Page 10 of Shattered King

Fiorella

I ’ve never woken up in a stranger’s bed before.

This one’s empty, which is good. I stretch my legs and roll onto my side. Unfamiliar light filters through a window I’ve never seen before. Am I seriously in Luca’s house right now? With that strange, terrifying man not all that far away?

I sit on the edge of the bed and lean forward, shoulders hunched. I’m exhausted. I barely slept. Bad dreams kept me up half the night. Bodies, screams for help, a black void with sharp fingers trying to choke me to death. I touch the bruises along my neck and take a few deep breaths to calm myself.

Growing up in the Serrano Famiglia wasn’t always easy.

My father made it clear that I’d be a target most of my life.

I went to expensive private schools and was shunned by most of the other rich girls.

The few friends I managed to make were all part of their own crime enclaves, but those relationships never lasted long.

Even when the city’s at peace, each little Famiglia is constantly rubbing up against all the others, and it’s hard to cross those lines. Friendship is rarely enough.

Marriage though? Maybe marriage is the exception to that rule.

Not that I want to find out.

I stand unsteadily. I’m lightheaded and hungry. Luca’s clothes hang off my body: a pair of rolled running shorts and the smallest t-shirt he owns, still a couple sizes too large. I feel like I’m swimming in his things. I breathe in the smell and smile to myself. Soap and a hint of him .

After using the attached bathroom, I decide I’d better find something for breakfast. Otherwise, I’m going to be crabby all day, but I have a feeling I’ll need my strength.

Especially on my wedding day.

I open the door and release a scream loud enough to hurt my throat.

A corpse is sitting across the hall. He’s slumped over slightly. A gun lies in his lap. His neck is turned sideways, and he’s not moving.

Until the corpse is suddenly up on its feet, gun raised, sharp eyes roaming the otherwise empty hallway for threats.

Luca stares at me on high alert, breath coming quick.

“What’s going on?” he snaps, storming forward. I yelp and scramble away, but he grabs me and pulls me protectively against him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Would you get off me?” I try to yank myself free, but his grip is like a mountain.

“You just fucking screamed. What’s happening?” He raises his gun and scans my room.

“You scared the living crap out of me, that’s what’s happening. What the hell were you doing sitting across from my door like that?”

He looks at me then, lips pulled into a confused frown. He grunts in frustration and shoves the gun into the waistband of his sweats, only slightly relaxing his hold on me.

“I was guarding you.”

I lean back to get a better look at his face. “You were doing what?”

“Guarding you,” he says, almost snarling the words. “You think I was going to leave my wife alone? After what happened yesterday?”

“First of all, I’m not your wife.”

“Give it a few hours.”

“And second, did you seriously sleep on the floor like that?”

His jaw works. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.”

I take him in again. There are bags under his eyes and stubble on his chin. His hair’s messy, and his clothes are rumpled. He’s clearly not joking.

The psycho really did sit out in the hallway all night long.

“You’re a crazy person,” I murmur, finally extracting myself from him. “We’re in your house. Did you seriously need to sit outside my door like a dog?”

He turns away. “Yes. I seriously did. It would’ve been easier for us both if you had just slept in my bed.” He glances back. “Or let me sleep in yours.”

I don’t even know what to say to that. The thought of his big, beautiful body sleeping beside mine sends a strange shiver down my spine, half excited, half terrified. “The problem is, I’m not sure what you’d do to me if I got anywhere near your bed.”

His lips part ever so slightly. Is that a smug little grin? “We both know the answer to that one, princess.” He walks out of the guest room then.

“Wait!” I storm after him. “Hold on a second. This whole marriage thing. Are you serious about going to the courthouse today?”

He checks his watch. “The appointment’s in two hours.”

“Aren’t there supposed to be wait times? How’d you get a judge this fast?”

“Money.”

Right. It’s always money . “I don’t have clothes. I don’t have a dress.”

“You don’t need anything.”

“Luca, I’m not going anywhere in this—” I gesture down at myself. “I look like a child wearing her dad’s gym clothes.”

He turns, and his eyes roam down my body. I’m very aware of my bare legs. “You look like my wife wearing my clothes, actually.”

“Cool, that’s what we’ll tell the judge. He’ll think that’s completely normal.”

“I don’t care what he thinks.”

“ Luca —”

“Call your sister.” He waves a hand dismissively. “She’ll bring you what you need.”

Right. That’s not a bad idea. “And I need breakfast,” I mutter, staring at the floor. “Unless you want your new bride to pass out from low blood sugar at the altar.”

“There won’t be an altar. We’re signing paperwork?—”

“Luca!”

He’s grinning now, the smug bastard. “How’s eggs and bacon sound?”

“And coffee.” I pause and rub my sore face. “Lots and lots of coffee.”

Elisa hangs off my arm as we follow Luca and three of his men down a hall through the back of the courthouse.

Raf is with them, talking quietly to the group.

I wonder if they’re discussing business.

Or maybe how much my hand in marriage costs.

He better get a lot for me . We pass by other people heading to and from appointments, some smartly dressed and clearly lawyers, while others are in street clothes.

The building is crowded for a Friday afternoon, but it’s Philadelphia. Crime likes to keep busy in this town.

“Are you nervous?” Elisa whispers softly. “I’d be nervous. I mean, I am nervous, and I’m not even the one getting married.”

“I’m fine,” I grumble, unwilling to admit that, yes, I’m straight-up terrified.

“And you’re sure you’re okay?” Elisa frowns at the bruises on my neck.

“They’re fine.” I touch my face. The swelling isn’t as bad as I expected. “Luca made me see a doctor.” The man had shown up before I went to sleep, prodded at me, and pronounced me probably not going to die .

“You look cute at least. I really came through, didn’t I?”

I glance down at myself. A white sundress, low-cut, way too short, but cute, and at least it fits me. It’s not exactly a wedding dress, but it’s pretty close. Elisa had to scrounge this up from the back of her closet since I don’t own anything remotely this cute.

Grease doesn’t exactly wash out of white.

“It’s fine.”

“Did you notice the way Luca was looking at you?” Elisa raises her eyebrows. “Seriously, the guy couldn’t take his eyes off you. It was kind of cute.”

“He’s fine.”

She bumps me lightly with her hips. “Is everything fine to you right now?”

“What else do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know! Something! You’re about to marry a total stranger. Aren’t there feelings knocking around in that head?”

I meet her teasing frustration with silence.

But yes, there are feelings. A lot of feelings, and all of them conflicting.

I’m afraid and sad. I never wanted to get married, especially not this young.

From what I’ve seen, Luca is a terrifying bastard.

He’s vicious and violent. I keep thinking about him beating my attacker into a human-shaped pile of Jell-O and teeth.

I’m also excited. I still haven’t forgotten that stupid and incredible mistake in Luca’s office. My legs wrapped around his middle. His dick plunging into me. His warm mouth on mine. The way he made me submit broke me. It’s still breaking me.

Most of all though, I’m optimistic.

Because very soon all the attention on me is going to fade. I’ll return to being just some girl in Luca’s life. Just another woman he has to feed and occasionally speak to. Once that happens, I’ll start my real plan.

Step one: steal money from him over a relatively long time period and make sure he doesn’t notice.

Step two: finish rebuilding my Spider.

Step three: convince Elisa to escape with me into the sunset.

Honestly, it’s going to be easy.

I just have to get through today, and tomorrow, and the day after.

But soon I’ll be driving fast out west with the wind in my hair, and nobody will stop me.

The group stops outside of a municipal judge’s office. We pile into a moderately large room filled with law books, a flag on the wall, and framed degrees on the other.

“Thank you for seeing us on short notice, Judge Hensley,” Luca says, shaking the older man’s hand.

Judge Hensley is a big man with pale skin and graying hair.

He’s at least in his sixties and doesn’t seem excited about all this.

“Happy to help my good friend Adriano,” he murmurs, glancing around at the others.

I know Luca’s guys are named Enzo and Stefano.

They lurk off to the side, looking intimidating.

Raf, meanwhile, comes back to stand with me and Elisa. He leans in and talks quietly. “Please make this simple, alright?”

“What else would I do?”

He gives me a meaningful look. “You know.”

Okay, that’s fair. I do know. “I’ll be a perfect angel,” I say sweetly.

Even Elisa looks doubtful about that one.

“As requested, this should be very fast. I just need proof of identification and some signatures, please.” Judge Hensley gestures for me to step forward.

He frowns slightly when he gets a good look at my beat-up throat and face, but he doesn’t say anything.

Elisa covered the worst of it with makeup anyway. “I was told there won’t be any rings?”

“Actually, I brought one.” Luca takes a black box from his jacket pocket.

I stare at Luca in surprise. “You did?”

“I wasn’t going to show up to my wedding empty-handed.” The look he gives me is pure molten lava and dumps right down into my core. My god, he’s obscenely attractive.

It’s a shame I hate him and can’t wait to get out of here.

Though I keep thinking about finding him slumped outside my door this morning.

It was creepy, but also endearing. I’ve never been with someone who cared about me enough to be that uncomfortable for hours. It’s weird thinking he was out there staring at the door while I was snoring away, but also reassuring.

He’s taking this seriously.

“Everything looks in order,” the judge says as he glances at our documents. He spreads out several papers. “I’m required by law to do this part. Do you, Luca Marino, take Fiorella Serrano as your lawfully wedded spouse?”

“I do,” Luca says. Nothing more, only a look back at me. No hesitation in his eyes.

Well, shit. The judge looks at me.

“Do you, Fiorella Serrano, take Luca Marino as your lawfully wedded spouse?”

Nope, no thanks, I’m good, thanks anyways .

“I do.” My voice comes out a soft chirp.

“By the power vested in me by the state of Pennsylvania, I now pronounce you married. Luca, if you’d like to give her the ring while I take care of this?” The judge bends down and squints as he starts signing the marriage documents.

Luca turns to me. I’m intensely aware of everyone in the cramped space. Sweat dribbles down my back and my head spins. Did this really just happen? Was that all it took to marry a total stranger?

He takes my hands in his, flips open the box, and presses a diamond ring to my finger.

I stare at the rock. “Holy crap,” I say in surprise.

It’s freaking huge.

And not even remotely my style. I mean, I like understated things. Simple beauty. But this monstrosity is going to get caught on a bolt if I try to wear it while fixing my cars.

Still, it must’ve cost a small fortune.

Which is perfect for when it’s time for me to escape.

He slides it on and it’s a perfect fit.

“Now it’s real,” Luca says and moves closer. My heart races right up into my throat as he presses his lips to my cheek. “Now you’re mine,” he whispers so only I can hear.

“Oh,” is all I can manage to say.

My cheeks are burning red with embarrassment. I wish I could come up with something clever. Some pithy retort to put him back in his place. I’m not yours, fuckwad . Not exactly a killer one-liner.

Judge Hensley saves me. He takes over, and the ceremony becomes a business meeting. I sign and initial as he walks me through what everything means. Five minutes later, he ushers everyone back out into the hall.

“Congratulations, you two,” he says, not looking happy at all. “I wish you both, ah, health and happiness.”

“We’ll have plenty of both,” Luca says, putting an arm around my shoulders and yanking me close.

“Not if you don’t relax with the touching,” I murmur through a plastered-on smile.

His grip only tightens. “This is non-negotiable.”

“Better start negotiating your way off me or I’m going to?—”

We make it halfway down the hall before Raf turns and congratulates us. He shakes Luca’s hand, which gives me enough space to slip away from him. Elisa hugs me, tears in her eyes. I’m not sure why she’s crying. I’m the one who got married.

“You’re gonna be okay, right?” She hugs me tightly. “You promise me you’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” I squeeze her, relaxing and breathing her in. “You and I are forever, you know that, right?” You drink. I’ll be okay, I promise .

“I know that. We’re forever.”

I’m tempted to talk more about our future deal, but decide against it. There will be time. There has to be time.

“Listen, my father wants to see you both.” Raf glances at me and I can tell something’s not right. “He wanted to be here, but?—”

“Papa’s in bad health,” I finish for him, almost daring Luca to make a comment.

Instead, my husband only nods. “I’d be happy to meet with him.”

“Very good. Then we’ll head over now.” Raf rubs his hands together and glances at the looming Enzo and Stefano. “But only family.”

“What, my men aren’t family?” Nobody speaks, and Raf’s clearly uncomfortable. But Luca only grins and waves a hand. “No worries. They have to get back to work.”

“Job’s never over,” Enzo says, and he leaves with the hulking Stefano beside him.

“Is Papa okay?” I ask Raf once we’re moving again.

He only glances at me, his expression grim. “He’ll tell you everything soon.”

What started out as a bad day looks like it’s only going to get worse.