TIGERLILLY- THE BRAVO BOYS [book two]

Chapter SIXTY EIGHT [THE EPILOGUE PT.1]

Epilogue

Frankie O'riley

... over one year later...
.... Carlingford, County Louth - Ireland....
.... THE HONEYMOON ....

"Lovey and Lilly are finally asleep!" I whisper a breath of relief, clasping the baby monitor to my chest as I tiptoe from the baby's bedrooms, making my way back into the living room of the old remodeled castle where we have been vacationing for the last few weeks..

The beautiful stonework holds the secrets of a hundred years and the expansive windows offer an uninterrupted view of the most starry night sky I have ever seen.. If I were only allowed to use one word to describe this slice of Irish paradise it would be 'tranquil'.. Really I could live here in this lovelyl place if not for the fact that I miss the people waiting for us back at home.. But here, surrounded by rolling green hills, deep blue loughs and dense forest there is nobody around for miles and nothing to disturb our time together as a family.. "It's just you and me now, Tiger!"

"C'mere till I tell ye'!" River exclaims in excitement, quiet so as not to wake the girls but still keen as he beckons me over to the place where he lounges by the blazing warmth of a crackling fire in nothing but his favourite khaki sweatpants.. The deep, rich scent of the woodfire is sweet and inviting, while the dusty-dim, soft yellow lights that hang on the walls tint the room a mellow and moody hue.. "I've bein' dyin' all day to have ye' all to myself, I have.. Me' wee dotey love.."

I laugh as I flop down beside him in my silky pink pyjamas, snuggling up on the pile of cushions that adorn the plush, oversized sofa.. "What does that mean? Dotey?"

"Means ye' awful feckin' cute!" He chuckles, waggling his sexy strawberry brows at me..

I cross one leg over the other and his gaze is drawn down to the hem of my short shorts where it lingers so long I feel it burn my skin.. "I swear you are becoming more Irish the longer we stay here, soon I won't be able to understand you at all!"

"I'm as Mickey as I always was, Wallflower.. But ye' are more gorgeous than ever.." With a wicked wink his attention returns to my face as he reaches out to play with the ends of my natural-looking sleek black hair.. No longer coloured pink to please anybody else, he hums in admiration while he winds the ebony locks around his fingers and watches as the strands fall back to my shoulder before repeating the motion.. "Ye look beautiful tonight, baby.."

"That sweet talking mouth will get you in trouble, Tiger.." I warn him of the danger he is for turning me on and getting me soaked down at my centre..

I can't resist him and he knows it.. Soon my fingers crawl up his arms and move unchecked of their own accord..

Slowly and with appreciation I trace the new Triad tattoos that span his chest.. Resting over his heart, right beside his Semper Fidelis tattoo there sits two mountains and a circular sun, the signifier that now brands him in dark blue ink as an indication of his esteemed position.. Becoming my fathers deputy had meant enduring the torturous trials of his initiation into the ranks of the Chinese Mafia, all of which had only further proved his determined devotion to me and our family..

As the first Irish Triad, River hadn't exactly been welcomed into the organisation with open arms when he had been named as the new Mountain Master, but after only a few months, everybody of any importance had grown to respect him in the way that he commands.. He had earned his place, same as any of them.. Honestly, I think they are all terrified of him..

Just as they should be..

He is fearless really and had done something I had been unwilling to do myself by stepping into that underworld.. He had elected himself as a son to my father and an heir to the Triad throne, which had made me free to pursue my dreams of adventure and education..