“But that’s just it, Matteo.” She turned her face to look at him directly. “I’m dreaming about it, and when I’m awake, it replays over and over in my head. I can’t escape it right now. I know I will, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, but for now, I just see those faces covered in black ski masks as they raised their guns and aimed at me.”
“She needs something to help calm her down, have they added that to her medication?” Trina got up, concern making her grumpy.
“Not yet, not with the pain meds she’s on. I’ll ask the nurse later, if you need me to, alright, Marie?” He’d started off talking to Trina but finished by looking at his wife. She was the one that mattered here.
Suddenly, she was the only thing that mattered to him. He’d known it, deep down, for a very long time, but this today had shaken him. It had shaken him until his love for her had come loose. He wouldn’t say anything about it, he didn’t see why he should, but he knew it. He felt it.
He loved his wife, which was probably one of the stupidest things a Mafia King could do. It made him vulnerable, open to attack, and it was drilled into him from a young age that he needed to avoid relationships, of any kind.
Celeste had raised him to be cold, dispassionate, ruthless even. All of that had changed in an instant, that long-ago day when he’d first laid eyes on the wonder that was Marie. Now, she was in a hospital bed, a bullet in a plastic bag marked as evidence that the doctor pulled out of her, with stitches in a section of her intestine. He might have given her a life of extravagance and ease, but he’d also brought danger into her life.
Again, that look on her face when she realized that it was Matteo’s enemy that had nearly ended her life came back to haunt him. Maybe he should let her go, divorce her, set her up in some nice safe place like Antarctica, where nobody could get to her, and let people forget that she existed. But, to his shame, he knew he couldn’t let her go. He’d die without her by his side.
And that was the truth of it. He needed Marie in his life like he needed oxygen. If he pushed her away, divorced her, it would kill him. And if he was any judge of people, she was the same way. She needed him, and if he even mentioned the idea of divorce it would destroy her. She depended on him, loved him, he’d seen it in her eyes more than once. He’d looked away at first, but over time, he’d come to depend on those looks, sometimes merely flashes, come to actually need them to get through his days.
For now, he decided that the best thing to do was to focus on getting her better and letting Anton do his job. He’d take whatever the police said and use that if he could, but he wasn’t going to count on them for anything. He knew most of them were good cops, but he also knew plenty of them were on the take, being bribed to look the other way.
He knew that because he’d paid off quite a few in his time. That made them all suspicious, at least in his mind, and even the guard that was posted at Marie’s door wasn’t above suspicion. He’d stay put until she was released from the hospital, and after that, he’d have his own guards at home and with her when she went out.
“Am I allowed to eat?” Marie asked, her face lit up with hope.
“Not today, baby. Have another sip of water.” He handed her the cup and watched her as she took a very careful sip. He’d be there for her. He’d do whatever it took to get her better, and later, when she was safe at home, he’d take care of whoever needed to be taken care of. And he’d bring down the fires of hell on whoever was responsible for this. But only when she was well and safe at home again. Only then.
Mafia’s Final Play
Thank you so much for reading Mafia’s Fake Bride (book 2 of Mafia’s Obsession)! If you can’t wait to read the last book of this series, here’s a little sneak peek…
Summer xoxo
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Marie watched the way her hand trembled as she clasped the cup and