Arranged Mafia Marriage

I freeze. Glare at the traitor, who smiles. He gestures toward the chair he’s just vacated. I growl, deep in my throat, take a step in his direction. That’s when three men burst into the room.

Two of them grab me by my shoulders, the third pushes the butt of a gun into the back of my head. Anger suffuses me, pours thorough my blood. My stomach ties itself in knots as I take in the fear in her gaze.Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.

FUCK! I had sworn to myself that I’d never allow her to be afraid. Never need for anything else. And I had broken my promise in a matter of days. Why am I unable to hold myself back when it comes to her? Will nothing I do ever be enough to protect her?

I had made it here as fast as I could, following the tracking device. Then had searched the house until I had found them.

The men push me toward the chair. She follows me with her gaze as they apply pressure on my shoulder so I sink down into it.

The man behind me removes his gun. He proceeds to pat me down, then when he finds me clean-not that I didn’t want to carry weapons, but if I had any chance of getting close to her, I knew that I had to be clean-he pulls out a length of rope. He proceeds to run it around my arms and chest and tie me to the chair. He also knots it around my ankles. I flex my muscles, hoping to get some slack as he does so. I don’t take my gaze off of her. She swallows, and I shake my head. Don’t be afraid, my love. I won’t let anything happen to you.

Almost as if she can read my mind, she jerks her chin in a downward direction. If I hadn’t been paying such close attention to her, I’d have missed it.

Their job complete, the men holding me back away. They leave the room and the door snicks shut.

“Sit down, Signora,” JJ murmurs. He slides the gun back into the waistband at the small of his back. Karma doesn’t move and he touches her shoulder.

I growl, lunge forward again and the chair shifts. The scrape of wood against wood sends a screech through the space.

JJ glances at me. “Impressive,” he tilts his head, “but unnecessary. I have no wish to hurt her.”

“That’s why you took her.” The blood pounds at my temple, my pulse rate ratchets her. “How dare you touch her?”

“Calm down.” JJ arches an eyebrow, then turns to Karma, “You’d better get your husband in hand, Signora, else I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

Karma swallows.

“Do it,” he snaps, and her lips tighten.

A growl rips from me as she moves forward. She closes the distance between us, then sinks to her knees in front of me.

“Capo,” she whispers, “my Capo.” She places her palm against my cheek and every pore in my body seems to pop. I stare into her green eyes, take in the golden sparks that flash there. I hold her gaze as she leans up and presses her lips to mine. “I love you,” she murmurs, “only you, Capo.” The sound of my title from her lips… Fuck, but right now, I’d tear the world apart, just to hear her say it again.

She peers into my face and an expression of hope, of anticipation laces her features. I hold her gaze…knowing what she wants to hear. Wanting to say it. Wanting her to feel it. I try to form the words, but my tongue doesn’t seem to work. I don’t glance away, allowing her to read my expression, the raw need I feel right then, the helplessness. Do I have any right to love her, if I can’t even protect her?

She moves back and I spring forward. I smash my lips to hers and kiss her and kiss her. I lick her lips, thrust my tongue inside her mouth and absorb her. I kiss her until someone taps me on my shoulder, “That’s enough, ol’ chap.”

JJ’s voice cuts through the haze in my head. I tear my mouth from hers and survey her flushed features. She licks her lips as if absorbing my taste within her before she rises to her feet.

JJ walks around and pats the chair opposite me. “Please, Signora,” he says in a casual tone, “do take a seat.”

With a last glance at me, she heads over and sits down.

JJ picks up the snifter of brandy on the table between us. He takes a sip as he glances first at her, then at me, “Now where were we?”

“What the fuck do you want?” I snap.

He smiles. “You know what I want.”

“The cybercrime syndicate,” I say in a low voice. “That’s what this is about?”

“Right on one.” His smile broadens. “Now that I have your attention on it, what say you?”

“What do you want with it?”

“I don’t want you to hand it over to me.”

“You don’t?”

He shakes his head, “That would mean getting in the trenches and monitoring the day to day, which wouldn’t work for me.”

“You simply want to share in the profits,” I surmise.

“Right again,” he says in a pleased tone. “Look at that, Signora. Your husband is being exceptionally cooperative. Makes me think that I should have tried this tactic earlier.”

“You rigged her car with an ignition bomb, you pezzo di merda!”

“Now, now, that wasn’t me.”

“You think I am going to believe you?”

“That’s not my style. If I wanted to kill your brother, I’d have done it to his face. And yours.”

Anger sears my blood. I attempt to jump to my feet, only to be restrained by the ropes. I growl as the bonds cut into my arms and my ankles.

“Don’t talk about my brother, you bastard.”

“I had nothing to do with his death,” he insists. “Whether you believe it or not, that’s not my problem.”

“By bringing her here, you’ve brought an entire shitload of problems to your doorstep, you carogna!”

“Nothing I can’t face,” he drawls.

“You sure about that?”

The door flies open, and he jerks his head toward it.

Sebastian prowls forward, his gun trained on JJ. Luca follows, then Massimo and Antonio. All three of them have their guns drawn. Christian brings up the rear; he drags the man by his collar-the one who’d restrained me-and throws him on the floor. Then levels his gun at the temple of the guy and fires.

Karma shudders, glances away as the man’s body jerks. He slumps to the floor and Christian slams the door shut behind him. He takes his position in front of it.

JJ takes a sip from his brandy. The man’s one cool customer; I’ll give him that. Seb keeps his gun trained on JJ as he jerks his chin in Luca’s direction. Luca stalks over to where the knife is embedded in the wall next to the fireplace. He grunts as he works it out, then pivots and walks back to me. In two strokes, he’s cut through the ropes. I rise to my feet and he hands the knife back to me, handle first. I snatch it from him, stalk over to where JJ is seated. He raises his tumbler to his lips and I press the knife to his throat. “I am going to kill you,” I growl.

That’s when the windows explode.