Stolen Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle
Marcelo
Irun my hand through my hair distractedly as I look down at Tess. She’s stretched out on the bed, her hands and feet spread out from her body to make it easy for me to handcuff her to the bedposts. The last thing that I wanted was to do that to her, but she just couldn’t follow my fucking directions.
Salvatore stands next to me but he’s not looking at Tess. His angry gaze is locked on my face. “Are you fucking kidding me right now with this bullshit?”
“You’re not one to talk.” I spin to look at him, jabbing my finger into his chest. “Who was tasked with putting a bullet into Arabelle? You, asshole. You were supposed to kill her but instead you fucking took her for yourself. This isn’t any different.”
He rubs his hand down his face and groans. “It’s completely different,” he assures me. “Arabelle didn’t see me fucking murder anyone.”
“Yeah? Great. If I remember correctly, though, killing her was key to stopping a motorcycle club domination. Instead, though, we just had to clear the earth of all of the Wicked Bastards. Remember that bloodbath?”
His eyes darken and I know that he’s remembering, picturing it. There was so much blood. That’s what happens when the Bonanno family plans a scorched earth campaign against you. We’re the strongest family on this side of the country, and every time we eliminate any enemies, we become that much stronger.
“I’d do it again for her,” he tells me. “But this? Kidnapping someone in broad daylight? That’s fucking dumb, even for you, brother.”
“I wish that you could hear yourself.” I don’t even bother telling him that it wasn’t light out because I know that he doesn’t give a shit. He’s pissed and it will take him some time to cool off.
Salvatore doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns and stalks out of the room. I follow, locking the door so that even Tess does escape from her bed, she won’t be able to get out of the room.
“Everything okay at the bakery?” I ask conversationally, changing the subject. We’re just going to have to agree to disagree on Tess. There’s no way in hell that I’m going to give her up, and even though I know that Salvatore is pissed at me, he’s fully aware that he can’t make me get rid of her. She’s mine now and nothing can make me let her go.
“It’s fine. Cleanup crew took care of it. Your blood wasn’t ever there as far as the police are concerned.” His eyes drop down to my hip. “You going to heal up okay?”
I nod. “I’ll be fine. Asshole probably never shot a gun in his life. If he’d just kept his head on straight and thought about it then he’d still be alive.”
“Not really.” Salvatore pours himself a cup of coffee, then holds the pot up to offer me some. I shake my head and sit down at the counter, watching him make himself completely comfortable in my kitchen.
We’re as close as two brothers can be even though I know that we drive each other insane sometimes. Isn’t that the way that it is with family? Sometimes you honestly want to kill them, but when it comes right down to it, you’d do anything for them.
That’s how it is with Salvatore and me, anyway. Running the family business together and keeping everyone working hard without getting the cops involved isn’t always easy, but there isn’t anyone that I’d rather do it with. Salvatore can drive me crazy sometimes, but since he and Arabelle settled down, he’s gotten a lot more bearable.
He keeps telling me that as soon as I settle down the same thing will happen to me. That as soon as I find someone I want to be with, that not only will work seem like it has more of a purpose, but that maybe I’ll want to spend less time hiding out in my house like a hermit.
Personally, I don’t mind living out in the country a little bit. He’s the one who wanted to live in the city, and I was more than happy to let him take the house on Main Street. The thought of seeing people out my window all day every single fucking day would make me go insane.
It’s not that I don’t like people, I just don’t want them around me as much as Salvatore does. It doesn’t seem to bother him one bit that there are always people walking up and down the road. I know for a fact that he likes his private space in the back that he designed forever ago, but that has nothing on my privacy here.
I’m in the middle of a dozen acres. Some of them are wooded, but there are a lot of open fields around the house too. My landscaping team comes every week throughout the year just to make sure that everything looks its best. Once in a while I host the entire family here, but that’s exhausting.
I’d much rather just spend time with people one on one.
“Even if he walked away from his meeting with you, you know full well that he wouldn’t have walked away from the one with me. You don’t fuck with the Bonanno family and live to tell tales about it.” Salvatore takes a sip of his coffee and stares at me. “And I have to ask you what the fuck you think you’re going to do with the girl.”
“Tess,” I correct him automatically. He narrows his eyes at me but I ignore him. Salvatore can act all high and mighty now, but I remember just what a pain in the ass he was when he was falling for Arabelle even though she needed to die. It’s easy for him to pretend like he wasn’t being a stupid jackass about it, but I remember.
I wish I’d gotten some video of him talking about not wanting to kill her. That would be apropos to play right about now. I’d love to watch him listening to what an idiot he sounded like talking about her.
“I’m keeping her,” I announce, standing and planting my hands on the table. “She’s mine.” It’s that simple and I know that he understands it, even though I’m also sure that he doesn’t want to admit that to me right now.
“She’s not a fucking puppy, Marcelo. Besides, she might have family.” He sounds cautious, but I don’t give a fuck.
“Not like the Wicked Bastards,” I shoot back. “You took your wife from the most dangerous motorcycle gang in the city. Who the fuck could be worse? Besides, I already looked her up. Her parents died when she was little and she was raised by various foster families.” I wave my hand in the air, brushing away his concerns. “I’m not worried.”
“Good. You have to be one hundred percent sure if you’re going to keep her. I just hope to fuck that you’re right and you didn’t just kidnap someone important.” He drains his coffee and then stands, keeping his eyes on me. “Don’t let her out.”
“Fuck, do you think I’m stupid? You kidnap one girl and all of a sudden you know everything.”
This makes him laugh and he flips me off before walking through the house and out the front door. “I’m serious, Marcelo, don’t fuck this up.”
Even though he can’t see me, I roll my eyes. “You’re an asshole,” I call after him, and he slams the door in response.
Groaning, I roll my neck, feeling everything crack. I was up really fucking early this morning to get to the bakery for my little chat with Tallen, and then the day went south really fucking fast. Instead of coming home and working out before handling more shit, I ended up knocking Tess unconscious, tucking her into the back seat of my car, and driving her way out into the country.
Even if she had been awake when I carried her limp body in, there wasn’t any way that anyone would have heard her scream. There aren’t any neighbors for miles. She’s mine and I have her in the perfect place not only to keep an eye on her, but also to keep her, full stop.
The memory of her thick, perfect hair wrapped around my fist while I held her down in the alley makes me hard. I reach down and adjust myself, grabbing my cock through my jeans. She’s sound asleep down the hall just a few feet from here and I’d love nothing more than to go visit her.
But not when she’s asleep. I may be a monster, but I’m not a rapist.
“I need a shower,” I mutter to myself, then stomp off to my bathroom. That’s the perfect place for me to take care of myself and try to get my head on straight before I go see her. If I can calm this urge that I feel for her then I’ll be able to talk to her without making a huge fucking mistake.
As I turn on the shower and watch the steam fill the bathroom, all can think about is Tess. I want her firm little body pressed up against me in the shower. I want to feel her skin against mine. Reaching down, I grab my cock, rubbing myself slowly as I think about her. I want to take my time, but not too much, because I also know that as soon as I’m finished, I get to go to her.
My perfect little Tess.
Mine. Forever.
