Hidden Away (Mafioso Series Book 2)

by Serena Light

  Paolo sat in silence, mulling the words over in his head as he sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms encircling his legs as he watched his breath fog up in the cold.

  "Must be hard for your uncle Vincent," He spoke finally.

  "Dad says he's become more quiet and somber than what he used to be before all this,"

  "I have no doubt why he would end up somber after everything, I'm pretty sure I'd be the same if I had to go through that,"

  "If," Serafina emphasized sitting up beside him placing a kiss on his cheek. "But I don't plan on cheating on you anytime soon,"

  A smirk formed across his lips as he looked at her from over his shoulder, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

  "I wouldn't give you a reason to," He turned around to be facing her, leaning down as she wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered herself onto the blanket. "I would never give you a reason to,"

  Serafina grinned at him before connecting their lips together, both of them kissing under the moonlight sky, the cold being warded away from them since the blanket beneath them prevented the tiles of the roof from digging into their back, a smile on their faces when they pulled away from one another.

  Chapter XI: Time for a Wedding

  7 years later

  "No, no, no!" A feminine voice exclaimed in agitation to the men setting up the decoration around the venue. "It's meant to go there! There! Jesus Christ,"

  "What about this, ma'am?" One of the men asked, holding a large vase of flowers before him.

  "On either side of the altar," She instructed while running a hand through her ebony black hair, her crystal blue eyes watching them put it away with a heavy breath. "I need a break," She spoke to no one in particular, exhausted from all the screaming she'd been doing.

  "You could use one," A deep baritone spoke up, forcing her to turn around as a huge grin spread across her face to see her twin brother before her. "Hey, Reena,"

  "Salvatore," Serafina smiled and reached up to give him a hug.

  Over the years, he grew up to be quiet the charmer and ladies' man with his rugged good looks. His dark hair paired with his dazzling blue eyes and stubble definitely made him attractive. But that authoritative and mysterious aura around him made him a 'chick magnet'. He was definitely their father's son, looks just like him when he was younger.

  "How are you?"

  "I'm good." He nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she wrapped an arm around his waist, both of them looking out at the venue. "How's the bride?"

  "Losing her mind,"

  "Where is the groom?"

  "On his phone. Where else?" She remarked bitterly. "He's supposed to be helping me here, it's his wedding too."

  "Hmm..." Her twin nodded in thought. "Speaking of the wedding, I got you a wedding gift."

  "Another?" She laughed.

  "Yup, now close your eyes."

  Sighing, she did as instructed and waited. Once her brother told her to look, she opened her eyes to see a tall man standing before her in a black two-piece suit with a white button-up. His hazel brown hair pushed back with a strand falling onto his forehead as his misty green eyes looked at her with mirth, and a wide grin sported across his lips.

  "Hey, Reena," The man before her spoke with a wink, his presence having her cover her mouth in shock before tackling him in a hug, laughing in joy as the man wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her off the ground.

  "Alessio!" She exclaimed in joy, pulling back to look at him. "It's really you!"

  "You bet it's me," He grinned, putting her down as she held him at shoulder length. "Missed me?"

  "Oh, you have no idea, cupcake,"

  "Missed ya', too."

  "I am going to pretend like I did not hear or see any of that," Salvatore's voice spoke up and instantly Alessio realized whom he was in front of before taking a step back, the smile never leaving his face. "Wouldn't want you getting in trouble with your boss, but anyways-"

  "-What the fuck is he doing here?" A voice interjected from behind them as Salvatore straightened and schooled his features and targeting his ice gaze towards the man behind them.

  He had dark brown hair with corresponding eyes that melted to gold in the sunlight. A dark stubble sported on his jaw as he stood in a dark grey suit before the three.

  "I thought I made myself perfectly clear on how I wanted him to away from my wife." Paolo turned his gaze to Salvatore who stepped forward, looking at his sister's fiancé with a raised eyebrow.

  "And I made myself clear on the fact that if your guards are unable to protect her, then I will assign the men I trust to keep her safe."

  "My men are very capable of doing that-"

  "-The last man you assigned to her nearly got her killed in a car accident. The other one was constantly stoned. And the one before that thought he could try something with my sister." Salvatore silenced him with a raised hand. "I have told you before, and I will tell you again. Your men are just as incompetent as your Mafia and I do not trust you to keep her safe. I had relocated Alessio on the pretense that maybe you could protect her, but given how you so royally screwed that up, I am reassigning him to Serafina. As things should be,"

  "Salvatore-"

  "-I will not negotiate on this matter, nor will I revoke my decision. This is final." Her brother commanded, his tone leaving no room for arguments. "Now you either deal with your self-esteem issues and get over the paranoia that something is going on between them, or you stop feeling threatened by my sister's bodyguard."

  "Burn," Alessio leaned towards Serafina, whispering to her behind his hand as she gave him a half-hearted glare. "I always enjoy watching Salvatore put Paolo in his place."

  "Don't expect me to be fine with this decision-" Paolo began speaking again, his face red with anger.

  "-I don't need your consent to protect my sister,"

  "My wife,"

  "Your fiancée and my twin sister. Her relation to me overrules her relation to you in every possible way. And since you've so clearly forgotten, Paolo let me remind you that she is a Regnante. Things either happen our way or not at all. So you accept Alessio or this whole wedding is off,"

  "Uh, Salvatore you're not-" Serafina spoke up uncertainly, taking a step towards her elder brother.

  "-I'm serious. I will not compromise your safety for the entire world, much less for your low-self-esteem-fiancé. If I could, I would have put a bullet in his head for questioning my authority."

  "Salvatore," She chuckled uneasily, placing a hand on her brother's arm as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Calm down, I'm sure we can talk about this."

  "There is nothing to talk about," Salvatore grabbed hold of her hand ready to take her away if he had to. "So what's it going to be, Paolo?"

  "Fine," Paolo relented begrudgingly and turned on his heel to walk away.

  "Paolo-!" She tried calling out to him, going after him but being pulled back by her twin

  "Let him go, Serafina,"

  "No, actually, he was supposed to help me with the wedding preparations." She informed sheepishly, earning a chuckle from Salvatore as he turned to look at Alessio.

  "I think Alessio would have to help you out,"

  "I guess so," Serafina shrugged with a smile, turning towards her bodyguard and dragging him along with her.

  That day, both of them worked around one another setting everything up, ordering men to place things here, move something there before finally they were done. Paolo didn't bother showing up to help with his own wedding, a fact which had Serafina very irritated, but she kept her calm.

  Alessio treated her out for ice cream, saying that he wanted to treat her one last time before she got married. Serafina found herself laughing at him but agreed to the sweet offer.

  Alessio Romano was the younger son of the late Salvatore Romano - her brother's namesake - and he had joined the Regnante Mafia 3 years ago, and was instantly assigned to Serafina by her father and then her brother on his instatement a year ago
. However, Paolo felt threatened by the frankness between the two and demanded him to be relocated. Salvatore had done so 8 months ago, but seeing the futile effort Paolo's men made on her safety he had brought back Alessio from whatever station he had been assigned.

  Serafina could not have been any happier to have him back.

  In the three years he had been with her, he instantly became her best friend. She shared everything with him, her fears, secrets, and darkest desires and he listened without judging her.

  The two talked most of the time they were out until Alessio took her back to Salvatore's estate - her temporary home since he had been living with Paolo for almost 5 years now - to allow her to get sleep before the big day. Bidding her a good night, he closed the door behind him.

  In the morning, everything was crazy. Serafina had woken later than she had anticipated and hardly had time to finish her breakfast before Alessio was driving her off to the beauty salon to get her hair and makeup done along with that of her bridesmaids. They spent a majority of the morning there as she sent him to get her dress and everything delivered to the venue.

  Once the hair and makeup were done, they head off to the venue. Everyone running around and getting dressed while others helped Serafina, the time to walk down the aisle approaching near, forcing everyone to rush and get everything done. Once she was fitted into her wedding gown, Serafina looked at herself in the full-length mirror.

  Her wedding gown was a classic sweetheart neckline mermaid backless gown made of effortless lace and a floral applique on the bodice. A diamond necklace around her neck with the matching earring and a small tiara placed on the top of her elegant bun to hold her veil in place.

  "Ready to leave, Reena?" One of her bride's maids asked excitedly, holding her bouquet in hand.

  "You guys go on ahead, I'll join a minute." She nodded with a smile when she caught sight of Alessio lingering outside the doorway.

  She watched as they all went outside in their off-shoulder sky blue dresses, chattering excitedly among each other. Once they were out of earshot, Alessio stepped inside, closing the door behind him and looking up at his breath hitched in his throat, his heart thundering inside his chest at the beauty that stood before him.

  "Wow," He finally breathed out, taking her in as she tilted her head.

  "You like it?" Serafina asked, giving him a spin as he couldn't help but gasp at how exquisite she looked. "Gia choose it for me." She informed, referring to her soon to be mother-in-law.

  "You look gorgeous," Alessio spoke in a daze, taking a step towards her. "You know, it's not too late to run away. You and I could catch the next flight heading out to anywhere and spend the rest of our life there." He smiled as she giggled at him, watching him interlace their hands in the air.

  "I'm so glad you're here, Alessio." Serafina sighed, looking up at him adoringly. "I feel a lot calmer knowing you're there."

  "I'm glad I can bring you peace on such a hectic day."

  "You look amazing," She complimented, taking in his black tux and bowtie.

  "Thank you,"

  They stood silently for a moment as Alessio looked down at her, watching how she lowered her head, lost in thought and looking at the tip of her white stilettoes that were touching the tip of polished dress shoes.

  "Would you be going with us to..." Serafina trailed a little embarrassed. "To you know..."

  "The honeymoon?" Alessio questioned as she nodded with flushed cheeks. "Well, your brother is dealing with that with Paolo at the moment since he would feel a lot safer knowing that I'm around you given that I get 25,000 Euros a month to babysit you."

  "You are not my babysitter." Serafina laughed, lightly slapping his chest and watching his signature grin spreading across his face at her laugh. "You're more of a constant companion,"

  "So I'm your pet?"

  "Well, if you think about it-"

  "-Shut up."

  Both of them burst into a fit of laughter at that as she placed her head against his shoulder. Heaving a sigh at knowing that she was getting married, but for some odd reason, she didn't feel excited, happy, or even nervous. She just felt calm. She felt calm and knew that nothing could ruin this day.

  Nothing.

  "Ready to go?" Alessio finally asked, pulling away from her.

  Nodding, she linked her arm through his as he led her through the corridors of the church and handing her over to her father. Cupping her face, Arcangelo placed a kiss on his 23-year-old daughter's forehead and smiled down at her before they interlinked their arms.

  The orchestra began playing, signaling her arrival as the guests stood up, all of them turning to look at her and smiling as she was looking at Paolo at the end of the aisle. Looking dashing in his medium grey tux with his eyes twinkling and a wide grin on his face at the sight of her.

  Giving her over to him, Arcangelo went and took his seat next to his wife as the ceremony began.

  "Do you Paolo Valente Costa, take Serafina Marie Regnante as your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" The priest asked Paolo, who stood facing Serafina, her ring in hand as he looked up at her with a devious smirk.

  Serafina's blue eyes roaming over his features as her gaze halted at the little pale scar over his eyebrow, a smile forming on her blush pink lips at the memory of how he got it. They had been skipping rocks at a lake when he swung his arm too wide and hit a tree, the rock bounding back and hitting him on the forehead. Paolo had a gash there and she had grown terrified that he might go blind in one eye due to the blood and tore her dress to stem the blood flow.

  An experience which had been scary back then had them now laughing at the memory.

  "I-" He began saying before the sound of a gunshot rang through the venue.

  Blood splattered across Serafina's face and dress, as the guests were all screaming and running in fear. Paolo's dead body fell at her feet, with the remnants of his brain smeared all over her dress and face and neck and hair and eyes and in her mouth, the metallic state of blood infiltrating her senses.

  It was everywhere except for in his skull.

  Chapter XII: “I got you,”

  Serafina scrubbed at her arms with trembling fingers, whimpering when the blood wouldn't get off and the stench embraced her mind, her tears blurring her vision. Her heart thundered against her ribcage, feeling as if though it would jump out of her chest and forcing her breaths to come in short pants. Heat enveloped her body, but her hand and feet were ice cold. Suddenly her throat tightened as she gasped for breath, clutching at her neck to pry off the non-existent hold and her mouth ran dry.

  The washroom began to spin around her as her stomach clenched in fear at seeing her white dress turning into a murky crimson-brown and her make up smeared all over her cheeks, running down with red splatters across her face and fingers trembling beneath the running water.

  Everything began to move around her faster, disorientation overwhelming her as she clutched onto the counter to try and remain standing. A feeble gasp escaped her as she lost her footing, the ceiling coming into view as the ground drew nearer. Closing her eyes, she waited for the impact of the cold ceramic ground but instead felt herself being halted mid-air and something sharp digging into her side and shoulder.

  With a bleary vision and a spinning mind, she tried to look over her shoulder, finding Alessio having caught her and struggling with her dead weight and the constricted space since the edge of the bathtub was digging into his calves with his feet tangled in her dress's tulle.

  "I got you," He grunted, trying to pull her to her feet, but only ending up stumbling over himself as he slipped on the wet floor, a surprised sound escaping him as he came crashing down, his back hitting the edge of the tub before he sat on the floor. Serafina felt herself fall, and couldn't bring to brace herself, instead she lay sprawled over his legs, feeling them digging into her side as Alessio regained his composure.
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  Without a word, he lifted her off his legs, pulling her back towards him and holding her close in his arms, her head to his chest and his arms encircling her trembling body.

  "I got you," Alessio repeated quietly, gently rocking back and forth with them as the sound of his thundering heartbeat reverberated through her skull. The sound suddenly wrenching her out of her daze as the room stopped spinning and she heaved for breath, the sobs wracking through her.

  Serafina clutched onto him in desperation wailing into his shoulder as he allowed her to cry into his chest, holding her tightly. He allowed her to cry until her voice was hoarse and her throat raw, they sat on the bathroom floor, holding each other while she hiccupped into his arms.

  "Come, let's get you cleaned up," He murmured into her hair, reaching behind him to plug the tub and open the tap, fumbling with the temperature before allowing it to fill up.

  With ease, he lifted her to her feet with him, holding her sides as she swayed in disorientation, and he knew she was in no condition to clean up on her own.

  "I got you," Alessio gently turned her around. Helping her out of her wedding dress, he watched it pool to her ankles and noticed how the blood seeped through the material and into that of her backless bodysuit. Removing that, he kept his gaze on her hair and opened the up-do they had been put in for her wedding, watching how his fingers came back red with blood.

  Lifting her into his arms, he lowered her into the tub as she sat there silently with her knees pulled to her chest and blankly staring at the water. Cupping the water into his hands, he spilled it over her head, the sensation having her suddenly gasp in surprise as she thrashed in the water. Alessio grabbed hold of her hands to stop her from struggling.

  "Serafina!" He called over her struggling, the girl too dazed to know what was going on. "Serafina, hey, it's me! It's me!" Alessio released her hands and cupped her face into his wet palms, directing her gaze to him as the bleariness cleared.

  "It's me," He breathed out, rubbing his thumb over her cheekbone. "It's me, Alessio,"