The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (135 page)

Andreas examined the body before him, confirming the identity of the serial killer who had haunted his life. He was burned beyond any physical recognition, but his size, and the gun he had been wielding lay at his fingertips. Andreas needed to see it. See the body where he had seen him burning. It was the only way he could rest assured that the monster had not escaped again. And now he was sure. Spiro/Sal, whatever the fuck name he used, was dead. And, now he could live.

He turned and began to walk to the car where Cat was safely ensconced. She was his life. His love. His future.

A New Day

T
he New Year’s Day
wedding had gone off without a hitch. The service had been held at Andreas’s home. Neither he nor Cat had wanted to wait. They wanted to begin their lives together. They wanted to live.

It had been family only. Gio stood as best man, Lisa, the matron-of-honor, and Cat had planned to give herself away not having any family of her own. She smiled tearfully, however, when both Nikko and Blaze stepped forward when she reached the bottom of the stairs. They flanked her and she gave them her hands as they escorted her the rest of the way to Andreas.

They walked her between the small aisles of three rows. There were just eighteen chairs, filled with family, Angela and her husband, and Tony Alvarez and his wife, Sherrie, who had come for the wedding. She nodded to him, and his beautiful wife and then was handed off to Andreas by his brothers. They each kissed her cheek in parting.

“You have family now, Cat.”

“You have us,” Blaze added to his brother’s comment. She wiped the tears that slipped down her face and then turned to the stunningly handsome smiling man before her.

“I’ll take her from here,” Andreas choked huskily. His voice thick from pent up emotion. She was stunning in a short Vera Wang ivory dress. It was simple, her style. Only a thin decorative seed pearl scooped neckline adorned the dress.

Cat took his arm, and turned to face the Priest. Tears were in her eyes as he read the vows, and they each repeated them. It was quick, but every eye in the room sparkled for the couple who had both been through hell and back. They found each other through much pain, much suffering, and found their happiness in each other’s arms. It was fated. Everyone knew without a doubt that this love would withstand the test of time.

When the kiss happened after the vows, applause rang out in the room. The couple broke apart, but Andreas didn’t face the crowd and well-wishers yet. He gazed into the silver grey eyes of the woman who made him whole, and told her just how much he loved her. “Cat, my love. Before all here, I want you to know that from this day forward, you are my world. I meant my vows. I’ll keep you safe, I’ll cherish you, and I’ll love you for all time. I love you.”

Cat swallowed the lump in her throat as he wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “You have shown me love in every look, every touch. You have made me believe in the impossible. Your family has welcomed me, and for that I am so grateful. You are in my soul, and my heart, and for so long I thought I didn’t have those anymore. Andreas, I love you and you are a gift I will cherish always.”

Her words floored him as usual. He gave her his famous crooked smile that never failed to warm her. And he kissed her again, and again, and again.

*     *     *

After a brunch
reception, Andreas and Cat made their departure for a quick honeymoon. When he’d asked her three days ago if she wanted to go somewhere, she’d nodded. “Home.” That was her reply. When he gave her a quizzical look, she clarified. “Amsterdam.” He saw tears shimmering and understood. He made all of the arrangements.

*     *     *

The first night
after arriving, they went straight to the hotel. He held his wife and showed her what forever would be like. They basked in their love for one another. On For the first three days she allowed him to wine and dine her, taking her to the palaces and castles she had seen from only the outside as a child. On the fourth day, she was ready and took charge. She showed him the Amsterdam she knew as a child. The canals, the alleys, and the red light district.

On their very last day, she took him to the apartment she remembered from her childhood. Where her grandparents had raised her. Andreas tipped the young couple who lived there now, so they could go in. He watched her as she looked into the three rooms, touching the walls, the old gas stove, the radiator, things he assumed had not changed. When she nodded that they were done, she asked to go to a nearby fishing village where she had fished with her grandfather, and taken boat rides.

When they got there, they bought sandwiches and sat on a bench near the beach and watched the world go by. Sighing after she was done eating, she laid her head on his chest. “Thank you for bringing me here, there are some things I needed to say goodbye to.”

“Believe me, darling. I understand. I may need to go back to New York. Do the same with my parents.” He reached for her hand and held it. Holding on and giving each other strength.

After a few minutes more Cat got up, and he followed her as they walked back towards the village and his rental car. But instead of turning right, she turned left. He walked by her side and just followed. Up ahead he saw it. A set of wrought iron gates, the words above etched with “Markermeer Cemetery.”

Soon enough they stood before several small markers. The names on them showed they were Cat’s aunt, mother, grandparents, and great grandparents.

He stood behind her as she let out a tremulous breath. “Grandpapa, I have rolled, I have gathered no moss. Like stone I have survived and persevered, and weathered. But I am a Marino now. And I am happy to put the past behind me.”

Her felt her take several more calming breaths to keep from crying. He held her shoulders which were straight and proud. He loved this remarkable woman.

“Grandmama, thank you. Thank you for making me strong. And thank you for always telling me to never lose hope. You withstood, and by sharing your stories, I knew I could as well. I wasn’t in Auschwitz, or the Soviet Army, but I was in hell too. Your stories and strength gave me the fight to live, and love. You found your home and comfort here.” Her hands reached to Andreas, and she held the hands on her shoulder. He heard her sniffle but her posture remained strong. “And I have found it with this man. And you were right, Grandmamma, he came. My prince did come. It is not just a dream.” And with that Cat Marino turned into her husband’s arm, while he provided her the comfort only he could give. And, hHe kissed his beauty.

One Year Later . . . A New Beginning

“P
ush, now,” the
doctor coaxed.

Andreas held onto Cat’s hand as she blew through her pain. He with her. He felt light headed, with dread and fear, but excitement too. His baby was being born. They didn’t know the sex, had both decided to let life, and fate reveal that to them in its own way.

Cat relaxed, head thrown back on the pillow. She was still breathing hard. But she was smiling at him. “You are doing great, baby. Just great.”

“Yes, she is,” the doctor repeated. “The head is here, and just one more ought to do it. Are you ready?” hHe asked Cat and when she indicated she was, and resumed her position, he gave her the call to push once again.

Her hand gripped his like a vice. Her small fingers causing no pain despite the strength he could feel behind them, but Andreas felt it, the pain she was enduring to bring their child into this world. A new life in their lives that would further join them together until the end of time.

“The baby is coming,” the doctor called out from his position at the foot of the bed. And just like that, it was over, as Andreas watched the miracle of his daughter come into the world.

“It’s a girl,” he whispered in awe of the precious baby. Tears streaked down his face. She was small. So tiny. She looked like her cousin Maria, Blaze and Bella’s daughter. But she looked like Cat too. He looked in Cat’s glowing silver grey eyes and kissed her quickly. “You gave me a daughter. Thank you.”

“We have a daughter,” came her happy cry. It was joined by the cries of the child. The tears were flowing as Andreas released her long enough to go cut the cord. The doctor had cleaned the child, and a nurse was waiting with a blanket to bundle her up.

Andreas made the cut perfectly where the doctor had indicated. The nurse swaddled the child quickly cleaning her off a bit more. “She’s perfect,” the nurse said having done her quick assessment. The baby’s color was already pinkening up.

She handed the baby over to the proud father whose hands shook as he carried his little girl gently over to her mother, and placed the squalling infant on her mother’s chest.

With tears in her eyes, Cat gazed down at the daughter she shared with Andreas. Their lives were connected in this one tiny being. “Her name is Suzanne Rose.” Cat whispered, but Andreas heard. Cat had told him months ago she had picked out a name for either gender and that he wouldn’t be allowed a say. She wouldn’t tell him what the names were, wanting it to be a surprise, no matter how much he had tried to coax it out of her.

And he had tried to in many pleasurable ways. But she hadn’t budged. He had just called the baby, ‘baby x’, when he had talked to her swollen abdomen these past months.

The fact that she chose to name the baby after his mom and her grandmother touched him more than words could say. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and then to the baby’s forehead. “Hi Suzy,” he whispered to the infant who had settled down and appeared to be sleeping already. His sleeping beauty.

“What if it was a boy?” he asked teasingly, trying to insert his finger into the tiny baby’s clenched fist.

“You’ll have to wait and find out,” she teased back, knowing that she wanted to give this man a son someday.

That would be a surprise worth waiting for, he thought. Andreas laughed and kissed her again. And again. And again, before he left to go tell his family. All of them were waiting. Together. To hear the news. That Andreas had a daughter, and that mom and child were both healthy. And they were.

A new Marino was here. Suzanne Rose Marino was here.

A very proud husband, and a very happy father walked into the waiting room. And everyone stood up.

The
End

Ex-army buck, Victor, teaches innocent sexy school teacher, Monica, all about sex, and not the old-fashioned variety your grandmother was used to either. Filled with gut wrenching emotional turmoil due to Victor’s secrets, you can be sure one of them will melt and the other will burn.

Teddy is not your average bartender by any means. A cop on the mend from 9/11, he wants nothing but good times and to live each day to the fullest. When it comes to sex, well, hmm, let’s just say he is not your average Joe. Then, he meets a fiery red-head named Ana, and she can teach him a thing or two in the bedroom. He falls for her, but she pushes him away. Why? Because she has so many secrets, and they make her Afraid to Love.

Jay and Louisa are both battle scarred, but ready to start anew. His scars are not just from the war in Iraq, and hers are not just from a teenage pregnancy that resulted in raising a child alone. The scars in them run deep, and they both have secrets. Can two people so deeply wounded learn to trust each other enough to share those secrets? And if they do, will those secrets make or break them?

Her erotic romance series, Secrets & Seduction, is the tale of three different couples with secrets that may destroy their chances of finding their happily ever after. These books are definitely books you will NOT want to read in public. Check them out.

All three of MJ’s books in the Secrets & Seduction Series will have you turning pages, reading in the dark, and wanting more. Will her characters find their happily ever after? You’ll have to read to find that out. But one thing, I can tell you is they are hot, hot, hot!