Wounded Redemption by Brook Wilder
Chapter 20
Nico
The saga of the D’Agostino Mafia continues. After the bombshell article posted in the Midtown Post by no other than his daughter-in-law, Rory D’Agostino, Carmine D’Agostino is officially a person of interest in the deaths of former hedge fund manager Steve Griffin and his wife. Sources tell NBC 4 New York that there are also questions surrounding the sudden death of Angelica Griffin, the daughter of Steve Griffin, who was found dead in a warehouse last week from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sources also say that there is an ongoing investigation at the NYPD as some of the information now points to corruption, led by Carmine D’Agostino, within its ranks. While the police department has yet to comment, sources state that there will be an official statement coming in a matter of days. Stay tuned to this channel for the most updated information as it becomes available.
I drew in a ragged breath as the reporter turned to other news, not believing what I was seeing or hearing. There was no word if anyone had my father yet, but clearly they were searching for him.
The best part about it was that they were looking into the corrupt cops in the police department that had been on my father’s payroll for years, and I imagined that he would be interested to know where they had gotten that information from.
I might have had something to do with that.
When the feds showed up at the penthouse the day after I was discharged, I just knew I would be arrested. After all, I was my father’s son, and no matter how much I wanted to destroy him as well, I had been responsible for my own mess.
It seemed, however, that my father was a bigger fish to capture, and they had talked to me well over two hours about him, with Rory clutching my hand the entire time. I walked them through that night that had changed my life forever, rehashing the nightmare all over again. While it wasn’t as painful as it had been, knowing that Angelica had forgiven me for what I had done, it still was hard to talk about.
Rory had helped out, too, telling them about the kidnapping and Angelica’s death, pointing her finger at Carmine and saying Angelica had not taken her own life. Of course, it was her word against his, with the only other witness being dead, but the feds had told her that they would look at it a little closer.
When they had left, I had held Rory close in our bed, just holding her and thanking whoever was listening above that I had dodged a bullet so far, giving me more time with her and my son.
One thing was for certain; I was tired of this fucking bed, even if it was mine. Having felt no threat from my father, we were back at the penthouse, and I was trying to help the capos figure out the next steps for the Mafia now that their leader was gone.
They had asked me to be the don, some of them even coming forward to apologize for jumping ship to my father so quickly after he had recovered from the stroke. I had ignored them all, stating that I had no interest in taking up my father’s seat.
I really didn’t. Some couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t take my birthright now that my father was out of the picture, but that had been my plan all along. I never wanted his position.
I just wanted to ruin him, destroy him, make him pay for the hurt he had caused.
Now that was a reality. Thanks to my amazing, brave wife. Rory had taken him down, done what most people wouldn’t even have the balls to do, and for the rest of my life I was going to try to show her how much I fucking appreciated it.
She had no idea what she had done for Leda and me.
Right now, she was irritating because she wouldn’t let me do a fucking thing. Sure, I hurt. Hell, I had taken three bullets to the chest, barely slowed down by the bulletproof vest I had been wearing. The lung that the bullet had been fished out of hurt the worst, but the others didn’t feel any better either.
It was a good thing that no one was coming after me right now. I could barely lift my right arm, much less hold a gun or fight back.
Vincent had laughed his ass off, helping me into the penthouse after I was discharged from the hospital, declaring that I was the world’s worst patient when it came to knowing what it meant to relax.
I hadn’t relaxed since the moment I had decided to wage war against my father. It had been years since I had not looked over my shoulder, worried that my father would finally decide to make good on his promises and kill me.
Hell, I didn’t know what to do now. I was a little concerned about the future. I had plenty of money to care for my family, my investments paying off well enough to keep us taken care of for a long time.
Rory was likely going to want to continue at the Post, which was just fine by me. And hell, I liked the city. I really didn’t want to move away from this penthouse or the city itself. Besides, my business ventures rooted me here.
That is, unless Rory wanted to move. Then I would move heaven and earth to make that happen.
Sighing, I picked at the covers with my fingers, frowning as I did so. She had done so much over the last year that I wanted her to relax. I wanted us to enjoy a life without worrying about my father and raise our son like we saw fit. I wanted us to enjoy the city together, to go on fucking dates and do shit that other couples went on. We had missed out on all that, with only brief periods of attempting to have some normalcy in our lives.
Now it was time to reset, and I honestly couldn’t wait to do so.
The door opened, and the object of my thoughts walked in, a small smile on her lips. She was dressed in a pair of tight-ass yoga pants and one of those shirts that bared her shoulder, the lacy hint of what she called a bralette teasing me. My cock rose to attention as she crossed the room, knowing that it had been over two weeks since we had sex, and I was itching for a taste of my wife.
“Hey,” she said as she sat on the bed next to me. “How do you feel?”
“I feel fine,” I grumbled, not telling her about the pull on my chest every time I shifted in bed. I didn’t feel like it was that much of an issue, probably just my body healing, but it hurt like hell.
She laughed, and my heart warmed at the sound. Rory hadn’t laughed a whole lot in the weeks leading up to us finding Angelica and Lorenzo or the fight with my father, and I was glad to hear her laugh again. “You are really the worst patient ever.”
I grinned. “Is it time for my sponge bath?”
Rory rolled her eyes. “You know you can get into the actual bathtub, right?”
I stretched my arm behind my head on my unaffected side. “But the sponge bathing is far too much fun.” Well, it hadn’t been so far, but I had a plan today. Hell, I was suffering here, not even able to jerk myself off without fear that my own wife would catch me.
“Fine,” she said. “Let me get your things then.”
I watched as she entered the bathroom, hoping like hell that this worked today. At some point we had to go back to having fun in this bed, and Rory was treating me like I was some invalid that was going to break at any moment. I knew I had scared her. I wasn’t going to deny that. I imagined her feeling ten times worse than what I had felt, knowing she was at the mercy of my father.
After gathering my clothes and my bath stuff, Rory walked over to the bed. I was already bare-chested because it was easier that way for my wounds to heal. The loose joggers helped a great deal when Rory or Vincent helped me to the bathroom, like I was some fucking two-year-old, but in another week, I should be good to do it on my own.
Rory took out the rag and placed it in the water basin she had brought. “I can’t believe we are still doing this. I think you might be taking advantage of my generosity.”
“Never,” I told her as she wiped my face carefully. “Now I know why babies love it so much.”
“Nico,” she laughed, dragging the rag over my neck and shoulders. “You can’t be that dirty anyway. You just lie here.”
I arched a brow. “That’s all? What about all those calls I’ve been dealing with?”
“How does that make you dirty?” she countered as she carefully wiped my chest, the non-injured side.
“My fingers are especially filthy,” I replied, holding up my hand and wiggled my fingers at her. “Typing and all.”
“Oh,” Rory said, stopping. “So, I should just clean your hands then?”
“Fuck, no,” I frowned, dropping my hand. “Continue.”
When she reached for the covers, I let her pull them back, exposing my raging cock. “Nico,” she groaned as she saw the tent in my joggers. “What are you doing?”
“I have no control,” I shrugged innocently. “It’s been neglected.”
Rory pulled the rag from my body and dropped it in the basin, wiping her hands on her yoga pants. “You can’t. The doctor said.”
“I know what the doctor said,” I growled, grabbing her by the hip and pulling her to the edge of the bed. “But he’s not here, and I don’t give a shit about what he thinks I can’t do.”
Rory bit her lip, her eyes drifting over my injuries. “I’m fine, Rory,” I said, my voice gentling. I knew she was worried about me, probably thinking about what would happen if we did something that was outside of what the doctor wanted, but I was ready for just about anything. “You can even ride me.” Hell, just the thought of her doing so nearly caused me to come in my pants. I fucking loved when she was on top, taking control.
“You promise to not overdo it?”
“Scout’s honor.”
Rory shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. “You weren’t a Scout.”
“Rory,” I growled. “Please.”
Her eyes widened. I knew she didn’t hear please from me often at all, which should tell her how badly I needed her. Hell, I was willing to beg.
“All right,” she finally said, reaching for the waistband of her pants. “But if I see anything that remotely tells me you are in pain, I’m stopping.”
That was fair, but I wasn’t going to show her anything but my aching cock. “Fair enough.”
A faint blush stole across my wife’s cheeks as she pulled her clothing off, standing before me naked. Even after having a kid, she looked fucking gorgeous. Not that it would matter. I loved her regardless of what she fucking looked like.
When she pulled my pants down, I nearly lost it at the heated look in her eyes. God, she could slay me with just a look! “What are you waiting for?” I asked lightly, trying to keep the strain out of my voice. “Or are you just going to stare at it all day?”
She smirked, and it was the sexiest thing I had seen on her lately, besides her naked body. “You sure are cheeky since you have been lying in that bed.”
I grinned, and she climbed on top of my body, her hands resting on my abdomen as she posed herself above me. “Are you ready?” I grunted, not wanting to push myself into her without knowing.
“Of course I am. It’s like a problem I have around you.”
Chuckling, I touched her hip. “That’s not a problem, Rory. That’s a fucking blessing.”
Her blush deepened before she sank on my cock, both of us groaning together. She hadn’t been lying. She was slick with wetness for me. “You feel so good,” I groaned, using only one hand to touch her breast.
She rocked back and moaned loudly, her hands sliding up to touch her breasts. “Yes,” I told her, urging her to touch herself. “Give me everything.”
When Rory started to move, I had to grit my teeth to hold on a bit longer and not embarrass myself, her slick entrance clenching around my cock. It had been far too long.
“Nico,” she gasped as I dropped my hand in between her thighs and found the hard nub nestled there. “Oh God.”
It was my favorite sound, my name on her lips.
When she shuddered around me, I lifted my hips, unable to help it. I wanted to participate in this too. “Come for me,” I growled, thrusting.
“Nico,” she cried out.
“Rory, fuck,” I groaned, spilling myself inside her. The force of my own orgasm nearly tore me in two and Rory fell forward, stopping herself at the last minute from falling on my chest like she always did.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I said, easing her to my side. “It won’t be long.”
She sighed as she snuggled up to my side, and I pulled the blanket over her. “I’m glad that you are feeling better.”
My fingers tangled in her hair, undoing the braid so that I could comb through it. “It’s because of you, Rory.”
“Well,” she said, a hitch in her voice. “There’s going to be plenty of time for you to make it up to me. In about seven short months, we are going to have another little one.”
Her words froze the breath in my chest. “What?”
She rose up on her elbow, a smug smile on her lips. “What do you think happens when you have all this sex?”
I cupped my hand on the back of her neck and pulled her down to my lips. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “Is it okay? I mean, it’s a little too late to be asking that, I guess. I—”
I cut her off in mid-sentence, hungrily catching her lips with mine. Rory was fucking pregnant again. We were going to have another child.
I couldn’t believe it.
When she broke the kiss, her eyes were shining with tears. “Are you sure it’s not so soon?”
“Of course not,” I said, feeling the start of tears myself. Fuck. I was going to be a father again. “God, I love you.”
Her gaze softened. “I love you too.”
