Page 15 of Malicious Marriage (Mafia Lords of Sin #9)

DEAN

“ I s he not here tonight?” Terrance glances around and scans the crowd as if Clover’s uncle will just melt out of the crowd. “Surely, he’s here to help with your presentation into your engagement?”

Clover’s lips part, but no sound comes out while a pink flush spreads across her cheeks. She’s visibly distressed by Terrance’s insistent pressure about her uncle. Is he the main cause of the family’s financial difficulties? If so, it can’t be easy for her to talk about him in public.

“He’s uhm…” Clover hesitates momentarily. “He’s actually out of the country on business at the moment.”

“I bet he’s in Vegas, right?” Terrance laughs loudly. “That man cannot stay away from a blackjack table. Out of the country!” He laughs louder, drawing the attention of several other attendees, and Clover looks like she wants the ground to open up and swallow her on the spot.

Gambling. So her uncle is the reckless one with money. I can’t help her with that immediately, but I can save her here.

“My guests!” I call loudly, abruptly ending Terrance’s laughter as I step away from Clover and bring all eyes to me.

The stage where I’m supposed to give this speech later in the evening is all the way over on the other side of the room so instead, I step up onto a stool and hop onto the bar, much to the quiet amusement of those watching.

“I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out and attending not only this charity gala, but also for providing your immensely generous donations to Housing Hounds. They are a charity very dear to my heart and it warms me to see them receiving so much love tonight. And of course, money, because we are all here to raise money for them to rebuild their shelter and keep every animal under their care alive and well until they can find their forever home!”

Soft cheers ripple through the crowd and as people lightly clap and tap their glasses, I catch Clover’s eye. She shoots me a grateful look as Terrance and his wife have moved on from quizzing her about her uncle and are now transfixed on me.

“But that is not the only reason I invited you all out tonight. Because not only am I helping these adorable animals find their forever home, but I am also one step closer to my very own forever. It is with great honor and immense pleasure that I am announcing that I, Dean Savoy, graciously asked the beautiful, the stunning Clover Byrne to marry me.”

The sea of polite laughter and claps turns into an ocean of gasps.

“And it is with immense delight that I can reveal she said yes . Sorry, ladies, I’m off the market.

” My joke earns a ripple of polite laughter and attention drifts over to Clover, who stands against the bar with a wide, nervous smile on her face.

Dropping down to my haunches, I slide off the bar and stand by her side with my hand wrapped in hers.

“Now some of you may be wondering why this is so sudden and I can already see the speculation in the eyes of those who aren’t so kind with their rumors.”

More polite laughter.

“In which I will remind you that just because you don’t see anything doesn’t mean nothing is happening.

The Savoy family is always working and for once, I can say that it’s not me who’s been working because I have been utterly charmed by this gorgeous woman.

I hope you will all do me proud in welcoming her into the Savoy family and the circles we will share together.

And if you have any complaints or negative reactions” —Clover’s hand tightens in mine— “then tell me with your bank account through donations to Housing Hounds!”

More polite laughter ripples through the room, and the music, which had quelled the moment I stood on the bar, rises back up, signaling the end of my speech.

“Oh, my God,” Clover hisses, turning her body into me and gazing past me toward the bar with cheeks aflame. “This is terrifying.”

“Which part?” I ask while keeping a pleasant smile on my face for any curious onlookers.

“All of it! I’ve never had so many people know my name before.”

“Surely not. We move in similar circles, you and I.”

Clover scoffs softly. “I mean crabs and sharks move in the same circle, doesn’t mean they're equal.”

I glance down and meet her gorgeous eyes with a warm smile. “You’re a very pretty crab.”

Clover’s anxiety gives way to laughter, and she finally smiles at me while nudging her elbow gently into my side. “You have a way with words, huh?”

“Years of practice,” I tease. “But if you are truly uncomfortable, then we can step away. I’ve done what I came here to do. There’s no need for us to stay.”

“And give fuel to any rumors rising about why you’ve announced an engagement so suddenly? As funny as that would be…” She presses her lips together and her smile widens. “You were right earlier. We need to sell this, and I won’t slack on my end.”

A strange, brief sadness flutters in my chest at the reminder of our engagement only being a transaction, but she’s right so I ignore it. “Well, then, how about we do another loop of this grand hotel and count how many fake congratulations we earn?”

“I’d be delighted.” Clover grins while accepting my offered elbow.

Leaving the bar, we resume our walk around the ballroom and greet countless people.

From families I work closely with and know intimately to smaller families who are here purely for the charitable contributions, everyone has congratulations on their lips but not everyone holds it in their eyes.

Some judge Clover likely because she’s from a much lesser-known family than many would expect me to align with.

Some judge me likely because I’m visibly older than her.

Some eye Clover with jealousy as if she’s stolen an opportunity from them that they never were entitled to in the first place, while thankfully, a fair few treat her warmly and express genuine interest in her and her family.

It warms me to see and I return to the bar when Clover slips away to the restroom.

Resting against the bar with a brandy in hand, I gaze out at the crowd.

Terrance and his wife have vanished after having a short, sharp dispute near the champagne fountain.

My loyal bodyguard Jack seems to be having a very animated conversation with Bobby.

I keep an eye on it as Jack looks rather pissed off until he erupts into laughter with Bobby and it clicks for me.

He was telling him a story. I drink slowly and wait for Clover to return, but when I feel warmth beside me, my stomach tightens briefly to see it’s not her.

“Don.” My advisor wears the same stern, sour look he always does. I partly believe he came out of the womb looking like that.

“Dean. So.” He taps on the bar and orders a drink. “It’s official.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Indeed, I expected you to keep in mind what is good for the family, not just what is good for you.”

“When has anything been good for me?” I narrow my eyes slightly.

“Take a look around you, Don. How many people do you think accepted our invitation here out of fear? How many are glancing over at me wondering how safe Clover will be with a Savoy on her arm? How many have already made a snap judgment based on a rumor and think I’m the monster they have to warn their kids about? ”

“We’re all monsters,” Don replies as his Vodka is slid into his hand. “We’re criminals. No one is clean.”

“And yet one rumor is all it takes. I’ve killed more people than I can ever count, I’ve burned down businesses and slaughtered traitors, I’ve fueled the resurgence in the drug market and smothered out smaller families that dare encroach on my weapons deals. I do all of that and no one bats an eye.”

“Do you want them to?” Don drinks slowly. “Sounds like you want them to hate you for that.”

“I don’t care if they do or don’t. I just don’t understand where the line is. Stuff like that I can admit to because of who we are. But shit that isn’t true with my brother is what stains our reputation the most? How does that make any sense?”

Don shrugs one shoulder. “You’re asking the wrong person. That stains me too.”

“But why? We’re in a room of the elite from all organized crime across the city and I still feel the weight of their judgment. I can almost hear them whispering better hope she doesn’t get pregnant or she’ll end up like his brother’s ex .” I drain my glass in one gulp.

“Trish has gotten to you, hasn’t she?” Don looks me up and down. “What did she say?”

He’s right. Ever since I saw her in the hospital and she threatened to make sure I’d never see my baby based on a lie, it’s all I can think about.

Shaking my head, I set my glass down and face him.

“She knew I was engaged. I don’t know how she found out and I don’t care, but she knew.

The woman you want me to marry threatens to take my baby out of state if I marry anyone who isn’t her. ”

“And you respond by telling the world you’re not marrying her?” Don lifts one brow.

“What can I say? I don’t do well backed into a corner.”

“Clearly.”

“But you would have me marry her.”

Don sighs deeply. “I… am of two minds, Dean. Marrying Trish would be amazing for the family. The good will it would buy us would be overwhelming. Her family is rich and powerful and we can always use more of that, never mind that the Wilcoxes are from old money, just like you are. It’s a criminal match made in heaven if you want to guarantee staying on top because anyone else who marries her immediately gets a crown. ”

“I just have to sacrifice my mental stability, my emotional health and my life because the second she feels pissed off, I’ll end up with scissors in the back of my neck.”

Don snorts humorlessly. “Welcome to married life.”

“Fuck that. She made me think she’d lost the baby, Don. That woman is a real monster.”

Don sighs deeply, like air rushing out of a paper bag. “And that’s my other mind, Dean. Beyond the family and the business, I care about you. And she is one twisted fucker.”

“A twisted fucker you want me to marry.”

“We all make sacrifices. She’s carrying your baby . Your heir.”

“Sacrifices?” I scoff. “It’s suicide. Literally.”

“And Clover isn’t?” Don fixes me with a steady stare.

“No, she’s not.”

“But Trish?—”

“You know she’ll hold that baby over me for the rest of my life like some kind of sadistic threat.”

Don grunts. “This woman who came out of nowhere, you really love her?”

I briefly close my eyes and step away from the bar. “She didn’t come out of nowhere,” I say as I wander back toward the party. “You just weren’t paying attention.”

“Hmm. Congrats, kid,” Don says and he turns to face the bar.

Deep down, I know he means well. He carries almost as much weight and responsibility as I do with the family and he wants us to strive for the best. For that aspect, I appreciate him.

Maybe if I were stronger, I could swallow all my pain and put up with Trish until she grew bored of me, but I know she’s greedy enough to never let me go unless I pull away.

Clover has no idea what she’s saving me from.

She also hasn’t come back from the washroom.

I wander the party, scanning every person I see hoping to glimpse her. It doesn’t take long because to me, Clover stands out like a radiant beacon in that gorgeous dress and no one else comes close to matching her.

One loop of the party and I spot her near the entranceway deep in discussion with a man I don’t recognize. Could that be her uncle? No, he looks too young.

“Dean!” Jack’s hand suddenly lands on my shoulder. “When did we decide that giving the speech on the bar was the right thing to do?”

“I think it was bold,” says Bobby who appears next to him. “If anyone was planning an assassination, there was no way they could anticipate that.”

“It was spur of the moment.” I grin, pausing while keeping one eye on Clover. “You know how these things go.”

“My security plans are a joke to you, aren’t they?” Jack groans. “All my hard work ruined by a spur of the moment gesture.”

“The important thing is Clover looked like she enjoyed it,” Bobby added, but his smile falters when he follows my line of sight toward Clover and the man at the door.

That’s enough to send alarm bells ringing in my mind, but just as I’m preparing to ask him if he knows who the stranger is, the man surges forward and grabs Clover by the arm where her bruises are still healing.

I see red.

I make it to her side just as the stranger shoves her up against the doorframe, grabbing him by the wrist and grinding my fingers into the small bones near his thumb to force him to let go.

“Hands off my fiancée,” I growl, positioning myself between the two of them. “Who the hell are you?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the alarm on her face turn to fear as the stranger glances between the two of us and snorts as he rips his wrist out of my grip.

“Fiancée?” His tone grates against my eyes. “No fucking way.”

“Dean.” Clover grasps my elbow, but I don’t move.

“I won’t ask you again,” I snap darkly as heat builds beneath my suit.

“She didn’t tell you?” He leans around me and smirks coldly at Clover.

“I’m her ex . Although she failed to tell me she was getting married and I gotta say, that changes things.

” He leans back up and stares directly in my eye.

“In case your rich little brain can’t understand, I’m the one that used to fuck her. ”

The dark urge to kill him where he stands for speaking so filthily about her at my event rises like acid inside me and it takes all my restraint to remain steady.

“I don’t give a shit who you are.” The words are forced past my tense jaw as Bobby and Jack reach us. “You’re not welcome here. These kind gentlemen will escort you from the?—”

“Fuck no,” the man snorts. “We’re not done. Clover, you and I?—”

He steps around me and latches onto Clover’s arm once more. The moment she squeaks in fright, fog descends and my fist smashes right into his smug fucking face.