The Mafia Killer’s Wife by Rosa Milano

Eleven

Amanda

He's got his hands on his knees, legs apart, the classic macho pose. "You were in danger in Silhouettes, not that you realized it."

"Bullshit."

"Your drink had been spiked, and you were acting in a way that soon proved my suspicion. Your purse was emptied and if I had not stepped in, that gang of men you thought were your friends were going to take you outside and do something unpleasant to you."

I frown, trying to fill in the blanks from last night. Could he be telling the truth? Could I have been spiked? I don't normally get so wasted from so little alcohol. Is it possible?

"You clearly have little clue how dangerous the world is, Mandy. Your father was willing to sell you to Benito Mancini."

"You bought me instead. How are you any better than him?"

He frowns, and I realize I've given away that I heard their conversation. He continues a moment later. "So you heard that? That why you're so pissed at me? You are a fool if you do not see the truth in front of your eyes."

"What's that, genius?"

"I did not pay to buy you. I paid to free you from Benito and your father."

"Yeah, right you did."

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Jeez, maybe because you're a Gianni and you only do things that benefit you."

"You do not think I would use my money to free you?"

"Free me? That's rich. I'm literally locked in here with you."

"For now. You are here only while you learn some things. I will protect you until you are capable of protecting yourself."

"Who made you my bodyguard?"

"I am not offering to be your bodyguard. I am offering to teach you how to protect yourself. In my study are books dedicated to martial arts, lockpicking, camouflage, bomb making. I can teach you hand to hand combat, show you how to handle yourself in the future. With my training, you would not be so easily have been tracked from your house to that cafe. You would have vanished."

"And what do you get out of it if I agree to being your trainee?"

"I marry you."

"That all you want? Shit, why not get a priest up here now?"

He ignores the sarcasm in my voice. "Your father planned for you to marry Benito Mancini. I am offering you the only viable alternative."

"What if I don't want to marry you?"

"Life is not that simple. You marry Benito and become his latest punchbag, maybe survive, maybe not. Or you marry me and I protect you from him and his family until you are strong enough to protect yourself."

"I don't want to marry either of you."

"That is not an option. I let you go, you'll be hitched to him by the end of the week, I guarantee it."

"Why does Benito even want to buy me?"

"Because he's a kid in a sandbox and he's seen a toy he wants. He has the money to buy you and you are a virgin, correct?"

I blush bright red, refusing to answer. What am I supposed to tell him? My father wouldn't let any boy near me? The school were warned to keep a close eye on me. Boys stayed away from me. They heard the rumors that violence would follow if they even got close.

Silhouettes last night was the first male attention I'd ever had without anyone breathing down my neck and it was intoxicating. I'd been to the nightclubs in the city before but always with a chaperone my mother quietly arranged without my father knowing about I was even out. Last night was just me and Tess.

Maybe a part of me knew those men were taking advantage of me, wanted to use that as one more way to lash out at my father.

Ethan continues. "I will take that as a yes. Benito has a proclivity for untouched women. He likes to despoil them. Your father will have boasted of the fact to him."

"That's disgusting."

"It is the innocent he craves. I doubt your marriage would last a year once he has taken your innocence."

"You think he'd divorce me? Why not just let him do that?"

He shakes his head. "Because by then you'll be in a nursing home like his last squeeze, drinking your meals through a straw and wishing you'd listened to me. He takes out his anger on his girls and he gets angry a lot." He lowers his voice. It becomes surprisingly soft. "I am not trying to hurt you, Mandy. Believe it or not, I'm trying to help you. Will you let me help you?"

"You've got a funny way of showing it, dragging me here under threats of violence."

"Spanking is not violence. It is punishment. There is a difference."

"Not from where I'm sitting."

"Enough arguing. You are engaged to me as of now. Our marriage will take place. I will protect you. I will teach you the things you need to know to survive in this world. I will lay down rules. You will obey them or be punished. Do well and you will reap the rewards. What do you say, Mandy? Would you rather it was me or Benito?"

"I don't want either of you. Aren't you listening to me?"

"No, it's you who is not listening to me. I told you there is no other option. If I let you leave, Benito will sweep you up and he will destroy you."

I shake my head, mashing my hands together in my lap. I can't look him in the eyes. It's not just that I've got an impossible decision to make. It's that the way he looks at me is making me feel things I don't want to feel, making me want to submit to him, obey his rules, be his wife. I can't let those feelings in. They'll ruin me.

"Time's up," he says, interrupting my thoughts. "You make your decision now."

"All right," I say, hoping I can bide my time until I can get out of here. "I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"I'll marry you, all right. Isn't that what you want to hear? You get to despoil me instead."

"I have no intention of doing that," he says, getting to his feet and walking over to his study. Why do I feel disappointed to hear him say that? What's wrong with me?

Ethan is still talking. "As a reward, you get one additional opportunity to tell me if there is anything you would like bringing here from your house."

He vanishes from sight, reappearing a moment later with a notebook and fountain pen. "Write a list," he says, pulling out his cellphone. "Whatever is on there will be here by the morning."

"What about tonight? Am I supposed to stay here tonight?"

"You are staying here every night until I decide otherwise."

I let out a groan. "Can't you just let me go home?"

"So that Benito can collect you and take you to his place? I assure you, that would not end well for you."

I open the notepad and think. What do I need for a couple of nights? I won't be here any longer than that. I'll find a way out eventually.

He walks into the kitchen, leaving me with the pad. He's left his cellphone on the coffee table. I glance his way. He's not looking at me. I lean forward and wrap my fingers around his phone.

"Just going to the bathroom," I say, scurrying over before he can say anything. I close the door and lock it, looking down at the cellphone screen. It's blank. Who am I going to call? The police? My father? Tess?

There's a knock on the door behind me while I'm thinking. "It won't work," he says through the door. "Without my fingerprint, it won't even switch on. It's clear you still don't grasp the situation you are in. I'll give you one chance to bring the phone out to me or I break the lock and then you're going to be punished. What's it to be? The easy way or the hard way?"