Bought Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle

Natalia

Frank leans against me, his head pressing into my thigh and I reach down, playing with his ears. I’ve had him almost eight years now and even though he still has fits of being a puppy, he’s grown up and calmed down enough that he will sometimes just sit with me and snuggle.

I did get him for my tenth birthday, but not until everyone had left. Dad cut the party short when I went missing, then walked right to the tree and pulled me down from the green leaves that had hidden me from the prying eyes of our other guests. I can still see the look of anger in his eyes when he stared at me and pointed to the house.

“Why in the world would you hide from your party like that?” His voice has been raspy since I can remember. Too many cigars and too much whiskey will do that to you. “Do you know how you embarrassed me in front of everyone that was here?”

I tilted my head up at him, daring him to push me to tell him why I hid. He didn’t, though, either because he knew it or because he didn’t care enough to ask.

“Frank, do you think that he’ll be kind?” I ask my dog, who turns to look up at me. He’s a gorgeous black lab, his eyes a deep chocolate brown, and I love him more than anything. When I got him for my birthday I thought that I was going to explode, I was so happy, and he’s been my best friend since then.

“Kind is not important in this world.” My dad’s voice surprises me and I jump, turning around to look at him. He’s leaning on the doorframe watching me, his eyes hard and cruel. “What matters is that you’re safe and that I get the money that we need to keep the house and the business going.”

My heart leaps into my throat, but I’m not going to sit this one out. It’s the first time that my dad has even spoken openly to me about my marriage beyond just telling me that it’s going to happen. I can smell the whiskey on him and his eyes look watery, but I don’t care.

It may not go well, but I need answers. I need more than just being told that I’m going to marry some man and that I need to figure out how to be happy with it.

“Why, though? You can’t think that this is something that Mom would have wanted. There’s just no way that she would have wanted you to marry me off to someone like...like this.” I can’t even say his name. Won’t say his name. Just thinking it sends a shiver up my spine and I force myself to focus on my dad’s face while I wait for his answer.

In no way will I allow myself to see my future husband’s face when I close my eyes. He’s handsome, dark and dangerous, and terrifying, but I’ve ignored for eight years how he makes me feel.

I’m not going to start now.

“Your mother would have wanted me to do anything that I had to in order to keep you safe.” He frowns at me like he’s wondering why we’re even having this conversation. “She would have accepted that this is the only way to do that.”

“Because you frittered away the money,” I point out. “If your business didn’t need saving then I wouldn’t have to be married off. Convenient of you to have a daughter you could promise away so many years ago.”

I clench my hands into fists at my sides, feeling the way my nails cut into my palms. Frank whines like he always does when he can tell that I’m upset, but I don’t look at him. My dad is so good at escaping conflict that I feel like if I look away from him for a moment that he’ll disappear.

“That’s rich. I’ve been paying for your education, Natalia, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“You mean my private tutors so that I’m not allowed to leave the house? You mean the old ladies who come in here and refuse to talk about anything other than my school? What a great education that’s been, Dad.” I throw my words at him, wishing for once that I could hurt him.

That I could make him feel one tiny bit as small as he likes to make me feel. He’s always been good at that, always been able to make me feel like my accomplishments aren’t worth celebrating because they’re not impressive enough. My heart beats like a terrified bird in my chest and I feel like I’m going to pass out from the fear of talking to him like this, but I force myself to stand still and wait to hear what he’s going to say.

“Everything I’ve ever done has been for you.” He steps away from the doorframe, drawing himself up to his full height and towering over me. I got my height from my mom, which is to say that I’m a hell of a lot shorter than he is.

He’s trying to scare me as he looks down on me. I’ve seen it time and time again with men who come to the house asking for him to forgive their debts. He never does, of course, just like he’s not going to let me out of this little arrangement that he came up with.

“Yeah? And you think that selling me off to the highest bidder is really a good thing for me? You think that I like being treated like a piece of meat? Like a fucking cow to slaughter?”

“Watch your language. You’re a lady, and you need to act like it.”

I scoff. “A lady. Right. I forgot that you couldn’t possibly raise someone who wasn’t perfect, Dad. Forgive me for forgetting how much appearances matter to you.”

“Watch your tone, Natalia.” The way he growls out my name makes goosebumps break out all over my arms. I’m used to hearing him use that tone with other people, but I don’t remember ever hearing that much anger in his voice when he’s talking to me. I need to shut up.

But I can’t.

“Or what, Dad?” Trying to look brave, I plant my hand on my hip and stare at him, daring him to do something to me. “What will you do? Have someone kill me and dump me in the river? Make it look like a suicide? Seriously, though, you seem to have everything figured out, so what’s the contingency plan right now?”

I’m being stupid. Oh, fuck, if I could go back in time and not say those things to him, I just might do it. The rage on his face is terrifying and he just stares at me like he honestly can’t believe that I could possibly belong to him. Just when I think that I’ve won, though, his hand flashes out and he slaps me.

The pain is instant and intense. Gasping, I reach up and grab my cheek, but nothing is going to stop the burning on my skin until the fire dies down. My mouth drops open and I stare at him, unable to believe what just happened.

“You will marry him.” He takes a step closer to me and I want to move away from him but suddenly it seems like my legs have stopped working, so I’m stuck just staring at him with my mouth hanging open in shock.

Frank leans against me, his weight comforting, but I still can’t move away from my dad.

“You don’t have a choice, Natalia. You want to have some great love story with someone who will sweep you off your feet? Tough shit. This is real life and you need to act like you fucking understand that. I’ve raised you and done everything that a father should do for his daughter and now it’s time for you to pay me back for all of my kindness.”

The smell of the whiskey on his breath is overpowering and chokes me. I breathe it in and want to scream as it fills my lungs. I don’t drink, only once snuck a sip from his private stash when he was out of town, but right now I feel drunk.

Before I can say anything in response--hell, before I can even think of a response--he turns and storm out of the room. An oppressive silence fills the space he leaves behind and I stand for a moment before sinking down to the floor.

Frank immediately joins me, pressing his entire body against mine and letting me wrap my arms around him.

My dad doesn’t love me. I suspected it for a long time and now I know the truth.

If I’m going to make it out of this life alive then I can’t sit around and wait on my wedding day. It’s just a month away, one short month for me to try to figure out what I’m going to do and how the hell I’m going to get out of here.

Of course, I’m going to take Frank. He’s my only friend. The only one who actually gives a shit about me. Frank is the only part of my life that has been good and there isn’t any chance in hell that I’d ever leave him behind.