Page 130 of Vows of a Mobster

“I am not sure,” Antonio at least kept his head cool, while all I tasted was betrayal. What was worse, Marissa and her brother’s betrayal didn’t hurt as much as Brianna’s secrets. My reason tried to justify her. She didn’t know me; she had no reason to trust me. Yet, even for the last two weeks, she kept it all hidden.

“Mateo, let’s try to find out everything first,” Antonio offered, “before we handle this. My gut feeling is telling me there is more here.”

“Isn’t this fucking enough?”

“It’s a lot, yes,” he agreed. “But they kept this secret for a long time. There must be a reason. Besides, we don’t know if they all did it together or was it just one of them? Maybe Giovanni only helped with the surveillance clean up, just as he claimed.”

“You’ve seen him with Brianna at the birthday party,” I spat out, blinded by jealousy and rage.

“Yes, I saw a friendship,” he replied calmly.

“How do you propose to find out exactly what happened?” I questioned him. “Should we torture all four of them?”

Just the thought of Brianna hurting made me sick to my stomach. I would kill anyone that would dare to touch her. Punishing Giovanni two years ago didn’t sit well with me, but it was demanded by Declan or a full-blown war would have been started. Just like I found out, so did he, that Giovanni had a connection to cleaning up the mess his cousin left on the surveillance. So naturally, he assumed we had something to do with it.

Declan demanded to be present when Giovanni was questioned, otherwise he would attack. I wasn’t willing to have a war, just for the sake of a war. So I agreed and when we picked up Giovanni, Declan was able to see firsthand Giovanni’s surprise at the news of his cousin’s death.

That was genuine, wasn’t it? Damn kid wasn’t that good of an actor. He didn’t even know it was Declan’s cousin. If Declan got a wind of Brianna’s involvement, he’d come after her full force. He’d come after all three women full force.

And there it was, my mind already made up.

“There is one more thing we found out today,” I gritted through my teeth.

Antonio waited. He knew me well enough to sense my fury. “Brianna’s mother put a hit on her daughter and granddaughter.”

Shock was written all over Antonio’s face, a string of curses left his mouth. “Are you sure?” he finally asked.

“Yes. The man is eliminated but I need to know why her mother wants her dead.” Brianna was my woman, pregnant or not. We’d find out soon if her period would start. Either way, I wasn’t willing to let anyone hurt her or to let her go. Now, I just had to convince her to stay with me forever. “I need you to dig up everything on her mother, find any connection why she’d want to kill her daughter and granddaughter. Regardless, how significant or insignificant a detail there might be… I want to know it all. And I want to know how much she really knows about our business and about the Irish. If she knew Brianna’s father was our inside man, she might have some insights into how we operate.”

“I’ll make it a priority.”

“Does Daphne know what you found out?” I knew Antonio was smart, but fuck, women made us do some dumb shit. Just look at me, I was pussy whipped and head over heels in love with Brianna. And I barely even knew her. I knew she held back, but never even realized how much.

“No, Daphne knows nothing and told me nothing,” I sensed bitterness underneath his tone. I could understand it. “Those three are tight.”

“Yes, they are,” I muttered. If nothing else, I could appreciate how they had each other’s back. I never saw this freight train coming. At Marissa’s party I sensed they were hiding something. But never guessed it would be this much. “Does anyone else know this?” I asked Antonio.

“No, just you and me.”

“Good,” I told him. “Keep it that way. I don’t want anyone knowing we know. Keep digging though. We need to know exactly what happened. Giovanni is the only one that knows about the hit on Brianna and Emma by her mother. Until we know everything, we need to keep him at bay.”

Antonio nodded without another word and turned to leave.

“Antonio,” I stopped him and he glanced over his shoulder at me. “I’m trusting you with this.”

He smiled. “I like her a lot,” he retorted. “And I like you better when she’s around. So don’t worry. This will go to the grave with me.”

He left my office and I leaned back into my chair, loosening my tie. I craved Brianna, the pull to go to her strong, but I forced myself to stay. I needed the distance. In a matter of a few weeks, she became the center of my world. I would protect her, no matter what. If it came down to starting a war with Declan, the head of the Irish mob or keeping her safe, I would always choose her first. She and Emma became part of the family. I would earn her trust. She has been relying on herself for a long time, but I’d show her she wasn’t alone. I refused to give them up or lose them.

Who in the fuck was I fooling? The moment she spilled that coffee on me, I’d been hunting her, craving her. I wanted her at all costs.

“Fuck,” I muttered. I stood up and walked over to my mini bar to pour myself a glass of scotch. I needed a whole bottle but getting drunk now wouldn’t do me any good.

An hour later, I was on my way to Brianna’s and my bedroom. It was past ten at night. As I walked through the estate, I saw the light still on in our bedroom.

Our bedroom,I thought to myself and it sounded right.Our home, our family, our children.

That was what I wanted with her. When I came back home from work, I wanted to see her face. When I went to sleep, her face would be the last face I saw. When I woke up, her face would be the first thing to greet me. I wanted to share in her happiness and sorrow, protect her when she is scared, offer her my shoulder to lean on.