Page 186 of Vows of a Mobster

Brianna whimpered and hid her face into my chest. “You won’t do any such thing,” I gritted through clenched teeth. “If you put a scratch on either one of the girls, you won’t only have the entire Italian famiglia after you, but also the Irish. Emma is the niece of the Irish head and Marissa is his woman.”

“I don’t give a shit,” she screamed like a lunatic. “If anyone so much as tries to enter my house, I’ll kill the child, and your wife will hate you forever. Because it will be your fault.”

“Please, don’t-” Brianna’s voice shook, she took a hard swallow. “Please don’t hurt her. She has nothing to do with this. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“The mobster bride they call you,” Angelica scoffed. “Yeah, right. More like some prissy princess.”

“Angelica-” I growled but Brianna took my hand and shook her head.

“I don’t care what you call me. I just want my daughter back. Tell me what you want in return.”

“You already stole it, bitch.” Angelica was delusional and crazy. “Mateo is mine. He loves me but you latched onto him.”

Brianna’s deep brown eyes flew to me. She stared at me, her eyes holding so many questions. But not a single one left her lips. This was a girl that grew up under the scrutiny of reporters. This was a woman that kept herself closed in. She would never throw a tantrum or argue in public, with prying eyes all around her.

“Where is my mother?” Brianna asked, turning her focus back to Angelica. “Put her on the phone.”

“This is how this is going to go,” Angelica screeched into the phone, disregarding the request. “You and Mateo will get here. Then we’ll see what we do with this little brat.” Brianna flinched at the words. I took the phone back from Brianna.

“You keep this up and I’ll show you no mercy,” I promised her in a cold voice. It was time I showed her why people run scared from me. “Do you think I care that you’re a woman? What I will do to you will have you screaming in pain. I will take my time and pleasure into tying you down and breaking every bone in your pathetic body. And when I’m done doing that, I will fillet the skin from your body. Piece by fucking piece.”

Brianna’s eyes snapped to me, although I couldn’t quite distinguish the look. Was she shocked? Disgusted? Disappointed?

Declan chimed in. “Angelica, this is Declan O'Connor. If you let my niece and Marissa go now, we’ll escort you out of town and you can survive this. I’ll protect you from the Italians.” Yeah, there was no chance in hell I would let Angelica live through this. Or Brianna’s mother. They'd never be a threat again. Those two would be made an example, nobody fucks with my family. Woman or man, nobody touched what was mine.

“Lovely, you get here too,” Angelica replied, then added, “Be here in thirty minutes or I will start by killing the kid. The woman will follow.”

The line went dead, and the heartbeat of silence was deafening.

“We have to get there fast,” Brianna broke the silence. “She is crazy and not in a good frame of mind. I need to call my mother.”

She pulled her phone out and dialed her mother’s cell. No answer. She dialed again. No answer.

“What the fuck is going on?” She was falling apart.

“Brianna, listen to me.” I took my wife’s hands between mine. “Your mother is trying to hurt you and Emma. She won’t help.”

“No, that can’t be,” she muttered, her soulful eyes on me. “I know she doesn’t care about us but she’d never endanger her reputation. It means too much to her.”

“Amore, people do desperate things for money.”

“She has all the money. I don’t have any money, Mateo. When my dad died, she inherited everything.”

“No, she didn’t.” Brianna was too trusting, too innocent, despite all the hardships she went through. “You inherited everything. On your twenty-sixth birthday you inherit every single dime from your stepfather.”

Confusion flashed in her expressive eyes, followed by hurt then resentment, and finished with anger. I hoped the fact that I kept it away from her wouldn't cost me my family and the only woman I had ever loved. I continued in a low voice, trying to explain to her. “We captured an assassin that was trying to get to you and Emma. It wasn’t till our wedding day that I learned why she wanted you dead. You’ll inherit it all. He left nothing to your mother.”

I waited for a question or comment, but Brianna took a step back and refused to meet my eyes. She turned to Declan, “Are you okay to go?”

“Yes, Emma and Marissa are my family too.”

She took his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you,” she murmured softly to him.

Seeing her touch another man infuriated me, jealous of the way she looked up at him. But this was neither the time nor place. Emma was in danger.

I turned to Antonio, “Have our men surround that house,” I ordered. “They are not to go in but have snipers locate which room Angelica and Brianna’s mother are in, and if they have a clear shot, take them down.”

“Not if Emma or Marissa are in the same proximity,” Brianna interrupted.