Page 174 of Vows of a Mobster

Emma handed me the book and I read the last page. By the time I finished, Emma was out cold, small snoring sounds filing the silence.

“Ah, to sleep like that,” I whispered jokingly. “Where do I put the book?”

“Just leave it on the nightstand. She’ll probably want to read it again tomorrow.”

I glanced at the title of the book. “Shrek?” I asked my wife, raising my eyebrow.

Shrugging her one shoulder, she mumbled her response. “It is better thanFrozen. I can’t handle that anymore.”

We shifted off the bed gently, careful not to wake her up. Brianna leaned over and kissed Emma on the forehead and pulled covers to her chin. I waited and took her hand, leading her out of Emma’s bedroom and heading for our own.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her once we were in our bedroom.

“Tired.” She looked exhausted. It has been a hard day for her. She sat on the bed, but didn’t lay down. Bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she watched me move through the room, discarding my gun and holster, as well as the knife with the holster I kept on my ankle.

“Do you always keep a knife on your ankle? I don’t remember seeing it before.”

“More often than not.”

“Hmmm.” I recalled again Marissa’s and Daphne’s words from the footage stating Brianna was too good for this world. She really was. She belonged on the arm of a much better man than I was or would ever be.

The fact that I was unwilling to let anyone better have her said enough about me. She was mine and mine alone. I still couldn’t believe her words of love. Could I be so lucky to have this beautiful woman love me?

“Mateo,” she called out in her soft, tentative voice. “Are you mad?”

I pulled on pajama bottoms and came to sit next to her on the bed. “About what?” I pulled her body next to me, so I could feel her softness against me. Today was the first day I’d spoken to my wife since we came back from our honeymoon. Although I slept next to her, it wasn’t enough. The need to hear her voice, to feel her hands around me were my necessity on a daily basis.

“That I didn’t tell you,” she replied. “About Kyle.”

“No, I’m not mad. I knew he was Emma’s biological father.”

Her eyebrows wrinkled. “How?” she pondered.

I exhaled a deep breath. “In case you haven’t noticed, my dear wife, I’m excessively jealous.” She kissed my bare chest, her lips warming my skin and my heart. “I wanted to know everything about you and you kept yourself a closed book. It took a while but finally your name change and connection to Kyle was found. I didn’t know what went down. I suspected Giovanni killed him and was too strong to break down and spill the truth.”

“It’s horrible that he had to suffer through it,” her voice was drenched with guilt.

“He protected you, Emma, his sister, and Daphne. He would do it all over again.” She went to open her mouth but I stopped her. “He is a good man and I couldn’t be prouder of him for protecting you.”

“But it’s not right,” she muttered, his punishment not sitting well with her. I knew whatever I said, she’d never be okay with someone else getting hurt in order to protect her.

“I didn’t know you and Marissa sank Declan’s sailboat,” I tried to lift the mood.

She didn’t smile. “It was horrible. The day you took me back on the sailboat, I was so worried it was your sailboat we sank. I couldn’t remember who she said the boat belonged to.”

“Well, I’m glad it was his. How did you two get back?” Fear gripped my chest thinking about two of them out there in the ocean, alone.

“We waited for the storm to pass and then took one of the safety boats to the shore after we sank the sailboat.”

There could have been so many things that went wrong that night. I sent a silent prayer of thanks to anyone that was listening, for keeping her and her friends safe.

“Did you find out about Kyle after the wedding?” My wife questioned me.

“No, before the wedding. And before you ask, I knew before I asked you to marry me too.”

“Then why did you want to marry me?” Her deep brown eyes watched me in wonder.

“Amore, do you really not know?” We watched each other in silence. Maybe my young wife needed the words of assurance and love from me as much as I needed it from her. “From the moment we met, I wanted you. You captured me so effortlessly. It didn’t take long before I needed your everything. That first time in my office, it was wrong how I handled it, keeping you from getting the morning after pill. Women tried to trap me for decades, and then I turned around and did that to you. I wanted to tie you to me. I have no other excuse. I told you my parents didn’t have a good marriage. My mother was constantly jealous, a possessive woman that threw tears and theatrics on a daily basis. I hated that, but now I can finally understand it. My father was faithful to her but he didn’t love her. It was what made her jealous. You gave me your body, but I wanted your heart too. That jealousy made me dig through your past. I vowed I’d make you mine forever by any means necessary.”