The revenge the insiders, p.31
The Revenge (The Insiders),
p.31
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but if she doesn’t, I really will turn all my stuff over to the authorities. Bright will love me forever.”
He grinned, then grew serious. He was still watching Matt, who was now flirting with Torie. “I’m thinking of turning Naveah over to Matt.”
“He’d buy you out?”
“He’d manage it for me, and yeah, if he wants to buy me out later, I’d let him do that. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea, but he’ll be pissed he can’t drink here socially anymore.”
Kash smirked. “I know.”
“You think he’s ready for something like that?”
He nodded. “I do. He’s been quiet about it, but he’s gone back to managing the Francois Nova, and he’s doing well. There’s been no complaints. I talked to a few of the employees and they’re happy with him, said he was a new and improved Matthew Francis.”
I was pleased to hear that, and proud. “He never told me.”
Kash’s grin was slow and warm. “We’ve kinda had a lot going on ourselves.”
“Very true. And back to your idea, I think it’s a perfect fit for him.”
“Good.” He leaned over, a finger under my chin. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to go home.” He kissed me, making it slow and delicious, and it sent tingles through my whole body. “Do you want to stay?”
“After that kiss?”
A low chuckle came from him. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
EPILOGUE
Kash
Two years later
Everyone heard the laughter throughout the church.
I was standing at the front, my arms folded in front of me. Peter was in the pew and shaking his head. A space was next to him for Chrissy. Matthew stood next to me, dressed all fancy in his tuxedo. Chase was next to him. Cyclone was my last groomsman.
The girls hadn’t started coming down the aisle yet, but they were back there.
Everyone was listening.
They’d been boozing it up since Torie brought half the bar with her. Seraphina was standing just beyond the door, peeking in. I couldn’t hear her, but I knew there was a wedding planner back there. She’d been up my ass with financials since Bailey insisted on hiring her. Little did I know it was all a ploy.
Bailey didn’t want to plan the wedding. She knew I didn’t, either, and she didn’t want to let Chrissy loose on the job; hence, a wedding planner, who I’d seen running around, her hands in the air, a permanent look of exasperation on her face, and no one blamed her. Bailey had taken to making a game of evading her.
So she was either back there, hissing at them to hurry up, or they got her drunk right alongside them.
“Anyone else jealous of the bridesmaids?” Matt said under his breath, straightening his collar. “Also, why didn’t we sneak some booze ourselves? Note for your future best man.”
Cyclone started laughing.
Chase’s mouth moved, curving up.
It’d been a long road for Chase and me, but I was glad he was back, and I was glad he was standing up for me today. As if feeling the “twin thing,” he caught my eye, and his own flashed. He dipped his head down to me.
Yeah. A long way.
“They’re coming,” Cyclone whispered, rolling his shoulders back. He had shot up in height over the summer, looking almost like an eighteen-year-old. With a small Mohawk happening. I heard Bailey groan almost daily about the girls sending her little brother private messages on his accounts.
How she knew, I wasn’t asking. Everyone knew.
We just let her do her thing, because who was going to stop her? She’d appointed herself the cyber guardian over the entire family, Marie and Theresa included. Payton as well. All three of them that were in the back, too.
Then the music started.
The girls were lined up.
And Seraphina was the first down.
Melissa was next.
Torie and Tamara walked together, since Bailey couldn’t make up her mind. Matt loved the idea of having two bridesmaids on his arm.
The music changed.
Everyone stood.
The back doors parted, and there she was.
Stunning. Beautiful. My life.
Bailey was smiling so wide, she was literally glowing.
Chrissy was walking beside her.
I was about to cry.
She started toward me.
Three years after that
“I hate you!”
I cringed, holding my wife’s hand as her legs were pulled up into stirrups, spread wide. A sheet was over her legs, with the doctor’s head angled between them.
“Push again. Almost there, Bailey!”
“I’m almost there. Did you hear that?” She squeezed again, glaring at me, gritting her teeth. Sweat was rolling down her face. “I’m almost there. Famous fucking last words. Pretty sure that’s the same words you said nine months ago.”
I sighed, running a thumb over her hand. She could crush it all she wanted.
I closed my eyes, knowing it was a matter of seconds, and then …
Our son’s wails filled the room.
Then Bailey remembered she loved me, and we named him Matthew Curtis Colello.
Two more years later
Chase Peter Colello was born.
Three years more
Christina Seraphina Colello entered the world.
Another ten years even later
“Come on. Don’t be shy.”
We were sparring at one of my gyms. We had reserved it just for this afternoon, the two of us. Chase had just flown into town and I wanted some time with him. Matt would join us later, but only to heckle us, and he’d talk us into having a drink at his new bar. It was our routine.
Bailey was doing her thing, but unlike the days when I knew what she was doing, she no longer could tell me. The government paid her well to keep creating more programs, though she didn’t do it for that reason. She did it for the thrill. A year after she graduated with her master’s degree, she wrote a cybersecurity program that became the top seller among cybersecurity experts. She kept perfecting it, and once she sold the license for it, her net worth nearly rivaled mine.
The kids were with their grandparents, so we had all day if we wanted.
Bailey had plans to meet up with the girls, so I knew we’d be joining them at either Naveah or Matt’s newest club. We’d find out wherever the girls went and would just go there, but they were always at one of our places.
Drake and Josh were still with us, and they’d send a text to report in. As usual.
I stopped and glared. “Are you kidding me?”
Chase smirked back, his taped hands up, and he bounced back on his feet. “Nope. Don’t be shy. I know it’s been ages since you’ve—”
I struck out. My hit was clean and it got him right across the face.
He hissed, bent over from the force of it. “Damn.” He looked back up.
I smirked. “I might be getting old, but I still fight on a regular basis. Unlike your ass.”
He laughed, wiping away some blood that trickled down from his mouth. “Whatever. No holding back, brother. You ready for that?”
Was I ready for that? Always.
* * *
We found the girls at Naveah, and some of Matt’s old friends had joined as well.
I paused before going up.
Bailey was standing at the edge of the group, laughing at something Torie was saying, and then she saw me. She smiled, and like the first time I ever saw her, I felt a kick to my chest. She was in there. She tunneled her way inside and she never left.
Thank God.
I went up to her, slid my arms around her waist and pulled her into my arms.
“Hey.” She relaxed back into my arms, her head tipping up to see me, and that same glow was with her. It rarely left her.
I bent down, my lips finding hers, and I said back, “Hey.”
This.
Fucking perfection.
“Did you have a good time with your brother?”
She always asked. She always cared.
I nodded, tightening my arms around her, and I took in the scene. We had family. We were surrounded by friends. We had our own little ones. This was something that I had never thought I could have, but she came into my life. Bailey. Brainiac Bailey. And everything flipped upside down.
She did that.
I never expected it, but I was damned grateful to have gotten it.
She took in my face, tipping her head back. Reaching up, a palm to the side of my face. “What’s in your head?”
“You.”
She smiled. The sight was radiant and took my fucking breath away, and I knew that would never end, either. “Good,” she said simply. She pulled me back down for another kiss, and I knew it’d be one of a million.
We had a long life ahead of us. A long and happy one.
Bailey
Sometimes having a photographic memory could suck, but to be honest, that was rare. And times like this, times when he was staring at me like he won the lottery, these were the times I was thankful I’d never forget.
Like when I held Matthew Curtis Colello for the first time.
The first time I held Chase Peter Colello.
The first time I held Christina Seraphina Colello.
And the first time I knew I loved Kash, and every single time since then.
We had a long life ahead of us. A long and happy one, and I’d remember every single moment of it. I’d have it no other way.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Oh boy! I have so many to thank here! Crystal. Kimberly. Monique. The entire staff at St. Martin’s Press. You guys were all so amazing to work with, and I was honored that you took a chance with Bailey, Kash, and me. Thank you, Amy, Serena, Chris, Paige, and Kimberley. Thank you, everyone in my reader group. Your constant posting helps in so many ways. Thank you, Debra Anastasia, Helena Hunting, and Rachel Van Dyken just for being you guys: always amazing and supportive and there for me if I need an ear for anything.
Thank you, Jason for helping and supporting me. And a thank-you to my Bailey at home, my little guy that’s my anchor.
I truly hope you all have enjoyed the ride with me from The Insiders, The Damaged, and now The Revenge. I hope you’ll keep with me on future rides I’ll be writing!
May you find love, happiness, and miracles in your own corners of the world. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Also by Tijan
The Damaged
The Insiders
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tijan is a New York Times bestselling author who writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing later in life, and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multiple bestsellers, including the Carter Reed series, the Fallen Crest series, and Ryan’s Bed. She is currently writing to her heart’s content in north Minnesota with an English cocker spaniel she adores. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
One. Kash
Two. Bailey
Three. Kash
Four. Kash
Five. Bailey
Six. Bailey
Seven. Bailey
Eight. Bailey
Nine. Bailey
Ten. Bailey
Eleven. Kash
Twelve. Bailey
Thirteen. Kash
Fourteen. Kash
Fifteen. Bailey
Sixteen. Kash
Seventeen. Bailey
Eighteen. Kash
Nineteen. Bailey
Twenty. Bailey
Twenty-One. Bailey
Twenty-Two. Kash
Twenty-Three. Bailey
Twenty-Four. Bailey
Twenty-Five. Kash
Twenty-Six. Bailey
Twenty-Seven. Bailey
Twenty-Eight. Bailey
Twenty-Nine. Kash
Thirty. Bailey
Thirty-One. Bailey
Thirty-Two. Kash
Thirty-Three. Bailey
Thirty-Four. Bailey
Thirty-Five. Kash
Thirty-Six. Kash
Thirty-Seven. Bailey
Thirty-Eight. Bailey
Thirty-Nine. Kash
Forty. Bailey
Forty-One. Bailey
Forty-Two. Kash
Forty-Three. Bailey
Forty-Four. Kash
Forty-Five. Kash
Forty-Six. Kash
Forty-Seven. Kash
Forty-Eight. Bailey
Forty-Nine. Kash
Fifty. Bailey
Fifty-One. Kash
Fifty-Two. Bailey
Fifty-Three. Bailey
Fifty-Four. Kash
Fifty-Five. Bailey
Fifty-Six. Kash
Fifty-Seven. Bailey
Fifty-Eight. Bailey
Fifty-Nine. Bailey
Sixty. Kash
Sixty-One. Bailey
Epilogue. Kash
Acknowledgments
Also by Tijan
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Griffin, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE REVENGE. Copyright © 2022 by Tijan. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Ervin Serrano
Cover art: woman © Beauty Agent Studio/Getty Images; man © Wong Sim
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Tijan, author.
Title: The revenge: an insiders novel / Tijan.
Description: First edition.|New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2022.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022010191|ISBN 9781250210814 (trade paperback)|ISBN 9781250852717 (ebook)
Subjects: LCGFT: Novels.
Classification: LCC PS3620.I49 R48 2022|DDC 813/.6—dc23/ eng/20220303
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022010191
eISBN 9781250852717
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: 2022
Tijan, The Revenge (The Insiders)
