Chapter Forty-Nine

Zach

^SIX MONTHS LATER^

Over the last six months, Zach had worked hard. He handed Angelo Romero over to the authorities to prosecute the man, but he had a hard time with it. He’d rather have ended the man’s life, but he knew he couldn’t.

He’d finished his house. It was completely done and just needed a resident. The compound had gotten a major upgrade and an extension.

He had gotten rid of his business in Rockdale. Christian Saunders was now the owner of Hunter Corporation, something he was very happy with.

And the new job he’d gotten for himself and his family was going very well. The only downside was that he still had to work through a lot of paperwork.

His father healed fairly quickly, but you could see that life in captivity had left its marks. Adrian’s destined gave birth to a beautiful son named Harry. Zach visited them as much as he could; he just adored the little one.

Jackson had officially been hired as the family’s head soldier.

When Zach thought about everything that had happened, he deemed himself a lucky man. While he thought about all that, he sat on the porch of the compound, sipping a bottle of beer.

His eyes fell on a shiny black sedan, parked to the right of the compound. He frowned. He had seen that sedan before. When he noticed the man beside the car, he frowned again. An intruder?

He immediately got up to investigate.

“Sir, who are you, and what are you doing here?” he said when he was about three feet away from the man. This guy was mafia.

“I am Jett Stone, sir. You must be boss Zachary.” Jett reached out to shake his hand.

“That is right.” Zach shook his hand but kept frowning. “What are you doing here? I didn’t get notified that someone from another family was visiting.”

“I don’t represent a family, sir.” Jett seemed a little nervous. “I left my family long ago, but never broke the bond. Now I am here to guard my future donna; at least, I hope she will become my future donna.”

“I don’t understand.” Zach was confused.

“I think you may know her, sir. I think she’s your donna.”

“What are you saying? I don’t understand a word you are saying!” Zach was getting agitated.

“Alright.” Jett ran a hand through his hair. “I am accompanying Miss Irene Turner. She is visiting her friend. She told me about the situation you are in. That she wasn’t sure what to think of you two being destined.

“So I made a deal with her about six months ago. If she would go back to you and become the donna of your family, then I would ask to join your family and be her personal bodyguard.”

“Hmm…” Zach scratched the stubble on his cheeks. “So you are actually saying that she’s here?”

“Yes, sir.” Jett still looked nervous; he was probably scared of Zach, afraid that he’d get mad for being near to his destined.

“Thank you for keeping my destined safe.” Zach looked him sternly in the eye. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find my destined.” He turned around and headed over to the clinic, taking large strides.

When he arrived at the clinic, just a few minutes later, he saw her. The most gorgeous woman on the earth stepped out of the clinic, her hair swinging with her movements.

She held a pair of sunglasses and put them in her hair. Zach was frozen in his spot. He couldn’t move; he was blinded by the sight of the woman.

The woman looked around with curiosity. She took her time to take everything in. When she looked down the road, she froze. They locked eyes, and she gasped.

“Zachary?” she was the first to be able to say something.

“Irene,” he whispered, his eyes starting to glow.

She ran down the steps of the clinic and ran until she was in front of him.

“It is really you,” he said, still whispering. One of his hands raised to touch her cheek. “Pinch me, I think I’m dreaming.”

She laughed. “No, Zach, this is real. I really am here.”

“Are you back?” he couldn’t help but ask. He had to know. When he brought his hand down, it shook.

“Would you still have me?” she asked, her voice breaking.

He looked at her in surprise. “Seriously? Of course! Are you sure you want to do this, though?”

She nodded. “I am, Zach. All the time I was back in the city, I kept thinking about you. I have talked to a professional about everything that happened, to be able to move on.

“And I have moved on, but I just couldn’t let you go. I’ve tried to go on without you, but even just looking at other men made me sick to my stomach.

“You’re the only one I want, Zach. It’s taken a long time, but I am ready. I am ready to be yours.” She spoke softly.

Now he held her face between both of his hands, drawing her closer. “And you are certain you want to do this?” he looked into her eyes deeply. “You are certain that— Wait, come with me.”

He dragged her behind him, running as if his life depended on it. She didn’t recognize the path they were taking at first, but as they came closer, she recognized where he was taking her.

When they were in front of the building, he turned around and faced her again. The building was the house he’d built for her. Again, he took her face between his hands.

“Are you certain that you want to share all of this? Are you ready to move in with me? Here?” he looked at the house for a minute, but quickly returned his gaze to her, drowning in her eyes.

“Yes, Zachary, I am.” She smiled. “I am yours, yours alone.”

He didn’t need to hear anything more. With one swift move, he pulled her close, his chest touching hers, and lowered his head.

He claimed her lips with a passion he hadn’t known he had in him. He wanted to kiss her and never stop.

A gust of wind distracted him. He pulled his head back up and looked around, then an idea popped into his head. He swooped Irene up, as she squealed in surprise.

“Zach, what are you doing?”

He smiled suggestively, then started to walk to the house. “You know, the bed in the master bedroom has never been tested out. I think it’s about time that happens.”

Zach opened the front door of the house and walked in. Irene didn’t get much time to look around, as Zach headed for the stairs straight away.

Upstairs, he opened another door and then Irene felt herself flying in the air for a few seconds. But before she could squeal again, she felt a soft mattress underneath her.

Zach took off his shirt and crawled on top of her. “Are you ready for this?” he whispered huskily in her ear.

She was speechless, only capable of letting out a soft moan. He kissed her passionately, only pulling back to catch his breath.

“Zach,” Irene sighed. She ran her fingers through his hair, and her gaze roamed over his body.

He lowered himself again, claiming her lips. He ran kisses from her lips to her ear and then lowered down to the crook of her neck. “Can I—” He pulled back to look her in the eye. “Can I pledge myself to you?”

Irene nodded. He kept staring at her, waiting for a vocal response. “Yes, Zachary, please,” she whispered.

That was his sign to continue, and he kissed the crook of her neck again, pushing his nose against her neck, and deeply breathing in her scent.

“This is going to hurt, but it will fade quickly,” he said, stepping away to get the brand. It was a metal pole with a small circle on the end, embossed with the family crest. He returned and heated it up with his lighter. While he did this, he kept kissing her. Kissing him while the brand got burning hot aroused her. Her heart was beating fast. She couldn’t tell if she was nervous or excited.

“It’s the family crest. It’s tradition.”

“I’m ready,” Irene said, about to burst with anticipation.

He kissed her again and gently pressed the hot metal against the back of her neck. She felt pain, but also pride. She was his, and he was hers. Being with him felt so good that she didn’t mind the brief pain. She just kissed him deeply as he removed the metal from her neck. It was done. She felt closer to him, but she knew a way to get even closer. She ripped off his shirt and he did the same. And then he was on top of her, kissing her more passionately than ever. Her destiny.