High Voltage (Ramsey Security #3)

Made Her Mine

I marry Minka on the beach in Galveston. As an inside joke, Minka wears a red dress. I go casual with a suit and no tie. Our friends and co-workers attend. My mom and Minka’s siblings fly in for the wedding. Gilda’s invitation gets lost in the mail. We never do see the shifty bitch again.

One of our first issues as a married couple is that I don’t like Minka’s apartment, and she doesn’t like mine. She suggests we live separately. I suggest she live at my place and learn to suck it up. Troy suggests we get a new place that’ll have things we both like.

Even if he’s right, I refuse to appreciate his help. Troy might be a decent guy and nothing more than Minka’s friend, but I will never be okay with someone who’s been inside my woman. If I had my way, I’d kill Troy. Minka insists her best buddy live, though. We compromise again. I threaten to kill Troy a lot but never will.

Saskia and her husband, Brad, live outside of Houston on a large estate. After a visit, Minka and I drive around the area looking for available land. I want my kids to grow up in a house with a yard. Minka is still talking about only one baby, maybe two if I beg. Even without a single kid, I want lots of space between the neighbors and me, just like how things were when I grew up.

“Can you imagine?” Minka says to me when we find a sweet piece of land a few miles from Saskia and Brad’s place.

“We’ll mix 1950’s Frank and Dino-style glamour with your more modern rock and roll crappy style.”

“Compromise works better without using the word ‘crappy’ in your description.”

“I says them like I sees them.”

Minka wraps her arms around me tightly, maybe a little too tightly actually.

“I’m going along with these big and fast dreams of yours, Dino. Marriage, kids, a house. I’ll trust in you even if all of your dreams scare the shit out of me.”

“Smart move, Apples.”

We buy the land and begin work on our dream house. The damn thing isn't completed for over two years. Baby Elisabetta spends her first nine months living in a rental apartment in downtown Houston. Not that she remembers anything more than her parents doting on her.

My first child is extraordinarily beautiful. In fact, the only person capable of drawing my gaze away from Elisabetta is her mom. Minka is so sexy when pregnant that I can’t keep my hands off her. Especially her luscious breasts.

We settle into the house just before Elisabetta’s first Christmas. The tree I buy is fucking huge and barely fits through the door. Once inside, though, the evergreen stands tall in our two story family room.

We go overboard buying gifts for Elisabetta, who barely opens one present before crawling after our new shepherd mix puppy, Kid.

Despite her hatred of flying, Mom visits often. She spoils her first grandchild. For the first year, the house is overflowing with pink and glitter. Luciano introduces shades of blue and baseball caps. To Minka’s horror, our boy wears his hats sideways by the time he’s walking.

“My kid is turning into The Situation!” she cries more than once.

“I wore it like that when I was a kid, and I turned out just fine.”

Minka always gives me an unimpressed eye roll when I claim to be a well-adjusted man. She isn’t wrong, but I won’t admit this aloud.

I grew up in a normal world surrounded by bad men. Unlike my father, I didn’t embrace the working man’s life. I wanted to be a bad man. Now I find myself only interested in being a husband, father, and son.

My family made me happy as a kid. When the power and darkness of my job seduced me, my family returned my humanity. These days, my wife and kids make me a better man.





Epilogue


Minka

Reality Kicks Fantasy’s Ass

What was I thinking with my sensitive, book-reading, dream guy? I clearly didn’t know a thing about myself. Fortunately, fate brought me the man I needed.

Dino is the whole package. He’s sexy in and out of bed. He manages to be smart without becoming obnoxious about it. I’ve never had someone so devoted to making me happy, yet he keeps me on my toes with his teasing.

Most mornings, I wake up thanking the universe for Dino’s stubborn streak. If left up to me, we might never have enjoyed a single hot night together, let alone a lifetime. My stubborn streak nearly cost me someone perfect. Dino knew best. This time anyway.

For the most part, I enjoy pregnancy. The last month sucks, and I always feel like a moose. Before I can swear off pregnancy forever, I give birth and promptly forget about the miserable last month.

Our first child, Elisabetta, is the perfect first baby. She sleeps when we want her to sleep. She wakes up when we want to play with her. She likes her crib when we need space. She craves our bed when we want to stare at her for a few hours. Some of my favorite memories the first year are of Dino and me resting in bed with a sleeping Elisabetta between us.