Sold To Mr. Milano (Evil Empires Book 1)

by Daniella Wright

  I paced the living room of my home, anxiously watching out the window for my father to return home. He had to leave suddenly for an important work meeting but was set to arrive back that evening. I was grateful to have the house to myself for a while to come to terms with my pregnancy, but I knew the time had come for me to tell him everything.

  I had never kept many secrets from my father. What really happened during Alberto and I’s time together was the first thing I had ever kept from him really. But now it seemed that I couldn’t even hide that from him. Even if I tried to for a little while, he would have to know the truth sooner or later. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

  I tried to be optimistic. He expressed wanting grandchildren, and I had been doing my best to hold back from expressing just how badly I did not want to become some farmer or police officer’s wife who stayed home, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Maybe now we could both have our way. I could give him a grandchild and keep my independence. That was the best I could hope for.

  Alberto would never step up and be a decent father to my baby, and I didn’t want my child raised in his world. So, I decided never to tell him about it. Hopefully, I would never have to see him again. And if my father could not piece together on his own who the father was, I was not going to come right out and say it. If he did have any suspicion after hearing my news, he’d probably be just as happy to pretend he didn’t know Alberto was the father. That is, if he could even bear to ever look at me again.

  My legs were growing tired from walking from one end of the house to the other, jumping at every sound - thinking it might be him returning home. But I couldn’t manage to stay still either. I laughed every so often at how ironic it was for me to be pregnant after everything. I went into my adventure pretending to be so, and it ended with me actually being with child. If I didn’t tell my father about my condition, I’d likely have to run right back to the black market...only this time I wouldn’t be faking anything.

  Finally, I heard his arrival outside. It was the first time I had been able to stand still for hours, and it was only because I was frozen in fear of what I knew I had to do when he walked through that door. I grabbed the tray of coffee and pastries I had been keeping warm for him. He would come in, and I would lead him to sit by the fire while I served him a snack and a drink. Then, once we were comfortable, I would spit it all out.

  The door opened, and I braced myself with a deep breath. My father came shuffling in, and I was so nervous, I barely paid any attention to how he left the door open behind him. I barely paid any attention to him at all. I sang out a hello and fired off questions about how his trip went. I didn’t even hear his replies. It seemed like he didn’t reply at all, but I could have just been imagining it. I was too busy rushing him over to sit down and bringing in the tray, just as I had planned. It was now or never.

  It all happened so fast that my eyes took it in faster than my brain could process it. I sat across from him and parted my lips to speak, but before I could get out a single word I saw a second figure emerge from the front door. I looked up to see a familiar face, but I was so shocked I couldn’t believe it was him at first.

  “Alberto,” I murmured breathlessly.

  It was only then that I realized my father had been fighting me on sitting down the whole time. I just hadn’t taken no for an answer. But now that I was completely paralyzed, he stood up and told us he would leave us alone to talk.

  “What are you doing here!?” I stared back at him like a deer in headlights. “You came with my father?”

  He nodded and took the seat I had forced my father into moments ago. “It is good to see you, Alicia.”

  Something slipped from my mouth, but I didn’t know if they were actually words or just muffled breaths of nonsense syllables. I wanted to say it was good to see him too, but was it?

  “How have you been?” he asked casually as if this was all so ordinary. “Have you been enjoying your time back home?”

  I grew angry with him, as I usually did. I hadn’t heard a word from him since he left me at my father’s gate, and now weeks later he came strolling in like it was nothing. As if it wasn’t the most unexpected thing in the world for Alberto Milano to walk into our home, escorted by Don Martino himself. And my father left us alone at that! What the hell was happening?

  He looked calm and collected - his default mannerisms. He even reached for one of the pastries and poured himself a cup of coffee. But I finally pulled myself together enough to fly to my feet and yank the tray right out from under him.

  “These were for my father!” I hissed. “I obviously wasn’t expecting to see you here, and I don’t have the faintest clue of what you could possibly want...so I won’t be showing you any hospitality.”

  I stormed off to the kitchen and slammed the tray into the sink hard enough to shatter one of the little glass mugs. By the time I turned around, Alberto was standing there. He didn’t look so calm anymore, but he did look dead serious. There was a light in his eyes I had never seen before.

  “You really don’t have any idea of what I could possibly want?” He stared at me intently with a look that took my breath away.

  My heart and my brain were at war at that moment. Of course, I could think of a few things he might want. But that was a dangerous thing to hope for, so I played dumb.

  “No,” I insisted, but my voice wasn’t as confident as I would have liked.

  “It was me that your father was meeting with.”

  “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now!?” I fumed.

  “Something very troubling indeed, I’m afraid. You see...I’m in love with you.”

  Finally, my brain and heart could agree on something because they both stopped cold. I felt like I slipped out of my body entirely.

  “What did you just say?”

  “I have asked your father’s permission for your hand in marriage,” he stated, once again as if it was all so ordinary. Or was this just Alberto’s way of accepting defeat?

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure that went well.”

  “Better than it’s going with you actually,” he huffed. “You are far scarier than the Great Detective.”

  “Well, then you’ll be especially terrified to know that I am pregnant.” I blurted it out as if my life depended on it.

  I was desperately seeking safety, feeling certain he would turn and run for the door, and then I wouldn’t have to bother processing his ridiculous request. I wouldn’t have to feel how strongly everything I wanted and cared about seemed to hinge on the next few moments.

  His eyes widened ever so briefly. It was a short display of extreme emotion that only Alberto could pull off. Unless he was completely outraged, he kept everything else so well hidden. But I could see it, even if I was the only one. He truly was as terrified as I thought. However, I was not expecting the smile that quickly spread across his lips.

  He flattened his palm against his heart. “You’re with child?”

  “Yes, so now you can just go home and forget any of this ever happened. I have to tell my father and start making a plan. That’s what I was intending to do before you came barging in here!”

  He stepped closer and took my hands in his. “You stubborn woman. Have you not been listening to anything I’ve been saying? I want you to be my wife. This baby is wonderful news. We’re going to be a family.”

  He seemed so unfamiliar all of a sudden. He embodied a gentleness that I had only seen hints of before. It was a side to him that I always thought could make its way to the surface, but I never thought it actually would. I blinked and swallowed hard, wanting desperately to pinch myself and see if I was dreaming. This wouldn’t be the first dream like this I had recently, but it did seem a great deal more real.

  But my good sense finally caught up to me. It didn’t matter what I wanted or what I thought I saw in Alberto. I could never marry into a life of crime. I wouldn’t raise my child with his warped values and all that s
tingy wealth.

  “It would never work. We are too different. All you care about is money and profit. I want my child to be a good person. I want to be a good person, and I could never sleep at night if I was sharing a bed with you as husband and wife.”

  “You seemed to sleep fine the three nights we slept together before,” he argued with a coy grin.

  I jerked my hands from his and turned my back to him. This wasn’t some joke and it wasn’t a time for all of his witty banter, no matter how endearing it was.

  “Alicia, look at me,” he pleaded.

  My face twisted with bitterness, but slowly I turned to face him again even though my blood was boiling. He never failed to have that effect on me, which only begged the question - did I really want to spend the rest of my life all riled up like this? I ignored the way my heart answered with an unwavering - yes.

  By the time I was facing him again, he was down on one knee. He pulled a velvet box from his back pocket and opened it to reveal the most spectacular diamond ring.

  “I retrieved this from my basement of goods. It’s just one of many clever ways I intend on finding to sort through all of those things. I’m not quite ready to concede to paying back taxes, but I will make good use of the loot if nothing else...in a way that pleases you.”

  Tears started streaming down my cheeks and I swallowed down a big gulp. I had never been so hopeful and terrified in all my life.

  “Alicia Guevara, only you could bring a man like me to my knees. And I don’t intend on taking that for granted. I have your father’s blessing to try and convince you to be my wife. You can spend the next however many years fighting me on it, or we can save all that time and energy for something else...and you can just go ahead and accept my proposal now. Will you please be my wife?”

  I studied him as if my life depended on it. Because it did. I needed answers and certainties that I would never have. As much as that scared me, it was also what made me want to say yes even more. What I did know for sure is that Alberto Milano would never coddle me or treat me like some fragile, breakable thing. He might try and tell me to be quiet and stay out of his way, but he would do so while also counting on me to do just the opposite.

  He didn’t just expect me to be difficult, he thrived on it. And it seemed I felt the same way for him. It all culminated in something that I only knew to describe as an all-consuming love that felt like it could burn on for an eternity.

  The longer I took to answer, the more he squirmed and winced for fear of what I might say. A wicked grin curled at the edges of my lips as I rather liked seeing him in that kind of agony.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he grimaced.

  “I suppose Alicia Milano does have a nice ring to it,” I answered finally. “Or at least it would if Milano didn’t carry the reputation that it does. We’ll have to work on that.”

  “Good God, woman. You’re killing me. Is that a yes?”

  I smiled and shook my head yes, which sent him shooting up to his feet. He nearly dropped the ring as he swept me into his arms for a long kiss. I snickered as I realized I had never seen this man fumble over anything. I kind of liked having that power over someone who was supposedly one of the most feared shady businessmen in Argentina.

  But the roll of his tongue across mine reminded me of so many other things about this marriage that would be so wickedly divine.

  “Maybe it’d be better if you did keep a little of your bad streak intact,” I suggested in soft whispers between his lips. “I wouldn’t want you to become such an upstanding citizen and good guy that you became boring in bed.”

  He let out a low, mischievous laugh. “Well, I think you’ve more than proven that someone can be good in the world and very very bad in bed...in all the best possible ways.”

  Our kiss deepened, but the front door opened behind him. We jumped three feet apart at the sight of my father returning. It wasn’t until then that Alberto finally slid the diamond ring onto my finger to seal the deal.

  My father blushed a little and looked at the floor, trying to convince himself that he hadn’t just walked in on that. But then he looked back up to me with a look of disappointment.

  “Alicia! I knew you’d say ‘yes’ eventually, but I thought you’d at least make him suffer for a while first. You know...put up more of a fight. Make him work for it.”

  “Oh, I’ve made him work more for it than you might know,” I assured him, thinking of everything that happened while he held me captive. “But how could you have possibly known I’d say yes?”

  “I’m not an idiot. You’ve been moping around here lovesick ever since you got back. I may have pretended not to know, but I knew. They don’t call me the Great Detective for nothing.”

  Alberto shot me a look, and we both smiled. It was obvious the Great Detective was still oblivious to the fact that I was pregnant. But I simply shook my head and went to take my father’s coat. We could at least give him a little breathing room before we broke that news to him.

  Epilogue

  EpilogueAlberto

  I thought it would be demeaning to restore my reputation among the Argentinian landowners - kind of like a scolded dog skulking around with my tail between my legs. But thankfully I could still cling to the thrill of how terrified the people looked when I would first show up on their floundering farms and fields. Then to see how they transformed with relief when I made my proposal...It was more gratifying than I ever could have expected.

  I was experiencing just that as I shook hands with the smiling man in front of me. The vineyard had been in his family for years, but as they struggled to make ends meet, the property had become neglected. I was offering him hope to not only provide a better life for his family but to also uphold the legacy of his family’s business and turn it into something he could be proud of again. The profit I made from it wasn’t to be ignored either.

  “I will take these crates you have here with me today, but I expect there to be more to fill the demand when I return,” I told him sternly.

  “Absolutely, Mr. Milano. We won’t let you down. Thank you.”

  I ordered my men to start loading up the goods. I would market the local wine and boost their sales, giving them more money to invest in the upkeep of their vineyard. Supply and demand would do its thing and soon we would both be a little richer for it.

  This was only my first stop for the day. I had two more struggling landowners to visit that day. Each one had something they could offer with a little help. They got to keep their jobs and enjoy more profits, and I got to skim a little off the top for helping their lands to become more lucrative. The whole thing exercised my business skills in a way that was much more challenging and satisfying than any work I had done before.

  I smiled at the sound of our infant son fussing in the distance. We turned to see Alicia walking towards us with a smile, but she of course stopped to shout a few directions at the workers loading up the wine. She had surprised me with how demanding of a boss she could be, though I guess it shouldn’t have been surprising at all.

  “Ah, here comes my wife and son now,” I beamed to the family. Showing the two of them off had become one of my favorite things to do. It made my heart swell in a way that no expensive car, cigar, gun, or big game ever had.

  I introduced them as Alicia proudly took her place by my side. We went over the last details of our deal and then continued on to the next stop. By the end of the day, as we returned to the estate, I was exhausted but content.

  I settled in next to the fire and waited for Alicia to join me, which she always did once our son was down to bed for the night. She soon came gliding into the room with a grin eased across her mouth. She seemed to smile a lot more these days but make no mistake, she could still turn cross in the blink of an eye. It was enthralling and never boring. She sank into my lap and draped her arms around me, helping herself to a sip of my drink and a puff of my cigar.

  “My father called today,” she informed me. “He’s
still hoping you will give him some useful information on the Mendozas.”

  I grumbled under my breath. “What did you tell him?”

  “That I would talk to you about it...again. But that he shouldn’t get his hopes up.”

  “I promised that I would change my ways of doing business...Not that I could get my entire family to. You know I have an agreement with them. You wouldn’t like it if they started trashing all these farms and small businesses we’ve been working so hard to turn around.”

  “Well, can you blame him? He did give you permission to marry his only daughter.”

  “Si, he didn’t ask for nearly enough in exchange. I got you at a bargain.” I squeezed my hand into her rear. “But it’s not my fault the man didn’t barter with me when he had the chance.”

  “Would you have agreed to giving up your cousins if he had?”

  “I would have allowed every corner of Argentina to be pillaged by all the scorned gangsters if that’s what it took to get you. But I don’t think that would have made either of you very happy.” I playfully nuzzled my face into the cleavage bursting from her blouse as she squirmed and laughed.

  “You never know. What makes us happy can be surprising at times. I’m surprised by how much I love this big expensive diamond on my hand and my closet of furs...even if they are scandalous and a little immoral to have. I’m surprised by how happy you are as a tamed man.”

  “Tamed!?” I scoffed. “I am no more tamed than you are, woman.” With that, I scooped her up into my arms and started carrying her off into the bedroom. “I guess I will just have to remind you of that...yet again.”

  She cackled as I kicked open the door to our room and tossed her down onto the bed. I moved over her like a ferocious beast, biting at her neck and ripping away her clothes with urgency. Her laughter soon faded into moans of desire, and she was quick to start eagerly tearing off my clothes in return.

  I pinned her arms down to her sides and wasted no time at sliding inside of her. There were some nights for hours of foreplay and teasing. I had spent countless hours between her legs, making her completely limp before I ever moved an inch inside of her. But when my wild manliness was in question, I knew she was provoking me to ravage her all at once. She knew all the ways to draw what she wanted out of me, and I was happy to oblige.