Taken for His Own: An Arranged Marriage Dark Mafia Romance (The Torenti Family Book 3)

by Mae Doyle

  Oh, I remember who he is. What I can’t imagine is why in the world he’d be calling me right now. I tighten my grip on the phone.

  “Is there a problem?’

  She chuckles and I want to reach through the phone and smack her. The last thing that I need is to deal with someone who isn’t taking this seriously when her calling me is about enough to give me a heart attack.

  “No, Mrs. Linetti, not at all. In fact, we wanted to call and offer you congratulations on your nuptials. Mr. Ashman has been waiting for a while for it to happen, and it seems like you married a close associate of your uncle, is that correct?”

  Fuck. My palm is sweaty and I switch my phone to my other hand so that I can wipe it off on my pants. “That’s correct. My husband has worked closely with my uncle for years, although my father and he never had the chance to meet.”

  “That’s great,” she says, and she pauses, probably reading something off of a form. “Well, in marrying him, you have unlocked the final part of your father’s will.”

  “Excuse me? What are you talking about? There’s a final part of his will?” My voice must be getting higher and tighter as I talk, because Enzo comes from out of the kitchen and sits down next to me, squeezing my free hand. I glance at him, but I can’t concentrate on him right now.

  “Why don’t you come down to the office this afternoon and you and Mr. Ashman can talk about it?” Melinda sounds a little worried all of the sudden. “Are you and your husband free this afternoon?”

  I look at all of the files scattered around on my legs and I feel my stomach drop. Yeah, I’m free, but I’m also in the middle of something. However, whatever she’s talking about really doesn’t sound like it should wait.

  Enzo nods and I find myself nodding with him before I answer her. “Of course, we’ll be there after lunch. Does one sound okay?”

  “Perfect,” she tells me and hangs up.

  I drop the phone to my lap and turn to my husband. “What the hell do you think that that was about?”

  In answer, he leans over and kisses me on the forehead. “Come have some lunch, Lucia, and we’ll go find out, okay?”

  ◆◆◆

  It didn’t matter that Enzo made my favorite meatballs. I felt like I could barely choke them down, and now that we’re finally walking the hallway to Mr. Ashman’s office, I feel like my legs are lead. Reaching over, I link my fingers through Enzo’s, drawing strength from him.

  He’s good at a lot of things, but that’s one thing that he’s amazing at – giving me strength when I really need and making sure that he’s there when things are all about to go south.

  I love him for a lot of things, but that’s definitely one of them.

  We hesitate outside Mr. Ashman’s office and Enzo dips his head down to whisper in my ear.

  “Are you ready, my gorgeous wife? No matter what’s waiting for you inside that door, I need you to know that you are mine and that I won’t ever let anything bad happen to you if I can help it, okay?”

  I nod and he tips my chin up with his fingers, molding his mouth to mine. The heat that surges through my body is almost overwhelming, and I have to reach up to hold onto him while reminding myself that we’re in law offices.

  Just because I want to strip my husband down right here and let him take me for his own doesn’t mean that it’s the best idea. That will have to wait until we get back home.

  Enzo pushing the door open without knocking and I follow him in, my eyes scanning the office. I haven’t been in here since right after my parents died, and I honestly never thought that I’d have to come back. Just walking into the space gives me a lurch in my stomach and I’m glad that I have my rock with me.

  “Ah, the Linettis,” Mr. Ashman says, rising from his chair and coming around his desk to shake our hands. “Lucia, you look amazing. Glowing, even. So glad that you two were able to come in. I wanted to see you face-to-face to avoid any miscommunication that could happen over the phone.”

  He directs us to the seats in front of his large desk and we both sit. Enzo leans back, completely comfortable and confident that he’ll be able to handle whatever’s about to happen, but I sit on the edge of my seat.

  I don’t like not knowing the direction in which things are going.

  “Why are we here?” I burst out, then try to correct myself. “I’m sorry, but why did you call me back? It’s been years since we settled my parent’s estate, and I honestly thought that we had everything taken care of. Did something come up? Is there an issue that I need to handle?” I hesitate, wracking my brain for any reason why we’d be here. “Did we forget to sign a form?”

  Enzo rests his hand lightly on my arm to help calm me while Mr. Ashman bursts into a smile.

  “Not at all it, my dear. If fact, the reason I’ve called you here is because you just fulfilled the final part of your father’s will. You know that he wanted you to get married to an associate of your uncle’s, correct? He thought that it was going to be the very best way to make sure that you would remain safe, no matter what happened after he was gone.”

  I hear the words he’s saying, but it’s still a lot for me to take in. Enzo must be a little confused, as well, because he hasn’t said anything, which isn’t totally like him.

  “In order to find out the final piece of their will I had to marry?” I frown at Mr. Ashman. “And you couldn’t tell me that?”

  He holds his hands out in front of his body like he’s going to have to protect himself. “It was clearly written that you were not to have knowledge of the clause, Lucia, I’m sorry. But here you are, happily married to Enzo Linetti, close associate of Marco Torenti.”

  Enzo and I both nod. I can’t tear my eyes away from Mr. Ashman and I feel like I’m hanging on every word that he has to say. I need to know what he’s going to say because I have to know what this all means for the two of us.

  For our family.

  Guilt streaks through me that Enzo doesn’t know the whole truth of why I’m glowing, and I glance at him, but he has his gaze locked on Mr. Ashman. He’s here to support me, and he’s not going to let anything stop him from getting the answers that we both need so badly.

  “Okay.” Mr. Ashman clears his throat and picks up a piece of paper to read from it. “After the marriage of Lucia Hall Torenti then it is imperative to determine that she will be safe thanks to her nuptials.”

  He looks at us over the paper and smiles. “I think that we can all agree that your husband will do everything in his power to keep you safe.”

  I nod, squeezing Enzo’s hand. He did that before we were married, and I know that, no matter what comes our way, he’s going to keep doing it.

  “Once it is determined that her nuptials are complete, she is safe, and she is happy, then she is to receive the final bequest of the will.” Mr. Ashman drops the paper to his desk and pushes a packet across to me. “I think that it’s pretty safe to say that you’re happy,” he tells me, as my fingers graze the manilla envelope.

  I’m almost afraid to open it, but I picked it up and undo the flap anyway. By the time I pull out the papers, my hands are shaking and I have tears blurring my eyes. Enzo gently pulls the papers from my hands and flips through them.

  “Lucia,” he says, his voice low with wonder. “Did you know that your dad owned so many businesses?”

  “What?” I ask, and grab the packet from him. I flip through it, my jaw dropping open. There must be a dozen companies here, all moved into my name. Sheets of paper list bank accounts and huge balances, documents showing properties throughout the city, and even a letter from my parents.

  I know that I should read this on my own when I’m not going to make a fool of myself by crying, but I can’t help it. I pull the paper to the front of the stack as quickly as possible, my eyes tearing up even more as I read it.

  Our dear Lucia,

  All we have ever wanted for you was for you to be happy and safe. The best way for you to do that is to find love that will protect you. By n
ow, you have, and we wish more than anything that we could meet him, because for him to capture your heart, he must be really special.

  Because we’re not there to take care of you now, we did everything we could to make sure that you would be safe and have everything you need. In this packet you’ll find all of the information required for you to step into your role as an owner of multiple companies, move into a number of houses throughout the city, and access the nest egg we set up for you.

  What you decide to do with your businesses and your properties is up to you and your husband, but we hope that having them will relieve any financial stress that the two of you may feel.

  We love you. We miss you.

  Mom and Dad

  By the time I finish the letter, I’m sobbing so hard that huge teardrops fall on the paper, threatening to smudge the writing. Enzo pulls it from my hand and then pulls me into his lap to hold me while I cry.

  “It’s okay,” he whispers, his voice muffled by my hair. “I promise you, Lucia, everything is going to be okay, and I’m going to be here to make sure of it.”

  ◆◆◆

  We’re silent on the way home, and Enzo helps me into the house by looping his arm around my waist and walking me into the kitchen. I settle onto a stool and watch as he goes to the refrigerator, returning with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

  “You want something to drink?” He asks, as he starts to pour the wine.

  I shake my head, but he doesn’t see me, and pushes a full glass across the counter to me.

  “You deserve something to help you calm down,” he tells me, and then sits next to me on the other stool. “Do you want to talk about anything that just happened? Is there anything that I can do to help you?”

  I feel frozen in place. Honestly, the last thing that I want to do right now is talk about my dead parents or the fact that we’re now apparently set for life. Enzo doesn’t have to work bets and booking any longer if he doesn’t want to.

  I don’t have to practice law if I don’t want to.

  But before we can talk about all of that and figure out what we’re going to do, there’s something else that I need to tell him. I push my glass of wine away and turn to him, linking our hands together.

  “Enzo, I love you,” I begin, and he immediately cuts me off by leaning forward and kissing me. Heat courses through my body and I feel desire lap up my thighs.

  This is what always happens when my husband kisses me. As much as I want to fall into him and let him make me forget everything that’s been going on, I put a hand on his chest and push him back.

  “I have to tell you something.” I blurt the words out, trying to ignore the look on his face. Of course, he looks worried. I’d look worried, too, if he said that to me, but before he can ask me anything, I keep talking.

  “Did you notice that Mr. Ashman called me glowing?” That word has stuck in my head since we left his office. I can’t seem to believe that someone like him could notice and pick up on it, but that’s obviously what happened, and now I want to hear Enzo’s take on it.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he tells me, reaching out and stroking my cheek with his thumb. “I swear, you get more beautiful every single day, and that’s something that I can’t quite wrap my mind around. I love you, Lucia.”

  “I love you.” I drop his hands and place mine on my stomach. “You’re going to be an amazing dad, Enzo.”

  I swear, time stands still. Enzo’s jaw drops open and he cuts his eyes down to my stomach before bringing them back up to my face.

  “I’m pregnant,” I tell him, as if what I’ve just said needs any more explanation. “I think I’m about six weeks along, but we’ll have to get in to see a doctor to know for sure.”

  He shouts and stands up, pulling me from the stood and spinning me around before picking me up and hugging me to his chest.

  “You’re really pregnant?” He asks, and I grin when I can hear the excitement in his voice.

  I nod into his shoulder. “I am,” I tell him.

  “I’m going to be a dad?”

  I nod again. He’s squeezing me so tightly that it’s hard for me to catch my breath, but I don’t care. I’ve never been this happy. Not when I first met him, not when Uncle Marco walked me down the aisle, never.

  To be able to share this amazing news with him on such a hard day? It’s a gift, that’s what it is.

  Slowly, he puts me down, brushing my hair back from my face with both of his hands. “You are perfect to me, Lucia. My life started when I met you and you made me into a man that I can be proud of being. I can’t believe that I’m going to be lucky enough to have a child with you.”

  “Well, one for now,” I tell him, leaning up to kiss him. I loop my arms around his neck to hold him in place and keep him from trying to step back. “But I want more, Enzo. I want as many children as you will give me. I want this house filled with them, I want dogs running around, I want it all.”

  “Lucia Linetti,” Enzo says, dropping a kiss on my forehead and pulling me so close to him that I can feel his heart pounding through his shirt, “I promise that I will give you all of that, and more.”

  Thank you!

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  Kidnapping her wasn’t part of the deal.

  But there wasn’t any way I wasn’t taking her with me.

  click here>> for Taken for His Captive