Becoming His Wife by Hayley Faiman

Chapter Twenty-Nine

TIZIANO

After dropping Maci off at Salvatore’s office and making sure that the building is secure and she is safe for the day, I reluctantly leave and begin my work. My work this week won’t yield any money, but it will change my entire life and future.

It isn’t hard to find him. My father is exactly where he always is first thing in the morning. He’s sitting at a small café a few blocks from his home. He has a cappuccino in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

Tugging my ball cap down, I walk right past him. I could point my gun against the temple of his forehead and end him here and now, but it’s not the right time. This isn’t a hit, this is personal. He’s going to know that it’s me who kills him.

My face is going to be the last thing that he sees.

Once I’ve passed him, I slip into a clothing shop, then make my way out the back. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my burner phone and call Gavino.

“Tell me,” he barks. He knows it’s me, nobody else would call him like this.

“I just saw him. I’m staying at Sal’s with Maci.”

“What happens now?” he asks.

“Meet up?”

“The casino.”

Ending the call, I hurry toward the loaned car and slip inside. It doesn’t take me long to get to Gavino. I guide the car into the casino parking lot, parking next to his car. Opening the car door, I’m surprised to see that he’s in the driver’s seat, instead of inside of the casino.

I don’t bother walking into the casino, instead I tug open the passenger side door and sink inside next to Gavino. He doesn’t speak right away, and neither do I. We sit in silence and I don’t hate it, in fact, I enjoy the silence.

“It’s good to see you,” Gavino murmurs, breaking the silence.

“You too.”

He doesn’t say anything else for a long moment, then he turns to me. “The feds are fucking me, at least they’re trying.”

Nodding, I don’t say anything. I don’t really have anything to say to that. So, I wait. “I wanted to get you back here sooner, it’s good you were able to get here. I seriously don’t know how long this is going to last.”

“What are the stakes?”

“Freedom,” he says plainly.

Lifting my hand, I run my fingers through my hair. “Fuck,” I hiss. “What can I do?”

I don’t say anything immediately. I don’t know if he even knows of anything that I can do to help whatever it is. I can do it. Whatever the fuck Vino wants, he has. He’s my oldest friend and if I were to trust someone completely and wholly, he’s the one who has earned that.

“I don’t know, yet. I’m working on that. You’ll be there if I call on you?”

“Without hesitation.”

He nods his head a couple of times, but again, doesn’t say anything right away. He’s thinking, lost in his contemplations, and I don’t blame him. If I could be lost in my head, I would be too right about now. There is way too much shit going on right now.

“You’re going to end Tussio,” he says. It’s not a question, it’s a fact. He knows that Tussio is going to die, that my father is going to die.

“I am,” I say with a nod.

He doesn’t look at me, his gaze focused straight ahead at the windshield for a long moment. Then, slowly, he turns to look in my direction. He doesn’t say anything immediately, but his eyes search mine and he nods his head.

“Without your father’s support, I would not be where I am right now,” he begins. I don’t say anything, choosing to stay quiet, because if I know Gavino, I know that he has something else to say. “However, without you in charge, I cannot be where I want to be.”

“You mean without me giving you power over the Bianchi famiglia?” I ask.

His lips curve up into a grin and he shrugs a shoulder. “I think we need to rework the contract, yeah?”

His suggestion surprises me, and I know that he enjoys the reaction. He chuckles, his eyes sparkling and he clears his throat. “There’s no reason for me to have complete control over the Bianchi famiglia, not if we can simply just work together.”

“I believe we can, Vino.”

“So an alliance to the empire then, I can be okay with that. You’ve earned your place as a boss, and you’ll continue to earn my respect.”

“I hope that I can,” I murmur.

He chuckles. “You can and you will. The contract will be similar to me taking over and you being the face of the famiglia. The money shit will just be different, and you won’t answer to me, but we will have complete and full disclosure.”

“I can agree to that.”

“Knew you could.”

I think about asking him about the D’Amore famiglia, what is happening with that since he offed the whole fucking bunch, but decide that it’s not my fucking business, at least not yet anyway. Maybe as partners, it will be, but right now isn’t the time. We both have enough shit on our plates.

“Finish what you need to. I’ll give you the week. Next week we meet with Salvatore and officially sign contracts.”

“Vino,” I call out. He turns to me, arching a brow and waiting for me to speak. “Thank you for taking care of Maci while I was gone. Thanks for not…” I let my words trail off, because how do you thank someone for not whoring your wife out?

His lips curve up into a grin. “Like I said, Tizzy, I respect you. Now more than ever.”

Dipping my chin, I clear my throat. “Call me on the burner when you decide what you need and how you need it. And when I say it, I mean anything at all, cugino.”

He jerks his chin up, but doesn’t verbally say anything. Leaving him alone in the car, I head back to mine and sink into the front seat. Without looking back, I shift the car into drive and head toward my father’s home.

I’m going to watch him for a few days, watch and wait, because soon he’s going to be mine and I’m going to make sure he knows that I’m the man who kills him. There will be no mistake and by the end of the week, I will be the boss of the Bianchi famiglia.

MACI

Salvatore only smirkswhen he sees me walk into the office. The rest of the day he spends locked in his own space and I in mine. It’s filing day, so I am happy to be sequestered in my own little corner filing documents away.

I don’t know why, but I expected Salvatore to talk to me today. He only left last night, just hours ago to stay at the hotel and yet, I miss him. He was fast becoming my best friend. I know that I have Pippa, but it’s not the same. Salvatore is special.

“You look like you’re thinking hard over there,” a voice calls out.

Turning my head, I smile, it’s as if I conjured him up simply by thinking about him. “Hey,” I say.

“You’re good?” he asks.

There are so many meanings behind those two simple words. I nod, because I am good, no matter what the question. Right now, I’m better than I ever have been. But I’m nervous, anxious, and terrified at the same time.

“I am,” I murmur. “Truly, I am.”

He hums as if knowing that there are more to my words too. He doesn’t move right away, his shoulder leans against the doorjamb as he watches me, not moving from his post.

Turning back to my work, I can still feel his concerned gaze on me. He clears his throat and I jerk slightly before I turn to look back at him.

“You’ll tell me when and if you aren’t?” he asks.

Nodding, I lick my lips. “Tiziano would make sure that I am, too.”

He watches me, expressionless, for a moment. “He would. He is a good man, Maci. Honestly, I was referring to his father, or anything really, not him.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask, not quite believing him.

He chuckles. “Well maybe a little bit him,” he mutters.

“Figured as much.”

He shrugs a shoulder and pushes off of the wall, but doesn’t make a move to walk toward me. Instead, he just watches for a long moment.

“No matter what, you’re my priority, Maci. Remember that, yeah?”

“Why?” I ask immediately.

He doesn’t say anything, he continues to watch me, then he clears his throat. “You were put in my care by my boss. As far as I’m concerned that hasn’t ended. You’re still my charge, and I will endeavor to ensure that you and that baby are safe.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” I breathe.

Salvatore smirks. “If you knew why it’s so important to me, it wouldn’t make you cry so much. Really this is more for my benefit than yours.”

“Will you tell me?” I ask.

He shakes his head, then clears his throat and takes a step backward. “Maybe one day.”

“Is it about your sister?” I guess.

He hums but doesn’t confirm, which means that it is just that. I don’t push it. All I know about his family is that they’re all gone, including his sister. He never told me anything much about her, or about the circumstances leading to her death.

However, I got the impression that it was very ugly and painful, just in his body language alone when he talked about her and now.

“I think I love him,” I admit.

Salvatore chuckles then clears his throat. “You should, bella. He is your husband, even if not by the current law. Soon it will be cleared up and he will officially be yours again.”

“Do you think it’s too soon, that I don’t truly know him?” I ask.

He presses his lips together, watching me for a long quiet beat before he speaks. “I don’t know your heart or his. All I know is that you’ve been through a lot and both of you have done it alone. I think you should lean on one another for support and get to know one another.”

He’s right. What I shouldn’t be doing is asking Salvatore for relationship advice. I should be talking to my own husband. I agree with him wholeheartedly. Nodding my head, I thank him and turn back to my filing.

“And remember, bella,” he calls out. Turning my head, I look back over my shoulder at him. “If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”

My lips curve up into a grin. I know that I shouldn’t smile at that threat, because it’s actually not a threat at all and very much a promise. I have no doubt that Salvatore would, could, and has killed a man before. And I have no doubt that he would do it in a heartbeat, no matter who it was.

I smile because no person has ever promised to protect me so fiercely before. Not that I don’t think that Tiziano would do the same, because I know that he would, and he is about to. I know that part of his reasoning for coming back is because of what his father did to us, but it’s also what his father did to him personally.

This is different, this is Salvatore vowing protection just for me, nobody else, and that’s special. That is the mark of this man loving me for who I am, for being his friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

“You need to find someone, Salvatore,” I whisper. “I don’t know if a woman exists out there who is deserving of all you have to offer, but you need to at least try to find her.”

He smirks, it’s cocky and I can’t help but giggle at the sight. “I’m not that wonderful, Maci. I’m not sure there is a woman who deserves the baggage that I carry, but I wish you were her. It would make this all a hell of a lot easier, I actually fucking like you.”

I open my mouth, but he shakes his head. “As a person, Maci. I like you as a person. It would be so much easier if there was more between us.”

I don’t respond, mainly because I can’t imagine there being more between me and anyone else, not anymore. Tiziano is it for me. He’s the only man who exists. When he was gone, with no plan to return, I thought about more with Salvatore or anyone else and I realized, it’s just not possible. Not for my heart at least.