Page 154 of Vows of a Mobster

Over. My. Dead. Body.

I reached for my phone to check on the messages, careful not to wake up Brianna.

“What the fuck?” I muttered softly under my breath. There were over a hundred text messages. It couldn’t be business, otherwise Antonio would have called.

I punched in my code and unlocked the phone. The moment I opened the message, a groan escaped me. It was a group chat.

“What?” Brianna lifted her head, her silky curls falling down her face. She looked tired. “Is it Emma?”

“Shhh, everything is fine.” She snuggled tighter to me, her hands wrapping around my waist and her legs tangled over me. Pregnant women needed rest, I knew that much, so I wanted her to get plenty of it. Tonight was just for us.

I skimmed through the group chat. Was this what this younger generation did?

Giovanni was on the chat too. They sent a selfie with Emma who was beaming with happiness. I might have not known her since birth, but she has been part of our family all along. She felt at ease with Marissa, Daphne, and Giovanni, as much as she felt at ease with her own mother.

Then there were hints about married sex, whether we even made it to our honeymoon or just went straight to having sex. I sent a short message back.

*Make sure our daughter is taken care of and safe. Don’t text unless there is an emergency. We are busy.*

Another message came right back, but I ignored it. Instead, I sent a message to Antonio, asking him to arrange for double security around Brianna and Emma till the threat was gone. He knew what it meant. The second her mother went after what’s mine, she signed her death warrant.

Fifty-Four

Declan

“What did I hear today, son?” My father’s voice reached out from his billiard room. I didn’t expect him to be awake at this hour. It was well past midnight. Ever since Brianna’s and Mateo’s wedding, things have escalated. The last twenty-four hours we lost three men and two shipments. I haven’t seen Marissa since the wedding and it has been too long already.

It was amazing to see Brianna and Mateo take their vows. I wondered if she understood the vows of a mobster were meant for life. Although I didn’t think she was ever going to leave him. Watching them together was like the best kind of porn, even though they were dressed. Fuck, I wouldn’t mind seeing those two get it on. Marissa claimed Mateo was possessive of his new wife. I would bet my entire fortune it went way beyond possessiveness. Brianna was the only reason he didn’t shoot me yesterday, on sight.

Brianna wasn’t accustomed to our world and probably didn’t know that the only time an enemy was allowed into your personal celebration, like a wedding, was when two enemy families reach peace by arranged marriage.

Unknowingly, Brianna had opened a door for me to negotiate terms with Mateo about peace. And I intended to take full advantage of it. Marissa would be mine. If only the fucking Italians would stop attacking my men and my shipments.

“What did you hear, Father?” I asked him, entering the billiard room. I leaned against the pool table. Stepping away from the business was hard for my father. It took two heart attacks for him to finally make that decision.

“You attended Mateo’s wedding,” he replied. It wasn’t a question. I knew he’d hear it. It wasn’t exactly that I kept it a safely guarded secret.

“Yes, I went with his young cousin,” I told him.

His eyes watched me, and as always, I could see him working out all details.

“You have a plan?” he finally grinned.

“I do,” I stated. “It is too early to talk about it but I have a plan that should strengthen our position. Right now, I need to deal with immediate issues.”

He nodded. “I trust you, son.” His words meant a lot, his trust and confidence. He was a man I admired the most in my life. “I heard the Italians keep attacking our business and territories.”

I pressed my lips together. It made me want to go into attack mode full force and make them pay. The only thing that held me back was that something wasn’t adding up. They were attacking business that no longer thrived, old locations that no longer mattered. But casualties and dead men under my protection were an entirely different matter. There would be a need for retribution, and it infuriated me since it would hinder my plan to tie Marissa to me.

“Yes, it would seem so,” I finally told my father.

“You are not certain?”

I cranked my neck, releasing tension in my neck. “Everything points to the Italians. Too clearly, which is what bothers me. Mateo is not stupid to leave such a clean trail to him.”

“You think it is a set up?”

“I have no evidence to show it is.” At this point, it was just a hunch. “Yet, something is not adding up.”