Elena does. She shoots me a heated look as we walk to the reception hall, which is a beautiful place. Glass windows everywhere, and a garden surrounding the outside. Elena gazes at the high ceilings and mouths a, “Wow.”
As soon as we walk in the room, the guests stand from their seats and applaud us. Elena’s hand twitches in mine as we take our seats at the sweetheart table. My mother beams at me from the table with my aunts and cousins, and I feel another twist of guilt.
The evening drags on. They clink their silverware against glasses and I bring Elena’s burning face in for a quick kiss to appease the assholes. I see all the attention wearing on her. She smiles at me, but there’s a tinge of fear trembling her lips. Or maybe she’s just overwhelmed.
This isn’t what I wanted either.
Tommy joins us at the table, dressed in a dark charcoal suit and wearing a smile on his slick face. “Hey, guys. Congratulations,” he says in a sarcastic voice. “Biggest scam anyone’s ever pulled.”
The big glass of wine in his hands sways dangerously. He looks unconcerned when I rise to my feet.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Why should I? Doing this behind the boss’s back is really fucked up.”
“Tommy, you promised.”
He glares at her. “I didn’t promise to keep this from John. You shouldn’t have put me in this position.”
Heat builds up in my chest. “I didn’t take any of her money, so you have nothing to worry about. As far as you’re concerned, it’s real.”
Not believing me, Tommy smiles.
“Don’t be a fucking jerk, Tommy.”
“I just got to Montreal. I really doubt the boss will make me a member when he finds out I kept this from him. I know the baby isn’t real—this whole marriage isn’t real. The fucking money you’re going to collect from everyone, the gifts—you don’t think this is wrong?”
Fucking New York piece of shit asshole.
I don’t like the way he looks at her. My teeth grind together, and I imagine smashing my fist against that fuckhead’s jaw. Condescending prick.
“Mind your own goddamn business.”
“She made it my fucking business when she asked me for help.”
He’s unyielding, like many guys in the life. He doesn’t make a move unless there’s something in it for him.
“I’m made. You’re not. It’s my word against yours, asshole.”
He doesn’t even blink. “It won’t be when I show him that bag of cash.”
I shove his chest in a sudden rush of rage. “Maybe I’ll just put a bullet in your fucking head.”
“Tony!” She makes a grab for my arm, but I pull it out of her reach.
Tommy seethes with cool anger as he takes another sip of his drink. I ball my hands into fists, waiting for him to hit me back, to give me an excuse to beat the shit out of him.
Instead that dead-eyed fuck grins at me. “Enjoy your night.”
Asshole.
He backs away and I watch him slink back to his table. Elena sits back down painfully, as if there are pins in her seat. I sit down next to her and slide my arm over her shoulder, still simmering with anger.
“Hey, don’t worry about him. He’s just drunk.”
“He looked pretty sober to me.”
“Forget about it.”
She shakes her head, looking troubled by his encounter.
Through the DJ’s music, there’s a loud crash and a bang. It’s probably a waiter who dropped something, but I still raise my head in search of the noise. A drunken man stumbles into the room, hair swinging around his face. I recognize that puke-stain from his heavy Brooklyn accent.
Motherfucker.
“Where the fuck is she? No, don’t fucking—don’t touch me!”
Elena stiffens like a board when his voice carries over the music, and her face blanches.
“Stay here. I’ll take care of this.”
I massage my fists as I get up and stride toward Rafael, who stumbles from table to table. The guys all turn around in their seats to watch him, cruel sneers on their faces. Even I’ve never seen something so pathetic in my life.
“You better only be here to congratulate me.”
My sudden voice next to his ear startles him. The guy looks like shit, and he smells like it, too. It’s like he bathed in bourbon before throwing on his wrinkled suit. His hostile face turns right toward me.
“Where the fuck is she?”
“You’re going to have to be more specific.” I enjoy needling this asshole.
His face contorts with rage. “My fucking girl—she’s carrying my kid.”
There’s something about him that just makes me want to punch his goddamn face in, or maybe it’s the arrogant, cutting tone. The way he fucking looks at me.
He screams at me. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You think that because you put your cock inside her a few times, that makes her yours?”
Dipshit takes his jacket off, hurling it on the floor as he rolls up his sleeves.
He rolls up his sleeves.
Cute.
I could take this guy in one move. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not a fair fight.
“You fucked my girl—!”
“Be a man, for Christ’s sake. She doesn’t want you.”
He throws his head back in laughter, his greasy hair sliding in front of his face. “Oh, you think she fucking wants you—that she’s not using your stupid ass?”
A flash of rage sends my fist smashing against the side of his face. He drops down like a stone, howling. I can’t fucking believe the balls on this guy. I’ll beat the shit out of him if he says another word.
“Maybe you don’t fucking get it. We’re married. Stay the fuck away from my wife!”
“Fuck you!”
He doesn’t fucking learn, does he?
My shoe launches out, connecting loudly with his ribs. How the fuck did this asshole get in five yards within my woman? What the fuck did she see in him? A low groan leaves his bloodied lips as I beat the shit out of him. He’s nothing to me. With one arm, I grab the scruff of his jacket, half-dragging him through the hall as he screams.
“PIECE OF SHIT!”
I let him go. His head smashes on the floor as my fist whirls across his face. Dazed eyes rolls in his head as I straighten, rage simmering under my skin.
“You want more, you fucking scumbag?”
“F—fuck—”
Hands grapple at my arms as I lay another hard kick right beneath his ribs. Rafael gives a horribly, rattling sound as the air leaves his lungs, but I don’t give a shit.
“Tony, stop!”
Voices scream in my ear, but my mind is consumed with the girl I never saved. I wasn’t there to protect her, to stop them from hurting her. My fists rain down on his face until I hear his nose snap, and blood gushes like a fountain. The hall erupts in cheers even as two strong arms grab me, pulling me away from him. I could beat him to death. Crack his fucking skull open with my bare hands.
“I’ll fucking kill you!”
“Hey! Tony, stop it!”
Male voices scream in my ears for me to stop as I stare at the barely moving body on the floor. A fresh surge of energy flows through my limbs and I strain against the guys holding me back. I just want to finish the job—get rid of this asshole permanently, no matter how many witnesses there are, no matter if he’s made. I just want him dead.
“Tony, what the hell are you doing?”
Ma’s shrill voice joins the medley as she shoves her way through.
“Oh my God!”
Ah fuck.
Luckily Tommy wraps an arm around my mother’s shoulders and steers her away. Rafael’s groans echo in the reception hall as my chest pulses with rapid breaths.
Fuck, I almost killed him.
Three guys pick him up off the floor and he stands on shaky feet, nose dripping with blood.
“The next time I see you, I’ll put a bullet through your fucking head. I don’t car
e who you are. She’s mine. Get over it.”
Johnny screams an order in French and they drag him out of the hall. He gazes at Rafael’s limping form, running his fingers through his hair. “He’s a made member.”
He’s the boss. Don’t rise up. Don’t yell.
“He got what he deserved.”
Johnny blinks at the gruff tone in my voice. “I’m still the fucking boss.” He jabs my chest. “You will not fucking kill him, do you understand? He’s off fucking limits!”
“To hell with the fucking rules. I’ll kill him if he harasses my wife again.”
He grabs my jacketed arm. “I know you’re pissed, but he’s not just some fucking jerk-off. He’s a member. We don’t kill other members. Especially when she might be carrying his child.”
I shrug off Johnny’s hand, not caring how bad it looks. Then I stalk back to the sweetheart table, my insides broiling, but Elena isn’t there. She’s fucking gone.
Blood rushes to my head. Where the fuck is she? My eyes scan the hall for a flash of white, but I don’t see her anywhere, and then I notice that one of the doors leading to the softly lit garden is ajar. I wrench open the door, heart pounding as cold blasts over my face.
Light illuminates the shrubs and the dirt paths leading into the garden. I take one at random, my breath frosting out in front of me in white clouds. Then I see her blindingly white dress, glowing in blue light as she sits on a park bench, her hands swallowing her face.
Something goes through me when I see her upset like that. It’s painful, like a splinter digging into my heart. I take off my jacket and approach her, wrapping her shoulders. She jumps when I touch her, and my heart clenches as her tearstained face turns toward me.
Some fucking wedding.
“He’s gone, Elena.”
Brown hair shifts in front of her as she bows her head. “However long that’ll last.”
The dark tone in her voice bothers me and the look she gives me feels even worse.
Fire blazes in my chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Red-rimmed eyes stare back at me as she presses her lips together, refusing to respond. Then she finally croaks out, “I don’t have any choices anymore. You control everything. The moment you want a divorce, I’m fucked. I’m finished.”
I grasp her chin, watching the tears slowly pooling in her eyes.
“He’ll always be there, waiting. Won’t he? I’ll never be free of him.”
“He won’t, Elena.”
“Oh, come on, Tony!” She pulls away from my grasp. “Let’s just stop deceiving ourselves. You’re not the type of guy who’ll be happy with this forever. You’ll get bored of me. You’ll want someone else.”
The sounds coming from her make my chest feel as if it’s caving in. My arms wrap around her because I can’t fucking stand it. Is she right?
“I won’t let him hurt you. If things don’t work out between us, I’ll take care of him.”
Her eyes widen. “You’d be killed.”
“The way I see it, I’m dying either way.”
One of these days, I’ll get shot. That’ll be it.
“I’d rather die protecting you than from a botched drug deal.”
Her voice softens. “Tony.”
“Stop it. I don’t want to hear any more of this shit from you. Understand? You’re my fucking wife. Act like it.”
“But—”
I pull her head closer. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”
She looks away from me and bites her lip. “I—I have to tell you something—”
I recognize that look and sigh. “Whatever it is, it can wait. I want to salvage what’s left of this wedding.”
Nodding, she gives me a weak smile and a pat on the hand, and I feel another surge of anger. This should be a happy day for her—fuck, for both of us.
No one should cry on their wedding day.
* * *
These places always give me hives.
I walk through the woods with Johnny and his underboss, Pierre-Luc. Twigs snap under their feet as they walk behind me. I ball my hands in the sleeves of my leather jacket. How many times have I driven out to a deserted place in the woods to get rid of some poor prick’s body? It’s perfectly devoid of people. Too cold for hikers, but the ground is no good for digging a hole. Frozen.
The New York boss is meeting us here and so is that fuckface, Rafael.
We’ll solve this shit once and for all.
My mind focuses on the girl—my wife—waiting for me at home, who has no idea that this meeting is even happening. The wedding band feels tight around my finger—I’m still not used to it, but it’s not suffocating.
She’s mine. I wanted her the moment I laid eyes on her. Had to have her. I had to fuck the Mafia princess, just had to stick my dick in her. Then it was an addiction. I had to have her again and again. There was never a girl who made me want to break my no repeats rule. I don’t know what the fuck happened, but somewhere in between all the fucking, I felt for her. There’s no way I’ll allow that piece of shit to hurt her any more than he already has.
It all depends on this meeting.
The New York boss waits for us under the shade of a tree. He’s a tall, skinny guy with wavy black hair and a short black beard. Beside him, shit-for-brains stands. His face looks like someone took a meat tenderizer to him and I can’t resist giving him a small smirk.
“Hey, John.”
“Vincent.” He gives the New York boss a short nod and turns his smooth face toward Rafael. “I’m glad your injuries are healing.”
Rafael curls his lip and looks as if he’s on the verge of a nasty retort.
“Can we get this over with so I can get the fuck out of here?” Vince looks anxious as he addresses me. “Both of you have legitimate beefs against each other.”
My throat burns. “What the fuck did I do except defend my pregnant wife against this psycho?”
Rafael makes an ugly, almost grotesque, grimace. “Your pregnant wife is carrying my kid.”
“I have to side with Tony, Vince. They married as soon as they found out about the pregnancy and as soon as that happened, that asshole showed up at their reception and started screaming threats.”
Vince runs his hand over his harried face and gives Rafael a very unpleasant look. “I told you to leave her the fuck alone.”
“She’s pregnant—”
“I don’t give a fuck! I gave you a fucking order, and you hit her again, didn’t you?” His hot eyes bore into Rafael’s face and then he laughs and looks away. “You fucking deserve this beating.”
Wow, I didn’t expect the New York boss to turn on his own guy. Things are looking up. My hand strays toward the gun I’ve hidden in my jacket.
“Vince, I know I fucked up, but this is actually real. I’m going to be a father. I saw her pregnancy tests.”
Wait, what?
I face the prick. “The fuck are you talking about?”
“I went to her house. I—I thought that it was a scam, but I made her take some tests, and they were positive.” He turns toward Vince and speaks in a trembling voice. “All I want is to be there for my kid. I just want to be a part of his life. I should at least be allowed to go to doctor appointments with her.”
Vince crosses his arms, looking unmoved. “No.”
The air leaves my chest and I look around for something to grab. He’s lying. He’s full of shit. Has to be.
“When the fuck did this happen?”
“A couple weeks ago.” He gives me a nasty grin. “I guess she doesn’t tell you everything.”
Grabbing the gun from my waist, I aim it toward Rafael’s mangled face as heat pounds in my head.
“Tony, what the fuck are you doing!”
I never lose my cool like this. I’m not the explosion guy, but there’s something about Rafael that brings it out of me. I hate that motherfucker.
“I’m going to fucking kill him.”
/> Vince already has his gun out, aimed at my chest. “Jesus Christ. Calm down. You don’t want to do this.”
“Actually, I really do. He disrespected me. He’s going behind my back and seeing her without my permission.”
The fact that he actually got her while I wasn’t around is the worst part. A stab of anger extends to her, too. She never told me.
“A wife you only have because you think you knocked her up. I don’t see why I have to respect you or that bitch.”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
Johnny shoves my arm as I squeeze off a shot, which blows a fist-sized hole into a tree. He wrenches the gun from my hand, screaming his head off as Vince shoves his gun into his pants.
“Jesus fucking Christ, you goddamn moron.” Vince says savagely as Rafael stands strangely still, indifferent to the fact that he almost died. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You leave them the fuck alone. You’re done with them. Come back to New York and forget about Elena.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Until paternity is established, you leave them the fuck alone. Tony, does that work for you?”
No. Not by a long shot.
My insides simmer as Rafael looks at me with a wild, desperate rage that I just can’t ignore. I don’t trust him to stay away, not even to protect his own life. My hand inches toward the knife I’ve strapped to my waist, because I’m convinced he’s on the verge of doing something drastic.
“Whatever.”
“Vincent, this is bullshit!”
The New York boss finally loses his temper and whirls around, his jacket whistling in the air as his fist cracks across Rafael’s jaw.
“You’re a real pain in my ass, Rafael. Piss me off again, and I’ll kill you.”
Even as he moans on the dirty snow, I can’t look away from him. The whining, the moans, it all sounds so fucking fake to me. The steely vengeance flashes from his eyes and I just want to end him right there.
There’s nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose.
ELENA
Swirls of coffee steam rise in the air in wonderful spirals as I blow air across the rich, dark-brown liquid. I take a sip and my tongue curls, loving the sprinkle of spice. I smile at Melanie, who sits across the table. She called me up on the phone and wondered if I wanted to go out for coffee. All Tony’s doing, probably.
Hitman's Bride (Bad Boy Empire) Page 38