someone.”
He smirks. “That’s sweet, Ev. Been reading your big book of fairy tales again?”
Asshole. I return his with one of my own. “Why would I need to? I’m living one.”
“How do you figure?” His dark brows scrunch as he bounces in place to loosen up.
“Easy,” I explain. “My daddy’s a king who dotes on his queen and his pride and joy.” My sugary-sweet voice drips with faux humility as I point to the officers in Dad’s department and my friends. “My kingdom has devoted knights to watch my back and the fair maidens in the village are loyal companions. And to complete the set, it even has a village idiot,” I chuck my head sideways at Luca, then give him a pointed look, “Or two.”
Delivered in Sin Page 26
