Arranged Mafia Marriage

I glance up to find Axel has come over to stand next to us.

“How could you know that this would happen?” he asks.

“I…” I bite the inside of my cheek. How can I explain something I am, only now, trying to get my head around?

“Axel,” Theresa scowls at him, “stop trying to scare her.”

Axel glances between us. When his gaze alights on Theresa, it thaws a little. “I’m only trying to understand how she knew that something was going to happen to Seb.”

“It’s just a figure of speech, Axel. She’s feeling guilty that she coaxed Seb to take her out today. She had no idea something like this would happen.”

“That’s not what I’m understanding from what she’s saying.” Axel narrows his gaze on me.

“It’s only because she’s worried and confused.” Theresa turns to me. “Isn’t that right Elsa? You had no idea that something like this could happen, right?”

I glance at her and then away. Oh, god, what am I going to tell them? This is not how everything was supposed to turn out. If I’d known that Seb would end up getting hurt like this… Would I have agreed to what Fabio asked? Was there any other way to protect my daughter? My head spins. I lean back against the wall, close my eyes, and lock my fingers together.

“Elsa, honey, are you okay?” Theresa asks.

Footsteps head in my direction. I snap my eyes open, searching for the figure of the doctor, but it’s Karma who sweeps in. “Elsa!” She walks over to me, places a bag on the side table, then reaches for my hands. “You poor, poor thing,” She rubs my cold palms between her warmer ones. “I’m so sorry this happened, Elsa. Are you okay?”

I nod. Tears bite the backs of my eyes, and another sob wells up my throat.

“How’s Seb?”

I shake my head, unable to form the words.

“The doctors, and Aurora, too… They’re all in there with him. They haven’t told us the status yet,” Theresa replies.

“And Antonio, and the rest of the team?” Karma asks.

“They’re alive, but that’s all we know right now,” Axel interjects.

The tension in the room ratchets up, and I turn to find Michael’s broad shoulders filling the doorway. He stalks inside, his tread measured, then glances over to where Massimo and Luca are huddled together. Something passes between the men, then Massimo and Luca walk over to the doorway and leave the room.

Michael prowls over to stand behind Karma.

I glance up at his features, and my heart stutters. He knows. Oh, my god. He knows.

Seb

The scent of antiseptic hurts my nostrils. I draw in a breath and my lungs rattle. I try to raise my eyelids, but they seem like they’re weighed down. My mouth is so dry, my tongue feels like it’s stuck to the roof. I try to raise my arm, but find I’m unable to move it. Cazzo! I flutter my eyelids open, and the brightness seems to pierce my brain.

“Porca miseria,” I growl, “what the fuck happened?” My heart slams into my ribcage. Shot. I have no doubt I was shot. And her? What happened to her? “Elsa?” I cough. “Where are you?”

“Seb.” A woman’s voice reaches me.

“Elsa.” I strain in the direction of the voice.

Cool fingers touch my hand. “It’s Aurora.”

“Where’s Elsa?” I swallow down the ball of emotion that’s lodged in my throat. “Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

“She’s not hurt; she’s fine,” Aurora reassures me.

The tension drains out of my muscles. “Where is she?” My throat hurts and my shoulder feels numb. I try to knit my thoughts together, but my brain cells feel like they’re coated in white fog. Everything in my body hurts, but as if from behind a curtain, a clear indication that there are enough drugs running through my body to keep the worst of the pain at bay.

“Elsa. I want to see her.”

“Uh, I’m not sure that’s advisable,” Aurora murmurs.

My pulse rate shoots up. “What do you mean? Is she okay? You said she was okay. So why isn’t she here with me?”

“Doc,” the voice of one of my brothers interrupts, “why don’t you take a break?”

“I’ll be right outside.” Aurora pats my hand, then I hear her step away.

“How are you doing, fratello?” Massimo’s face fills my line of sight.

“The fuck you doing here?” I try to sit up, but my body refuses to comply. “The fuck is wrong with me?” I pant.

“You got shot, bro. The bullet went right through. But you lost a lot of blood. It’s a good thing we got to you when we did. A few minutes more and-” He shakes his head. “You gave us a scare, Sebastian.”

O-k-a-y, Massimo never calls me by my full name. Never. So, this must be really serious. I sink back against the pillows. “Where’s Elsa? If she’s not hurt, why isn’t she here with me?”

“It’s… complicated.” Massimo pulls up a chair and sinks into it.

“She’s my wife; she needs to be by my side. What’s complicated about that?”

“How much do you know about Elsa?”

“What do you mean?” I scowl.

“You met her at a bar. Do you know how she came to be there?”

“She was there with Theresa.” I raise my shoulder, or try to, but my body protests. “What the fuck is this all about? I married her, she’s my wife, and I need her here. End of discussion.”

“Is it?”

Something in Massimo’s voice alerts me. A heaviness grips my chest and the hair on my forearms rises.

“The fuck is happening? You going to tell me, or are you playing games with me?”

“No games,” Luca says from the doorway. He walks inside, followed by Adrian, who shuts the door behind him and walks over to stand on the side of the bed opposite Massimo. Luca positions himself at the foot of my bed.

I glance from Luca to Adrian, then finally rest my gaze on Massimo.

“The fuck is going on?” I ask in a hard voice. “Why the hell are the three of you in my room? And where is Elsa?”

“Firstly, let us reassure you, again, that Elsa is safe,” Adrian replies.

“So why isn’t she here?”

“That’s what we’re here to talk to you about,” Adrian says in a calm voice.

“Gesu Cristo.” I try to sit up again, then gasp when my entire body seems to seize up. “Cazzo, if any of you have harmed her-”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“She’s safe, Seb,” Massimo rumbles, “I promise you.”

“You’ll see her soon, fratello, but first there’s something you need to know.” Adrian leans forward on the balls of his feet.

I train my gaze on Luca, who hasn’t spoken a word since he entered the room. “I assume you’re behind this?”

“I’m the Capo, but the decision was not mine alone. Michael agreed to it.”

“Where is she, you testa di cazzo?”

Luca’s features harden, but he doesn’t rise to the bait. Imagine that. Apparently, even he has to grow up some day. Too bad he’s chosen me to fuck with on his first piece of business as Capo.

“She knew who shot you.”

“What?” I blink. “That’s not possible. Besides, it was a drone that shot at me.”

“She mentioned that.” Luca folds his arms across his chest. “She also told us who was operating the drone.”

I shake my head. “There’s some misunderstanding here. Perhaps you put pressure on her. Did you?” I glance from Luca to Massimo, then Adrian. “Was she coerced into this confession?”

Adrian shakes his head. “She volunteered the information to Michael.”

If there’s anyone I believe, it’s Adrian. Not only is he the most level headed of all of us, he’s also the one with the least to lose. He’s never been interested in the Cosa Nostra. He’s always been clear that he’s there to support Michael, but doesn’t want a stake in the business. He’s built himself a life separate from ours. At one time, I’d thought he was being disloyal to us. And yet, I’d envied him for it. I’ve never been able to tear myself away from the Cosa Nostra long enough to follow his example. And now, when I’m about to carve out my own path, with the love of my life at my side… Turns out, she’s been an illusion all along.

No. What am I actually thinking? I trusted her. My instincts couldn’t be that wrong, could they? “I don’t believe any of this.”

“Better believe it. She confirmed that her ex is the person behind the shooting. Turns out, she was colluding with him all along. She only agreed to marry you so she could spy on you and on the rest of the family. She was using you to get close to the famiglia. She was going to pass information to him that would have put us behind bars,” Luca states blandly.

“Hold on.” Sweat beads my hairline. My head spins. I take a breath, then another to try to clear my mind. “So she was working with Fabio to put us away?”

“So it would seem,” Massimo murmurs.

“And she thinks he’s the one who set the drone on me?”

All three of them nod.

“So why didn’t he kill me? Why am I still alive?”

“That is the question.” Luca rubs his jaw. “For whatever reason, the drone did not fire to kill you.”

“And Antonio, and my bodyguards?”

“They’re all alive. Antonio escaped with a wounded knee. Of the other three, one’s in a coma, and the other two have already regained consciousness.” Massimo widens his stance.

“So, no deaths?”

“No deaths,” Luca says slowly. “It may have been an oversight. Clearly, the drone intended to kill.”

“But no one died,” I snap.

Massimo and Luca exchange looks.

“He has a point. Fabio is the police commissioner; he’s not a fool. If he was behind the attacks, what stopped him from completing what he started? Doesn’t that simply put him in a dangerous position?” Massimo finally offers.

“I agree with Massimo.” Adrian turns to Luca. “The attack may have started with the intention of killing, but for some reason, that didn’t happen.”

“Also, she wasn’t hurt,” Luca interjects. “All of you were injured and she- Not a scratch on her, despite the fact that she was right there with you when the shooting started.”

Silence descends on the room. The pain in my shoulder turns up a notch. My stomach cramps, and I’m sure I’m going to be sick. I swallow down the bile, and glare at Luca. “I want to speak to my wife.”

Luca hesitates.

“She married me; she is under my protection,” I remind him.

Luca firms his lips. “She will not be harmed; you have my word,” he finally offers.

“Not that I don’t believe you, but…” I set my jaw. “I. Want. To. See. Her.”