The Mafia Killer’s Wife by Rosa Milano

Twenty-One

Ethan

Ishake my head. "I think I understand you now."

"You don't understand me at all."

"I know you drink to forget how trapped you feel in that house. You act out to show your anger at the boundaries trapping you. It's not boundaries you need. You've had plenty of them.

"You need choices, Amanda. You've not had to make any real ones for a long time. That much is clear. What you will have with me are boundaries and choices. That's the key to becoming the person you're meant to be. The person that you are, deep inside."

"What bullshit."

"Is this bullshit?" I point at her. "I know you're a natural submissive. It's in your bones. Only what you need is a dominant partner who will not take advantage of that fact, who will not use that to fuck you up and fuck you over."

"And let me guess, that's you."

"I will make you an offer, Amanda. You spend one week with me. If at the end of that time, you are not a willing submissive, I will let you go home."

"Just like that? You'll let me go?"

"You have my word."

She drains her glass and her eyes start to glaze over. She's blinking slower than before, staring at me like I'm moving back and forth across the room. She's swaying slightly by now and I know she's close to passing out or throwing up. I'm hoping it's passing out. Less mess to clean up.

"Come on," I tell her. "First order is for you to go to bed. You need some rest."

"And what if I don't want to go to bed? What you going to do? Spank me?"

"Not tonight." I get to my feet and take the glass out of her hand. She holds it tight, but only for a moment before letting go. There's a lot in that gesture. She wants to fight me but not really. What's she's really doing is testing me, seeing if I'm being honest with her.

I imagine she's had to deal with a lot of lies in her family. Lies about herself, about the Gianni's, about the whole world and the people in it. I can help her see the real world, for better or worse. If she'll let me. I can't force her to become the person she is. I can't carry her down that path.

I can only open the door and see if she's brave enough to walk through.

I take her hand and lead her upstairs. I've put her bedroom far from mine. I don't want to be tempted in the night.

I've had it prepared ready for her. Her suitcase is already in there and there's a pair of silk pajamas on the end of the bed in her size. "Bathroom through there," I tell her. "Do you need anything else?"

"Drink," she says, the words a slur. "Always have a drink at night."

I fetch her a glass of water. I make it kitchen water, giving her time to climb into bed. I come back and she's asleep on top of the blankets. I set down the glass and then shift her, using my strength to lift her enough to get the blankets out from under her. Then I tuck her in, kiss her forehead, and head for my own room.

I check my cellphone, looking back at the recordings from my penthouse. Benito hit the place at exactly midnight, while I was busy picking her up. Him and five wiseguys, all armed to the teeth. Tony the wire is with him. Was a garrotte the plan. Tony's got his case which suggests they were going to work me over first. Maybe take a few limbs off before killing me.

The main space has been trashed, even the windows are cracked. Blood on the floor. The traps worked. I watch the video footage. Two of them died on the way out of the elevator. Benito survived though. The devil takes care of his own. He set the survivors to trashing the place while he sprayed words onto the wall by the bedroom.

They couldn't get through the doors to the other rooms. My defenses held. I look at the words spray-painted onto the wall. We're coming for you.

She must have given him the keycard. If I can get her to admit she's working with him, we might have a chance. If she refuses to tell me the truth, we've got bigger problems than Benito. I need her to be honest for this to work.

I lay in the dark for a while, trying to work out why I'm even doing this. I'm not a man ever filled with doubt, but I have some misgivings about this whole thing. Why do I care about changing her? Why not just let her live her own life? Why do I feel responsible for a Mancini?

The plan was just to use her to get to Benito and Primo.

So why am I thinking about keeping her?

Maybe it's because I feel like she's capable of change. Maybe it's because I haven't been laid for a while. Maybe it's because I'm changing, retirement doing things to me that I didn't expect. Maybe there's a part of the civilian world I never knew I wanted. The part with a wife and children.

I close my eyes, wiping away all thoughts. I'm sitting in the armchair in the corner of the room, facing the door. Maybe one day I'll sleep in a bed but not tonight. Benito is still out there, and he'll find out about this place sooner or later.

I need to be on my guard until he's dealt with. Get this wrong and the famiglia will have to go to the mattresses. I don't want that to happen because of me.

Before going to sleep, I settle things in my mind. I will make her my submissive. I will make her confess the truth about everything. I will leave breadcrumbs that bring Primo and Benito to me. I will whack them. Then and only then will I look toward the future. Until that's done, there is no future, not for me or Amanda.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. A moment later, I'm asleep.