Arranged Mafia Marriage

Michael

Shit, shit, shit. I shouldn’t have let her go. I snatch up the ring that she had flung down on the table. I close my palm around it and the edge of the diamond seems to bite into the flesh of my palm. Shit, what was I thinking, letting her leave like that? I slide the ring inside my pocket, then pull out my knife and flip it, catch it by the handle. I stare at the polished blade. The edge of which I had sunk into her skin when I had carved the mark of my possession of her.

Was she right? Did I do that because I wanted to own her? To make her mine. To have her as my wife to cherish, to protect, to love… No… Not that. I am not capable of that emotion. No, my feelings for her are already way more complex than that. If I had asked her to stay, if I had given in to the temptation she is… In that gorgeous dress which had clung to her like a second skin, outlining the thrust of her breasts, the curves of her hips, and pulled tight across her thigh… I would have never been able to let her go.

And would that have been so bad?

Pain slices my palm. I glance down to find the blade has nicked the flesh at the base of my thumb. Che diavolo. I stick the knife into the wooden surface of the desk, then bring my palm to my mouth and suck on the wound.

The door to my office bursts open and Seb stalks in. His features are set in hard lines, his forehead furrowed.

“What is it?”

“Karma.” He scowls, “They took her.”

My heart slams in my chest. My pulse rate ratchets up. “What do you mean, they took her?”

“That’s what he says.” Massimo drags in a guy by his collar. The man is bleeding from his mouth; blood stains his vest. A sleeve of tattoos covers one arm and runs up the side of his throat.

“Who is this?” I growl.

“Found him bragging to one of the dancers downstairs, that he saw a woman being kidnapped. She reported it to me, and I got suspicious. I collared him, asked him to describe what he saw, and from his description, I am positive that he witnessed Karma being taken.”

I rise to my feet, slam my palm into the table with such force that a glass crashes to the floor. “Will one of you tell me who the fuck would dare come into my territory and take my wife from me?”

“You did let her go,” Seb reminds me. “You sent her out there unprotected.”

Anger squeezes my guts and pain slams into my chest with such force that my lungs burn. “Shut the fuck up,” I growl.

“Am I wrong?” Seb tilts his head.

“Don’t fucking talk to me like that.”

“Someone needs to, considering you are letting your ego blind you to what’s there right in front of you.”

“And what’s that?”

“That you love her.”

Something hot stabs at my chest. I round the table, throw up my fist. He doesn’t duck… He had enough time to evade my blow, but he doesn’t. My strike hits home. I connect with the side of his face and he grunts. I raise my fist again, but Massimo shoves the man he’s holding at Antonio.

He steps between us, holds up his hands, “Enough, Capo, you need to get a grip on yourself.”

“I am going to kill him.”

“For telling the truth?”

I freeze, “What the hell is wrong with all of you?”

“What is wrong with you?” He snaps. “Your woman has been taken… This time, likely, by our enemy, and you’re standing here fighting with your own clan? With people who are on your side, in your corner. You need to rein in your temper, fratellone, and focus on what we must do next.”

I lurch back, shake my head. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What’s happening to me? I drag my fingers through my hair, then jerk my chin at him. “You can step aside,” I murmur, “I won’t attack him.”

Massimo lowers his arms and I brush past both of them. I stalk over to the figlio di puttana who’s struggling to get away from Antonio. I swipe out my arm, bury my fist in his face. Blood blooms from his nose, drips down his chin.

“What did you see?” I growl.

“I had nothing to do with.” His throat moves as he swallows, “I swear, on the holy Virgin Mary, I was minding my own business when she comes along. I only noticed her because… Well, it’s difficult not to, the way she was dressed, and her figure, I-”

I bring my fist up, sink it into his stomach this time. He gurgles, bends over, and would have fallen if Antonio hadn’t jerked him back upright.

I slam my fist into his shoulder, then raise it again, only to be grabbed and yanked back.

“Fratellone, stop.” Massimo grips my shoulder, “We need him to tell us what he saw.”

“I’ll kill him.” I say in a low voice. “I’ll tear him from limb to limb, then smash all his bones and throw him in a barrel of acid while he’s still alive.”

“If you did that, we’d never be able to find her.”

Find her. Find her. The anger drains away and silence fills my head. I step back, look the bastardo in the eye.

“Who took her?”

“I don’t know, I swear,” he warbles. “I was watching her… Hell, we were all watching her-”

I fold my fingers into fists. I will not kill him. Not yet. Not until he’s told me everything he witnessed.”

“And then?” Massimo prompts, “What happened after that?”

“A van drove up the road, pulled to a stop in front of her, and they took her.”

My vision tunnels and a coldness grips me. “What kind of a van?” I ask in a low voice. “Did you notice the numbers on the license plate?”

“The license plate was c-covered in dirt,” he stutters. “It was a white Fiat Ducato,” he adds.

“Like that is helpful,” Massimo growls. “There must be a million of them on the road.”

“Any other distinguishing features?” Seb walks up to stand on my other side, “You’d better come up with something that is going to help us, if you want to live.”

The testa di cazzo blinks, then glances between us.

“Or maybe, he wants to die right now?” Massimo raises his fist and the man yells.

“Wait, wait, let me think.”

“Think fast,” Seb prompts him. “Else your insides will be gracing the floor very soon.” He pops his knuckles and the man pales.

“A…a…flower.”

“What?”

“I saw a design of what looked like a flower on the windscreen.”

“Are you sure?” I scowl at him.

“Yes, no, I don’t know,” he pants. Sweat drips down his temples. “It… lt…looked like it, but I can’t be sure.”

“What kind of a flower?” I glare at him and he blinks rapidly.

“I am not sure.”

He glances between us, “Please, just let me go. I promise never to look at her again.”

Fuck, if I don’t want to pull his eyes out for daring to look at her in a lascivious way. And if I did, I’d never have witnesses come forward in the future with information. I roll my shoulders, narrow my gaze on him. “Get out while you’re still alive,” I snap.

The man turns and scampers out.

I fold my arms across my chest, “I am going to find whoever did this, and when I do… I am going to destroy their entire bloodline. Every. Last. One of them.”

Neither Seb nor Massimo contradict me.

“There are only two gangs who would dare do this,” Massimo murmurs. “It can’t be the Bratva because we’ve struck a deal with them. Which leaves-”

“The Kane Company.” I roll my neck from side to side “Would they dare come right into my territory and do this?”

“They attacked you on your turf.” He’s referring to an incident a few months ago when four unarmed men had attacked me. I had managed to overpower them, and even brought two of them in for questioning. One of them had swallowed poison and died, the other, I had knifed. We hadn’t gotten much from either of them, but it stood to reason that it was the Kane Company who were behind both incidents.

“They are the only ones with enough gumption to attempt something like this.” Seb scratches his chin. One of his eyes is half closed, a ring of black already showing up around it, thanks to my hit. “They probably wanted to get your attention,” he warns.

“Well, they have it.”

“They, clearly, wanted to make you angry enough to commit a mistake.” Massimo tilts his head.

I glare back at him. “Fuck that,” I growl. “They took what is mine and now they have to face my wrath.”

I brush past both of them, head for my desk. Working the knife from the surface of my table, I slide it back in its sheath. Then I pull out my drawer, snatch up my gun, check to make sure it’s loaded before I slide it at the back in my waistband holster. I grab another gun, repeat the actions to ensure that it’s loaded, then slide it into my underarm holster. I snatch up a third gun, bend and raising my pant leg and slip it into the holster around my ankle.

I straighten to find both of them watching me.

“What?” I snap.

“You don’t think you are going in alone, do you?” Seb drawls.

“It’s my fight.”

“It’s our territory,” he counters.

“She’s our family.” Massimo frowns, “And if you think you…our Capo is going there on your own-”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“You are wrong,” Christian says from the open door.

“Thought I told the lot of you all to head off and get on with your work.”

“This is work,” Xander prowls into the room. “Much as I hate bloodshed, I am afraid this is one time I can’t help but back you up.”

“They dare to raise a hand on our flesh and blood,” Christian growls. “They’ll answer for this with their lives.”

“I can’t allow everyone to come with me on this.”

“But-” Christian begins to protest, and I raise my hand.

“If this is some kind of trick, and I’m not saying it is, but if it is, then with the lot of us heading out together to confront them, we are playing right into their hands.”

Xander nods, “So what would you have us do instead?”

“Stay back,” I glance between the twins. “Monitor for any unusual activity within our network. Anyone who could have leaked news of what happened here. They were keeping a close eye on us. There’s no doubt about that. It’s how they knew the moment she walked out on her own.” I widen my stance. Whoever is leaking information needs to be brought to heel, before any more damage is done.” And her… What about her? If my actions led to her being hurt… I’ll never be able to forgive myself. I won’t stop until she has been avenged. And how will I live after that? How will I continue without her? I roll my shoulders. Only one way out. I need to get to her before anything happens.

I stalk past the men and to the door, then pause to glance over my shoulder at Seb and Massimo, “You two coming?”