I yanked Lydia's hand and pulled her behind me. She clung to my hips as if she were holding me from behind. Paul's mother held the bear in her gloved hand, staring from me to my stomach to Lydia. I could tell she was angry and confused about how I'd had two children that she nothing about, and how their father had taken me back so that I could be with them.
Julia didn't look much at Amber, but I remember how she stared at Lydia a little too long. She knew that she was looking at my child; there was no pretending because any idiot can see Lydia is mine. She may have dark hair and brown eyes like Vito, but she looks like me.
Julia handed the bear to Lydia, who pulled it close to her chest. ‘I hope you get everything you deserve in life…’ She said. ‘All of you.’ That smirk on her face... Jesus, she did this to me!
I don't know what she did, or how she did it, but I know she did it. She tried to kill me, tried to kill my unborn child – children, and for the first time in my life, I want someone dead! I want to kill her myself!
I don't know if I have that in me, but I do have the power to have my husband kill the bitch! I am a Mafia Donna, the Don's wife, the mother of his children, future leaders of the Vidal Famiglia. I may not have all the power, and it may have to go through my husband first, but I can demand his men kill for me, for the family.
I don't know what's happened to me, but I've woken up with a whole new outlook on life. I'm no longer scared of what being with Draven means. I'm no longer scared to think about all the ways in which he kills people – especially when they deserve it.
The world is full of evil people. Some say Draven is evil; I say they know nothing. My husband is a bad man, a crazy killer, a man who runs this place with an iron fist. Everyone is afraid of crossing him for fear of what he'll do to them. But you know what? There are worse things than a Mafia Don in this life. Trust me.
Yeah, not all crime bosses are like my husband, most are vile fucks who beat and rape the women who are sold to them on a regular basis. Most marry women they don't love just to get an heir to their empire and cheat on her every chance they get and don't even bother to hide it. They take the children she didn't really want with him away from her, some even allow other's to raise them in the way of the family. She then spends her life miserable in a marriage she wishes she could get out of, but you don't leave the Boss. Ever. Unless he kills you, of course.
Draven? Never would he do any of those things to me. Never would he beat me, cheat on me, steal my children, and keep me if I wasn't totally happy. Would he kill me? I don't believe he ever would. I would never give him a reason to think I was a traitor, and that would be the only reason he'd kill me. Well, if I cheated, but only an idiot would cheat on Draven Vidal, and I am no idiot.
I can't say what kind of husband he was to his ex-wife, but I've heard plenty of how he treated her. Draven was hardly nice to her, but then she was hardly the kind of woman a man could tame. I don't like to think about the two of them, and what might have happened, I've already put two and two together about how she died, and that's all I need to know.
I open my eyes and smile. Why the hell am I smiling? I feel a sick need inside of me like something has snapped and I'm a new person. I'm the woman who's going to stand by her husband’s side as he leads his men. I'm the woman who's going to raise his children because I know without a doubt, call it mothers intuition, that my sons will survive. They'll grow, they'll be loved endlessly, and one day, they'll run the family just as their father before them did.
As for my Lydia and Amber? I'm going to raise them to be just as strong as I am now, as strong as their father. Never will a man walk all over them, never will I allow any man to hurt either of them. This new me is a hundred times stronger than the Marine that collapsed on her bed three weeks ago.
Yes, Paul's mother will die, I'll make sure of it. Anyone crosses me, and they'll die. I don't care what kind of person that makes me. I am Marnie Vidal! God help the world because I have woken up a fucking monster!
Chapter Thirty-Two
Draven
I race through the door of Brooke and Hawk's, my heart racing at a mile a minute. “Where is she?” I'm out of breath, but I don't let it faze me.
“In here!” I hear Brooke's voice calling from the living room. I race down the hall and through the door. My baby girl is lying on the couch with a blanket over her little legs. She's red-faced and resting back on a pillow looking so fucking weak.
She holds her little hand out to me, “Daddy...”
I sit beside her, her hand in mine, and I kiss her burning forehead. “What's going on, princess?”
“My head and tummy hurt.”
“It's gonna be okay, sweetheart, Daddy's here now.” She nods and closes her bloodshot eyes. “How longs she been like this?” I ask Brooke, but it's Hawk who answers me.
“On and off since you left her with us. It knocked off last week for a couple days, but it seems to have come back with a vengeance.”
“Has she done anything unusual? Anything that would cause this?” I already know what's caused this, I just need to figure out how that old bag did this, and why it's still making her ill after three weeks.
“Daddy,” I turn my eyes back to Lydia. “Uncle Hawk made Mr. Brown die!” Massive tears fall from her eyes as her mouth locks open in a silent sob. She's devastated about that old teddy bear. “He put him in the fire!” Her voice raises and breaks.
“It's okay, sweetheart. Let me talk to Hawk, and I'll be right back.”
“You gonna box his nose, Daddy?”
I chuckle and nod. “Yes, baby.” I kiss her head and tell her that I'll be right back before tipping my head for Hawk to follow me out of the room. He closes the door behind him and folds his arms around his big body. “What the hell is she talkin' about?”
“I'll cut this story short because it's been a long enough day as it is. I started to notice that she only got sick when she had that old bear. One minute she was fine, the next, she'd hug the bear, and her temp would skyrocket. I couldn't get it away from her though, every time I hid it, she'd find it, and that's when she'd get sick again. I knew I had to do something to find out once and for all what the hell was wrong. So, I took it from her this morning and had Wrench take it to be tested. He made sure we got the results back within a couple hours.”
“And?”
“The bear was laced in a liquid form of Hemlock.”
“Excuse me?” What in the world? Oh my god, what the hell went on the day Marnie was attacked? Hemlock? That fucking old bitch really did poison my little girl!
Hawk nods his head. “I burned the damn thing because I knew it was the only way to stop her reaching for it. I called in a specialist, Rod, he came by and checked Lydia over. Draven, if she'd been exposed to it just one more day...” He doesn't need to say anymore. Lydia would have died; I know that.
I close my eyes, shaking my head. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. After everything I've done today to fix what that woman did to my wife and son's, and all the time my daughter was suffering, slowly fucking dying and I had no damn clue!
“Don't, Draven, this wasn't your fault. You've been doing what you had to do to fix this.”
“I should have been here for her. I should have known!”
“You know now.”
I shake my head. “I should have taken your calls. I should...”
“We handled it, Draven. There have been more good days than bad.”
“No excuse, Hawk.”
He nods his head. “Lydia needs you right now.” I know that she does.
“I should get her to the hospital. I need to make sure she's gonna be okay.”
“Rod's a good doctor, Draven; he knows his stuff. He gave her a complete examination. He also gave her an injection that will help counteract the effects of the poison. Lydia just needs to drink plenty and lots of rest. I've already checked everything she brought with her to make sure nothing else was laced in the stuff. It wasn't. Just t
he bear.” Won't stop me having every damn thing at home burned and replaced. I'm taking no chances.
“I also had Amber checked over, just in case, mostly because she'd been clinging to Lydia those first few days. As Hammer picked her up days later because she was confused and crying for him, if she was affected, it's gone from her system. She's fine now.” Thank fuck for that!
Right now, I'm so glad Amber loves my brother so much. I'm thankful he came and took her home with him. Not that he'd have had much choice, the girl sobs for him every time Marnie and I aren't around.
Goddammit, if that old cunt weren't already dead, I'd tear the bitch apart!
I sit with Lydia for a while, stroking her hair while she sleeps. What kind of life is this little girl going to have with me as her father? What kind of life will Amber have? My son's? I don't know, but I can't let them go, no matter how selfish that sounds. They're mine, their mother is mine, and I'll do whatever I have to do to keep them safe from now on. I swear it on everything I hold dear.
My phone is buzzing in my pocket. I sigh. It's like nobody wants to give me a damn break today. I don't recognize the number. “Hello?”
“Mr. Vidal? This is Dr. Robosky,” I stiffen. Oh dear Lord. This is it, the call to let me know that either my son's or my wife have passed away. My gut drops, and I can feel the pressure in my temples. “Your wife has woken and is asking for you.”
My heart is pounding so fast but in the best way. Marnie is awake, and she's asking for me. “I'll be right there.”
“Was that the hospital? What did they say?”
“She's awake,” I tell Brooke, who then bursts out crying. I feel like doing a little of that myself right now.
“I want to come with you.”
I take her by the shoulders. “Stay here with your husband. Take care of Lydia for me. As soon as the morning comes, then you can see Marnie. I have a lot to tell her, a lot for her to get her head around tonight.”
“Draven is right, baby.” Brooke nods without argument.
My wife is awake! She's going to be okay. I just know she is. Lydia will recover from this, and I only hope my son's do too.
* * *
Marnie smiles at me. She finally has some color in cheeks. I haven't stopped staring at her since I walked in the room, I just need to tell my brain that she's really awake, that I haven't lost her. I stroke her hair back from her forehead, and bring her hand to my lips and kiss it hard.
“I'm okay, Draven.”
“Just taking my brain time to realize that fact. God, I thought I'd lost you, Marnie.”
“Take more than a psycho ex-mother-in-law to get rid of me.”
“You remember what happened?” She nods. “I thought you'd forget.”
“I didn't know what happened at first. When I woke up, it took a while, but it all came back to me. I don't know exactly what she did, but I know she did something to me.”
I tell her what happened and how she ended up here. I tell her what happened with Lydia because I can't keep it from her; there's no way I would. She listens with a fire in her eyes that I've never seen before.
“That bitch tried to kill our children!” So much venom. I'm not sure if it's a mother's natural reaction or something else, but her eyes are hard and set in stone as she stares at me. “Kill her.”
My eyes widen. Marnie has never said anything like this to me before. She's always made it clear to me that she hates what I do.
“Find her and kill her, Draven. No one will live should they try to hurt our children. I want her dead and now.”
There's so much anger inside of her that my cock is hardening hearing her like this. Yeah, it's inappropriate, but it's a fucking turn on to hear my wife so strong, so angry, so powerful.
“She's gone, Marnie. She's gone. I made sure of it.”
She sets me with a hard stare before telling me, “Good. It's time...”
“He's dead, too,” I tell her, knowing exactly what she was going to say. “Paul is dead too. His mother, his father, brother's, every last member of his family is gone. I took care of it myself. They made it personal coming after my family. I won't let anyone get away with that, Marnie.”
I'm expecting her to give me a piece of her mind, but I'm wrong, she doesn't, she cups my cheek and tells me, “I love you so much.” Then she takes a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth as if she's expelling the evil from her mind. Then she looks at me again. “What names did you give our boys?”
And just like that, talk of Paul Simpson and his family is forgotten. We have much more important things to talk about. “Luka. I called the eldest Luka just as we planned. I didn't give the little one a name. I didn't feel right in doing so without you.”
“Dray.”
“Yes,” I smile. It's not often Marnie calls me Dray, but it makes me smile when she does.
“No,” She laughs. “The baby. I want to name him Dray.”
“Dray.” I roll the name around in my head. Dray. It suits him.
“After his Daddy. Because just like his Daddy, I wasn't expecting him to come into my life and make me feel so complete.” I smile at that. She made my life complete too.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Marnie
Oh, Draven,” Tears of relief fall from my eyes as I look at my newborn son's from my seat in the wheelchair the doctor forced me into before he'd allow me down here to see my boys. “They're so beautiful.”
They really are, they're just as beautiful as Lydia and Amber. I can tell right now, even though they're still scrunched up due to being so small, that they're going to look just like Draven. Handsome little devils.
Draven crouches beside my wheelchair, drawing my eyes from my sons, but not the hand that's inside their incubator, gently holding their entwined hands. Nothing could prize me away from them right now. I've been awake five days and today is the first day I've been allowed to come down here and see them. Can you imagine how hard that was for me?
“I'm sorry it's taken so long for you to see them, Marnie. I know how much it's been hurting you.”
“It has, but I'm here now.” I cup his face. It hasn't just hurt me; its hurt him too, I can see it so clearly in his eyes. “You've been amazing, Draven. You've rid us of those who tried to hurt us. You've been there for our children, for me all these weeks, but who's been there for you, my love?” Who has been there for him?
He takes my hand in his and kisses my palm. “My life's work it to keep you and our children safe. I don't need anybody but you. As long as I have you, I'll be just fine.”
I once heard that men like Draven, the evil killers, the men who take power and hold tight, could never love a woman. Not really. Men like Draven are psychopaths. I fully believe my husband is a psychopath of some sort. He wouldn't do what he does if he wasn't because there's no way he'd be able to sleep at night. Draven has no trouble killing someone and then resting well.
They say psychopaths aren't capable of love. It isn't true. All they need is to meet that one person who gets them completely. The person who loves them unconditionally, and love will fill them to the brim. Some may not fully understand the feeling, but they will feel it. Draven loves me. He’s so in love with me that he would do anything for me. He fell in love with my daughter’s, and he loves them as his own. He gave me two little boys, whom I know will mean everything to him. Boys Draven won't allow the Famiglia to take away from me. You see, Draven had a wonderful mother who showed him just how much a little boy needs his mother. It won't make him a weak man; it will inevitably make him stronger.
Every man has his own views on what makes his son strong, what will make him a powerful man in the years to come. These little boys will be powerful men thanks to their father, and all the lessons he'll teach them. They'll be powerful men because of me, and the lessons I will teach them. I will show them how to treat a woman the right way, how to be respectful, and how love is not weakness. Draven will teach them how to be physically strong, how to take
care of the people who are important to them, and he'll teach them real respect. He'll also show them the true meaning of power and being powerful.
One day, my boys will take their father's place as the head of the family. I know they're going to do bad, and sometimes terrible things, I'm not an idiot, and I know they're even going to become killers. How could they not when they're Vidal's? I don't want that for my sons, but I know I don't have a choice in the matter. My husband will train them to be killers, to demand respect, and everyone will know their names.
As I look at my husband, I know that fate took a hand in bringing us together at Brooke's wedding. I could easily have walked away that night. Draven could easily have seen some other woman and took a fancy to her, but he didn't, it was me he couldn't tear his eyes away from. It was him; I couldn't stop my body from responding to.
It doesn't matter how he reacted to the news I was pregnant. It doesn't matter how he came around and demanded I marry him. It doesn't matter that he practically bullied me into moving in with him, nor that he was cocky about how I would want him, and how I would fall in love with him. All that matters is that I did fall in love with him. I fell so hard for the dangerous Mafia Don. All that matters is that he fell just as hard for me. My husband would do anything to protect me, to protect our children. He even went as far as eradicating my ex-husband and his whole family to keep us safe.
What more could a woman ask for in life than a man who loves her that much?
“I love you, Draven Vidal. You have no idea what you mean to me.” I stroke his cheek with the palm of my hand as he stares at me. “If I could put it into words, I would.”
Vidal!: Snakes Henchmen MC Page 31