Page 9 of Shattered King

Luca

F iorella sits on the edge of my tub. It’s filled with warm, sudsy water. I use an old washcloth to gently clear the blood from her face. She winces and pulls away. “I can do that. I think you should focus on yourself.”

“I’m more worried about you.”

She waves me off. Some of her fire and strength are coming back. “You look like a horror movie victim.”

“Pretty sure I’m not the victim here, darling.”

“Even worse then. You’re the killer.”

“Exactly.” I dab at her lip softly, but she takes the cloth from my hand. “I’m going to have my family’s doctor take a look at you.”

“I’m fine. Honestly, I really am.” She wrings out the cloth. The water turns slightly pink as she dips it into the tub and cleans herself more. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Your throat’s bruised. I’m going to make sure you’re not seriously injured.” She gives me a look as I stand and stare back. “No arguments.”

Her eyes narrow. “Are you used to giving orders?”

“I’m used to doing the right thing.”

“And I’m used to having control over my own body. I said no doctor. I meant it.”

I turn away so she doesn’t see my smile. “We’ll discuss this later.”

“There’s nothing to discuss!”

“Go ahead and take a bath. I’ll bring you clean clothes.”

“Wait a second!” I walk to the door and pause before leaving. “You said you were watching me. What was that supposed to mean?”

“I’ll explain everything later. Just get yourself washed up, alright?”

She doesn’t look happy as I slip out of the guest bath and close the door behind me.

When I walked into that garage and found her down on the floor under some goon, I lost my fucking mind. I’ve never seen red before in my life. I pride myself on keeping control.

But I lost my goddamn mind.

He had his hands on her. He was straddling her and choking her. My Fiorella. My future fucking wife. The woman I keep dreaming about. The woman I’ve been watching for the last two weeks.

The woman I’ve been obsessed with since the moment we met.

My only regret is that I couldn’t beat that fucking prick to death a second time.

She was so shocked and broken in those first moments after I saved her.

It broke my fucking heart seeing her like that.

Fiorella’s normally filled with fire and brimstone.

I’ve gotten to know her pretty well from afar over the last two weeks of watching her, and I feel like I understand her better than I ever dreamed I could.

That girl carries around a lot of hurt. I don’t know why or what happened, but it’s all over her.

There’s a lot of anger deep inside, but she keeps it under control.

Her emotions are locked down inside a steel box.

Everyone’s kept at a distance. She uses sarcasm and anger to hide her real emotions.

I can relate to that on a visceral level.

But seeing her on the floor, beaten and raw, terrified for her life, nearly killed me.

Rage flows through me now as I retreat into my master bathroom to wash away the worst of the blood.

My sink and vanity get splattered pink. I strip off my shirt and throw it into the tub.

I don’t give a shit. I keep seeing her down on the ground, beautiful lips puckered, swollen, and cracked, her eyes bloodshot and tear-covered, fear clenching her body into a ball.

My phone rings. I stare at the screen before answering. “Took you long enough to call.”

Raf Serrano sounds pissed. “Where’s my sister?”

“She’s cleaning the blood off her face.”

A short pause. “What happened?”

I give him the abridged version, watching her from afar, only realizing something was wrong when her radio turned off. “I got there in time.”

Raf lets out a long breath. “Fuck. I can’t believe this.”

“Can you really not? I tried to warn you two weeks ago. I told you there was a fucking threat.” I pace back and forth in the bathroom.

“You told me there was a threat, but you didn’t say from whom. You didn’t give me fucking anything .”

“I gave you enough to make sure she was protected,” I snarl at him, breathing hard. “You should’ve kept your sister in the house until I figured out who was behind the attacks.”

“Obviously, it’s someone that wants to stop our alliance.”

“I don’t give a shit about that. You failed her.”

“You must be some naive idiot if you think I have any control over Fiorella. She does what she wants when she wants to.”

“No wonder your business is failing. You can’t even protect your own family.”

“Fuck you, Luca. You don’t get to talk to me that way.”

“My wife nearly fucking died.”

“You’re not married to her yet,” he says coolly. “And she’s still my sister.”

I grip the phone hard enough to make the frame creak. He’s right; I’m not married to her yet. And if this is all about making sure we don’t walk down the aisle together?—

“Tomorrow morning,” I say through my teeth.

“What the fuck are you talking about now?”

“I know a friendly judge. We’ll go to his office and make it official.”

Raf sounds hesitant. “You want to marry her tomorrow morning? We were planning a wedding. We wanted to make it an event.”

“I don’t care what you wanted. This is about her safety now. I can protect her if she’s my wife.”

Another pause. But when he speaks, I can tell he’s not against it. “Are you sure the judge can make it happen?”

“If he can’t, someone else will. I’m marrying her tomorrow morning.”

“Did you tell her that yet?”

I look back over my shoulder. “Just tell your father the plan. I’m keeping her here with me tonight.”

I hang up and shove my phone into my pocket.

Fuck. I’m doing this. I’m really doing this. I thought I had more time, but now it’s happening.

Fiorella’s going to be my wife.

I walk down the hall. My head’s spinning. I never thought I’d ever get married. I don’t want this kind of responsibility. I’ve failed so badly in the past, and I don’t ever want to fail like that again. People that get too close to me end up dead.

People I love always go back to the dirt before their time.

And it’s always my fault.

But I don’t know a better way to keep Fiorella safe. I could keep watching her, but that would only get me so far.

I need her here, right here, in my house, by my side, right where I can make sure nothing can touch her.

“It’s happening tomorrow,” I say and fling open the bathroom door.

I stand there, breathing hard, heart pounding in my chest, and stare in as Fiorella yelps and covers her bare breasts with her arms.

She’s sitting in the tub. The water’s occluded by suds that cling to her body.

Her pretty eyes are wide, and her mouth is open in pissed-off outrage.

I can’t help but stare at her. Arousal burns in my core.

I want her taste and need her touch more than I’ve ever wanted something in my life.

She looks like perfection, slightly damp, skin flushed from the warm water, breasts spilling out from behind her muscular arms.

“What the fuck are you doing?” she snaps at me, eyes narrowing dangerously. “Don’t you fucking knock ? And where’s your shirt? If you’re trying something right now?—”

I don’t move. I’m suddenly aware that my chest is bare and I’m still speckled with blood. Her gaze dips down to my tattooed skin, and I swear, her lips part ever so slightly.

“I’m not trying anything.” It takes a lot of effort not to storm into that bathroom and do exactly that. “I just spoke with your brother on the phone.”

“Cool! Tell me this when I’m out of the bath!”

I don’t move. “We decided that you and I are getting married tomorrow morning.”

Her jaw drops. I like that look on her—stunned and pretty. I can’t help but smirk at the minor victory.

“ Tomorrow ?” She shakes her head and leans forward. I can tell she wants to gesture, but she’s trapped covering her breasts with her arms. “No, no, absolutely not. That’s not the deal. I thought I had more time.”

“Someone tried to choke you to death an hour ago. We’re getting married, and I’m going to make sure that never happens again.”

Her lips press flat. The surprise fades and is replaced with anger. “I didn’t agree to this.”

“You agreed to be my wife. The timeline can change.”

“Would you just get out of here and let me put on some clothes? We’ll discuss it when I’m not naked.”

“There’s nothing left to discuss.”

“Typical mafia asshole bullshit right there! My opinion doesn’t matter to you, right?”

“Your safety matters to me. Your opinion won’t exist if someone kills you.”

That seems to get through to her slightly. She looks away, frustrated. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why would someone want to kill me?”

“To stop our families from coming together.”

Her head tilts to the side. “I guess marrying tomorrow would really piss them off, right?”

“Exactly. Whoever is behind these attacks wants to stop our marriage.” I take a step into the bathroom. Fuck, that was a bad idea. Now that I crossed the threshold, it’s like I’m spiraling directly toward her. “There’s an easy solution to our problem.”

“I wouldn’t call it easy .”

“It’s just a few words and some paperwork.”

“And then what? I’m your wife? What’s that even mean? What’s it look like?” She shakes her head and glares at me. “This is too fast.”

“You had weeks to prepare.”

“I don’t care! Could you just go away and let me get out of this freaking tub?”

“Tomorrow morning, you’re going to be my wife. Tonight, you’ll stay here in my house. I’ll bring you clothes.”

It takes some serious force of will to turn my back on her. The second I do, all I want in the world is to turn again and stare at my future wife’s pretty skin.

She’s a beacon and it’s all I can do to keep myself from tumbling into her.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Her voice is very small, but the anger is crisp and clear. “That’s why you’ve been watching me. That first attack. They were coming for me from the start, weren’t they?”

My fists clench. Fuck, she’s smart. “We caught one of the men who was there that night and interrogated him. He said his crew was hired to kill you.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“There was no reason to scare you.”

“You asshole. I could’ve prepared myself! I could’ve, I don’t know, carried a gun with me or something.”

“Do you know how to shoot?”

“I mean, not well, but?—”

“Could you have fought that man off if you had known? Would it have made any difference? I told your brother, but he didn’t take it seriously. I was the only one that cared enough to make sure you were safe. I spent the last two weeks watching you around the clock—me and my crew.”

She’s quiet. I hear her splashing around. I keep my back turned until the towel rack creaks.

When I glance in the mirror, she’s covered with a little twisted knot above her breasts.

And god, I don’t think I’ve seen perfection until this moment.

“You should have told me.”

“I did what I thought was right.”

“I’m not some toy, Luca. You know that, right? I’m a person. I deserve to have a say in how my life goes.”

“I know that, but things aren’t so simple all the time.”

“That’s a great excuse.”

I start to leave the bathroom. Before I go, I glance back over my shoulder. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“For what? For barging in on me while I was taking a bath?”

I shake my head. “No, darling. For saving your life.”

Her face twitches. Guilt flashes in her eyes for a brief moment. “Okay, I do appreciate that part.”

“There’s a guest room here.” I point at the door on my left. “I have a clean robe in the closet. I’ll bring you clothes shortly.”

She sucks in a shuddering breath. I have to remember that she’s dealing with her trauma right now, and dropping the wedding on her only compounds everything. I can be patient for her. I have to be patient.

Right now, she’s the only thing that matters.

“Don’t try to sneak into my room in the middle of the night,” she says sharply as I start to walk away. “I’m not going to thank you with—you know—every time you save my life.”

“That’s alright. I’ll keep risking my own neck in case you decide to change your mind.”

She growls with frustration, and I’m smiling as I go find some reasonable clothes for her to wear.