Conquered by the Mafia Boss

The air leaves my chest and I look around for something to grab. He’s lying. He’s full of shit. Has to be.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“When the fuck did this happen?”

“A couple weeks ago.” He gives me a nasty grin. “I guess she doesn’t tell you everything.”

Grabbing the gun from my waist, I aim it toward Rafael’s mangled face as heat pounds in my head.

“Tony, what the fuck are you doing!”

I never lose my cool like this. I’m not the explosion guy, but there’s something about Rafael that brings it out of me. I hate that motherfucker.

“I’m going to fucking kill him.”

Vince already has his gun out, aimed at my chest. “Jesus Christ. Calm down. You don’t want to do this.”

“Actually, I really do. He disrespected me. He’s going behind my back and seeing her without my permission.”

The fact that he actually got her while I wasn’t around is the worst part. A stab of anger extends to her, too. She never told me.

“A wife you only have because you think you knocked her up. I don’t see why I have to respect you or that bitch.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

Johnny shoves my arm as I squeeze off a shot, which blows a fist-sized hole into a tree. He wrenches the gun from my hand, screaming his head off as Vince shoves his gun into his pants.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you goddamn moron.” Vince says savagely as Rafael stands strangely still, indifferent to the fact that he almost died. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You leave them the fuck alone. You’re done with them. Come back to New York and forget about Elena.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Until paternity is established, you leave them the fuck alone. Tony, does that work for you?”

No. Not by a long shot.

My insides simmer as Rafael looks at me with a wild, desperate rage that I just can’t ignore. I don’t trust him to stay away, not even to protect his own life. My hand inches toward the knife I’ve strapped to my waist, because I’m convinced he’s on the verge of doing something drastic.

“Whatever.”

“Vincent, this is bullshit!”

The New York boss finally loses his temper and whirls around, his jacket whistling in the air as his fist cracks across Rafael’s jaw.

“You’re a real pain in my ass, Rafael. Piss me off again, and I’ll kill you.”

Even as he moans on the dirty snow, I can’t look away from him. The whining, the moans, it all sounds so fucking fake to me. The steely vengeance flashes from his eyes and I just want to end him right there.

There’s nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose.

ELENA

Swirls of coffee steam rise in the air in wonderful spirals as I blow air across the rich, dark-brown liquid. I take a sip and my tongue curls, loving the sprinkle of spice. I smile at Melanie, who sits across the table. She called me up on the phone and wondered if I wanted to go out for coffee. All Tony’s doing, probably.

“So, what’s married life like?”

I shrug my shoulder. How the hell should I know? The whole thing is a farce, except that there really is a baby growing inside me.

I still can’t fucking believe it.

Call it karma or cosmic justice, but this was the last thing I wanted. What would Dad say? My insides clench as I think about the horrified reaction on his face. He probably would be glad that at the very least, I’m marrying the guy who knocked me up.

And then what? For the life of me, I can’t picture what my future is supposed to look like. I have this kid, and then what?

Two words: single mom.

It’s a pretty bleak future, but somehow it makes the lies a little more forgivable. Lying to them was hard because it was really like inheriting a second family. There were so many gifts and hugs and kisses on the cheek, and everyone was so friendly.

‘Course they are. You’re his wife. If you weren’t married, they’d tell you to fuck off.

“Everything happened so quickly.”

Even the ring on my finger feels foreign, as though I’m in someone else’s body. Though, of course, we’re supposed to keep up with this charade and I’m supposed to be-what? It’s not exactly a girl’s dream to marry the guy who knocks you up.

“I can’t even imagine what you must be going through.”

“Honestly, I just want a good bagel from home. The ones here-they’re not really the same.”

“God, I know!” Melanie happily seizes on the topic and we spend time reminiscing about home.

“And what the hell is with the kissing? It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure it’s a French thing. Like shaking hands. I think they call it, la bise.”

I click my tongue and let the French roll over my tongue. “La bees.”

She laughs at my poor attempt and I throw a napkin at her. The door opens and a gust of cold air make me clasp my mug of hot coffee.

“Oh, hey, Tony.”

I look up in surprise to see my husband giant form standing over us with a very dark look on his face. He ignores Melanie’s greeting.

“Get up, you’re leaving.”

“I just got here. What’s your problem?” I shoot Melanie a look, silently apologizing for his rudeness.

“We need to fucking talk,” he says in a voice that bears no argument. Then he turns toward Melanie. “Sorry about this.”

Melanie waves him off, looking slightly disappointed as I stand up.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with him. We’ll do it again sometime.”