Arranged Mafia Marriage

Axel

“What?” Massimo gapes.

“I knew it,” Luca laughs. “I knew you would betray us.” He turns on Seb, “Told you, didn’t I?”

Seb rubs his chin as he watches me with a moody gaze. “Explain,” he finally says. “You’re a cop, and you were working with him?” He nods toward the doorway through which Freddie had earlier disappeared.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“Undercover,” I blow out a breath, “I was working undercover.”

“Undercover?” Sunshine exhales. “So, all this time… when you were in a coma, when you asked me to move into the same home as you, when you married me-?”

“I was undercover,” I reply. “I have been undercover for the last five years.”

“Five years?” Massimo rubs the back of his neck, “What have you been doing during that time?”

“Building my reputation in the underworld, working closely with Freddie and building his trust.”

“A trust that you broke today when you fired at him,” Seb points out.

“Too bad, I missed,” I growl.

“So, you were trying to get enough evidence to put him behind bars?” Massimo asks.

“And the lot of you,” I admit. “It’s why I married Theresa, so I could have an ‘in’ to your inner circle. It’s why-”

“You wanted a seat at the table with Michael.” Luca whistles. “The Don is not going to be happy.”

“Is that the only reason you decided to take on this assignment?” Seb folds his arms over his chest, “Seems it was much more than professional interest at stake here.”

“That’s a brilliant deduction.” I snort, “Of course, it wasn’t only professional. I had a personal stake in bringing you guys down. It was because of my personal connection that I got this case.”

“Seems you would have been too close to the targets to be allowed to take on this case.”

“It’s amazing how persuasion and corruption can go hand-in-hand within the ranks of the police department.”

“They are the same as us,” Luca tosses his head, “fucking pigs, with their holier-than-thou attitude. Ultimately, it always comes down to money and power. Throw in a personal stake, and anything can bend your way.”

“So, you wanted to take us down.” Seb tilts his head. “That’s why you took on this case?”

“What other reason could there be?” I widen my stance. “You guys are the Cosa Nostra, the most wanted criminals in Europe, and you’ve been allowed free reign for too long.”

“Maybe you wanted to know more about your birth family? Wanted to find out about your brothers?”

“I told you, my mother never mentioned the fact that I was one among triplets or that I had brothers, for that matter.”

“Perhaps you wanted to find out where you came from,” Seb drums his fingers on his chest, “get to know your family better.”

“Perhaps,” I concede, “but the main reason I took on the assignment was so I could bring you all down, make no mistake about that.”

“You’d do that to your own family?” Luca growls.

“You are not my family,” I shoot back. “Your father-”

“Our father,” Massimo corrects me.

“Your father turned out my mother when she needed help.”

“She wanted to leave,” Luca points out. “It’s why he let her go.”

“After ensuring that he had exchanged us for assets. That’s all he was concerned about. Power. And your grandmother? She didn’t try to stop him.”

“So, for what you think were their misdeeds you want to bring down the only blood relations you have?” Massimo drawls.

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “The lot of you belong behind bars.”

“And you, where do you belong?” Theresa cuts in.

“Not with you,” I say without looking at her, yet I sense her flinch. My stomach knots and bile sloshes up my throat. Goddam it. Apparently, even my body knows when I am lying. As long as I can keep the expression off my face and make sure that she believes me…

“Why are you telling us all of this now?” Seb finally asks.

“I want to cut a deal with you,” I respond.

“Of course, you do,” Luca raises his gaze skywards, “this keeps getting better and better.”

Seb narrows his gaze on me, “What sort of a deal?”

Luca glowers at him.

“What do you want?” Massimo snaps.

“I want you to take her back to Palermo and make sure she is safe.”

Theresa stiffens, but she doesn’t say anything.

“Done,” Seb nods.

“What the fuck?” Luca rounds on him, “You’re actually going to agree without asking him what he is going to do for us in return?”

“What do we get in return?” Seb raises his chin.

“I give a version of events to my bosses that will ensure you guys are cleared…largely.” I glance between them, “Of course, one of you may have to take the fall for some of the events, and perhaps do a reduced jail time.” I glance at Luca, who glowers at me.

“Fuck you,” he snaps.

“Indeed.” I blow out a breath, “Look, it’s the best I can do, and you know it could have been a lot worse than this. I hold the fate of your future in my hands.” I tilt my head in Seb’s direction. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Of course, we could kill you and make it look like it was Freddie. Without backup, you don’t hold much leverage.” Seb reminds me.

“Then again, I am your brother and I am married to Theresa, who is under your protection, so…” I raise a shoulder.

He holds my gaze for a few seconds, then he nods, “I’ll need to discuss this with Michael.”

Tension leaches out of my shoulders. “Of course,” I jerk my chin, “I’ll be waiting outside.”

I head toward the door when she calls out, “So this is it? You are going to leave me without even a goodbye.”

I pause, then grit my teeth before schooling my features back into some semblance of normalcy. I glance at her over my shoulder and choke out the words, “Goodbye, Theresa.” Turning, I stalk out.