Page 6 of Broken Mafia Bride

Without turning off the car, I step out and start walking.

I can hear footsteps, the sound I find cocking, but I register none of it. Everything else is muted in comparison to the dull thud of my heart. Someone steps too close to me and I lash out, fist flying.

It’s like a familiar dance. A taste of the violence I’ve been hungering for. Bones crunch under my fists, blood spills, satisfaction thrums through me like the bass of musical drums, and the hole inside me where my soul is meant to be demands more.

I glide through a bright hallway, the bloody garter in one hand and the gun from the guy I beat up in the other.

“Dear god!” a woman screams as I step into a room.

I point the gun at the woman, fed up with her screaming.

“What do you think you’re doing! Put down the fucking gun!” she snaps.

I know that voice. Where do I know that voice from? The red haze starts to recede from my vision, and for the first time, I take in the unfamiliar room I’m standing in. Everything is a dull cream color that Giulia would absolutely hate.

The air smelled faintly of polished wood and expensive cologne—too clean, too civilized for what I was about to do.

“Isabella.” Recognition hits me as I slowly come back to my senses and realize where I’m at.

Guilia’s cousin and her father stare at me wide-eyed. A glance over my shoulder reveals several Montanari men, guns aimed at me. My mouth tugs up into a smile. I’m standing between them and the head of their family, and they’re all calculating whether Enrico would make it out alive if they open fire.

“Where is she!” I lock eyes with the older man.

“What are you doing here? How did you get into this house? How do you manage to keep showing up?”

“I asked you a question,” I bark.

“And I’m not obligated to answer you. Get out, now!”

“I saw her fall,” I spit out, my voice raw. “But nobody vanishes without a trace. Nineteen hours, and no body, no blood trail. You expect me to believe you didn’t have something to do with this?”

I step closer to him, pitching my voice low and showing him that I’m not here to fuck around. “Where. Is. Giulia?”

“I should be asking you that,” he grits out. “You turned my daughter away from me. Brainwashed and manipulated her. What happened to honor and fighting fair like a man? Only a fucking coward takes advantage of women to win.”

I reel back in shock. “You think this is a game? None of this was a fucking game. Unlike you, I’d never try to use her.”

“You put her right in the middle of this war.” He jumps to his feet, hands curled into fists at his side.

A mocking laughter slips out of my mouth. “I don’t know how someone as smart and as perfect as Giulia ever found a way to love and care for you. My father is an asshole, but at least, he’s never bothered to hide it. You’ll blame everybody but yourself for everything that’s ever happened to you.”

“Get out of my house!” he roars.

“Not until you tell me what you’ve done with her.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Can you two just stop this?” Isabella steps between us, eyes wide in surprise. “My cousin is missing, and you’re acting like this is about your fucking pride. What happened to her, Raffaele? Did you see her fall? Tell me!”

She drags in a shaky breath. “I don’t think Enrico is behind what happened. You have to listen to me.”

“I don’t owe you explanations.” My voice is a rasp. “All I want is the truth.”

“You set my daughter up. Stop trying to play the victim while you let her walk right into your father’s trap.” Enrico wags his finger at me. “I’m not going to stop until your entire family ceases to exist.”

“What are you talking about? She never showed up at the church!” My head is pounding again. I try to remember when I last slept, but I can’t. Exhaustion and crippling loss threaten to bring me to my knees. “I waited for her, but she never came. So cut out the pretense, Enrico. You’re a selfish, heartless piece of shit who Giulia was unfortunate to get stuck with.”

“Raffaele, stop!” Isabella cries.