Page 30 of The Mafia’s Fiancee

I debated how to answer. I wasn’t sure I could trust him, but telling him that I had her would also show him how serious I was about her. Let them know. Let them all fucking know she’s mine.

“Yes.”

“You’re both okay?” he asked. A hint of worry laced his tone, but then he grunted a laugh. “Never mind. I’m talking to you. She doesn’t need medical attention?”

“We don’t need medical attention,” I replied.

“The last I saw of you was when you walked off after killing Antonio’s favorite fighter.” He sighed. “I tried to warn you. I saw him take that knife just before he entered the ring. It was fucking rigged.”

He had shouted out for me. His willingness to warn me was a point in his favor, but it didn’t make me trust him. Not completely. A lifetime of lies was a lot to forgive—if I could forgive him at all.

I listened as he explained what happened in the wake of that fight. When I didn’t come back out, he asked Ben and the workers. No one could verify who’d come in and tazed me, but Rossini soldiers who reported to Jimmy more or less came to the conclusion that Antonio had taken me. Then later, when word got out that Emma had escaped her father’s home, he assumed that I’d gotten her out.

“You’re fucking strong, Luke. But you’re not invincible, dammit.”

Now, he sounded worried.

“No more fights for a while,” I said.

He huffed. “Obviously. People are talking about your last one. I bet they will be for a while yet. The payout was astronomical, anyway. It’s already deposited in your account. Nina will be set for a while.”

But she shouldn’t just be alone. “Can someone check on her?”

“Yes. I’ve got Sean stopping by. He’s keeping his distance, but I’m watching over her.”

Why? I had so many more questions to ask, but it seemed like this had to be a one-step-at-a-time thing.

“So lie low. I’m not going to ask where you are.”

I nodded. “I wouldn’t tell you anyway.”

“You’re really serious about her, aren’t you?”

I’d killed for her. I broke her out of her father’s home. What else did I have to do to prove it in the short term?

“I am.”

“We need to discuss what you can do next to keep her then.”

I frowned, wondering why he’d change his mind. “You’re not going to tell me to give her up?”

“Not right now. I’m not going to waste my breath talking to a wall. Would you listen to me if I suggested you let her go home? And go to Antonio?”

“Fuck no.”

“Exactly what I thought. Let things settle, and we’ll talk again.”

We disconnected the call, and as I walked back to Emma, I let all my thoughts ping around in my mind. Worries and assumptions held me back from being logical, but I wasn’t sure what could happen to ensure Emma and I could be together and safe.

Kill Antonio? Her father? Then also Vincent Marchese as the head of that family? It seemed like a tall order for someone who’d only just been introduced to the world of organized crime.

No. I haven’t been introduced, I mused.

No one knew who I was, and it seemed like how we handled that critical news would change it all.

Emma was safe and sound when I returned, and I appreciated that this safehouse was a resource we could rely on. I’d need to call Randy, too, to update him with the bare basics—like the fact I wouldn’t be coming back to the Tropican, that I was using his family’s hideout.

It all had to wait though, because as soon as I saw Emma smiling at me inside, welcoming me back into the house, I was hit with such a deep yearning that I had to have her.

Seeing her vibrant bright gaze so full of love and relief upon my return...

It felt like coming home.

Wherever she was would be my home. I belonged with her.

As we hid and followed Jimmy’s unnecessary instruction to lie low while the dust settled, I enjoyed the opportunity to love this woman. At the end of each night, I fell asleep with her sated and safe in my arms, like she was made to fit with me.