Beneath These Lies (Beneath, #5)(83)

“And then?”

“And then we start the next chapter. You and me. Out of the shadows and into the light.”

“That sounds perfect to me.”

“Good. Because it’s happening, duchess. You’re mine. Not giving you up for anything.”

“I’m not giving you up either.”

He leaned down and pressed another kiss to my lips. “I love you, Valentina.”

The words glued back together my remaining cracked pieces. “I love you too. Rix or Beau, or whoever you are.”

“Yours. That’s who I am.”





One week later

I LAID MY BADGE AND gun on the deputy chief’s desk, and it took only seconds for me to feel wrong without them. I’d only ever wanted to be a cop, and now I didn’t know what the f*ck I was going to do with my life. But one thing was certain—I couldn’t stay with the NOPD.

“Don’t think I need to explain why I’m doing this.”

The truth about what my father had done had made it up the chain of command, and an investigation had already been launched. My mom was shattered, and there was no way my dad wouldn’t end up in prison.

The deputy chief’s face was solemn. “No, I don’t need an explanation, but you don’t have to do this.”

A harsh laugh scraped its way out of my throat. “We both know that’s bullshit. I’m done.”

He nodded. “Then I accept your resignation. Best of luck to you, Hennessy.”

I turned and left his office, the entire precinct seeming to go silent as I grabbed the box on my desk and walked out the door for the last time.

To protect and serve. It was all I knew. But that life was over.





STANDING IN THE BACK HALLWAY of the courthouse, I fought the edge of nerves moving in.

He won’t say no.

Harold Noble had made it clear in our passing conversations that he was waiting for this visit.

The opinions of other men had rarely mattered to me, but Valentina’s father was a different story. He would give his blessing, but it went deeper than that.

Acceptance. Family. The things I’d never really had before. The Nobles had let me into theirs, and now I wanted to make it official.

I knew I wasn’t good enough for Valentina the first day she showed up on my porch, looking fine as hell in her skirt and blouse and fancy heels. But for some reason, she didn’t care. Not then and not now.

But her father should. Any father should.

The door to Harold Noble’s chambers opened, and he met me with a smile and an outstretched hand.

“It’s about time you showed up here, son.”

Son. I’d never had that, and this man gave it to me.

“Good to see you, sir.”

We shook hands, and he motioned me into his chambers before he shut the door.

“Have a seat.”

I did, and he settled into the large leather chair behind a wide desk.

Not wasting a beat on small talk, he said, “I think we both know exactly why you’re here.”

I nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m going to marry your daughter.”

“Not asking for permission?” He raised a bushy brow.

“Stating my intentions. I don’t believe in asking permission, but I sure would like your blessing.”

He narrowed his gaze on me. I fought the urge to shift in my leather club chair. I was probably going about this all wrong, but I was doing it the only way I knew how.

“And if I don’t give my blessing?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“I’m marrying her either way. She’s the best part of my life, and no man will ever love her more than I do. I’d take a bullet for her. Die for her.”

“How much of this has to do with the fact that she’s carrying your baby?”

I wasn’t surprised he knew. I figured Jo had caught on when Valentina had stepped away twice during dinner last week, because the smell of beef was setting off her nausea lately.

I met his gaze, much like Valentina’s dark one. “Not a damn thing. She’s been mine since the day I first saw her. The baby is just one more miracle I didn’t think I deserved in my life.”

“I worried about you when she first told us. Worried that you’d been under too long and too deep to be able to surface. That lifestyle becomes ingrained in you. You don’t just play along, you live it every day.” He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “Do you miss it? The rush?”

I didn’t answer right away. Did I miss it? Life as the king of my own empire? Power, money, and everything that came with it?

“I’d give it all up again to be with her. If you don’t think I know how rare a woman your daughter is, you’re wrong. She’s worth everything.”

He nodded. “I can’t disagree with that. I just worry about you getting bored trying to live the civilized life. A wife, kid, house in the Garden District.”

I leaned forward and rested my forearms on the edge of his desk and met his gaze. “A woman who loves me, a kid I never thought I’d have, and a home? That’s the kind of life I would never even let myself dream of before, and now it’s mine. You think I’d ever f*ck that up?”

Noble didn’t answer as he rose, hand outstretched. “Welcome to the family, son. You set the date and I’ll officiate. Glad she picked a man worthy of her.”