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“I’m not worried about me. I’m hard to kill. People have been trying to kill me since the day I was born.”
“I know you know how to take care of yourself, and you have your crew. But you have me, too. And I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”
I cup her jaw, my thumb stroking softly down her uninjured cheek. “You’ve had my back from the start, haven’t you?”
“Of course. And now you’re my husband. We’re a team.”
“Don’t say shit like that when I can’t fuck you.”
“Who says you can’t fuck me?”
“I do. You’re hurt.”
“I didn’t sprain my vagina, Vice.”
I huff out an amused laugh despite everything.
“Later. Let’s get you cleaned up and into something comfortable first. I want your throat iced. Shock might be helping mask the pain right now, but tomorrow won’t be fun.”
She sighs but nods.
“Why’s the wedding so important to you? It can’t just be about keeping us safe.”
“At first, I was dead set against it.” She shakes her head when I frown. “Not my wedding to Aldo, obviously. That was never going to happen. No, I didn’t want him to marry Gia. He’s horrible. But as the underboss, Aldo was always going to marry Vigo’s daughter, and to the world, his daughter is Gia. Then Vigo told me the truth.And to keep up the ruse, Vigo has had her plan the wedding as if it were hers, completely unaware that she’s supposed to be switched out with me at the last second. I just felt like fucking shit. I mean, that’s brutal, even by Vigo’s standards. And for all her faults, Gia does love Aldo.”
“Wait, you want Gia to marry Aldo because she loves him? He’ll do to her what he does to all women. What he would do to you.”
“That’s what I wanted to protect her from. Now I’m glad she’ll get what she deserves.”
“What happened that was so bad you’d want to see her tied to Aldo?”
“She killed someone. Someone who did nothing wrong. And now, because of Gia, two little girls are going to grow up without a mother. Trust me when I say that Aldo and Gia deserve each other. And if we’re lucky, they’ll end up taking each other out.”
I whistle. Damn. It seems my wife has a vindictive streak.
“Plus, there are rules and traditions, like with the stupid bloody sheets. Aldo can’t marry Gia one day and then kill her to marry me. People aren’t stupid. When they find out who I really am, a lot of people will be divided. But they won’t go against their traditions and encourage Aldo to steal me away from my husband. No matter who you are.”
“Alright. If it makes you happy, I won’t do anything to Aldo until after the wedding, but then all bets are off.”
“If you kill him, you’ll start a war.”
“For you, Nova, I’d start an apocalypse.”
I kiss her gently before pulling back when she winces, the taste of her blood on my tongue.
“Shit, let’s get you cleaned up.” I move to help her slide herjacket off, but she stops me.
“I need you to do me a favor. I know it’s a lot, but I need a minute to get myself together. I need you to contact Alessio and tell him what happened. If he hears it from someone else...” She shakes her head. “Please don’t lie to him. He’ll pull the camera feed. He has access to them all, and he’ll know. Just tell him I’m okay and not to come back until after the wedding. They will use him to get to me otherwise.”
“Would it work? Do you care about him that much?” I can’t keep the gruffness out of my voice.
“I don’t remember my life before. I have no memories of my mother, brother, or Vigo before I became Alessio’s. He’s the only parent I’ve had. He did what he could for me with his hands tied. His daughter was taken from him all in the name of keeping me safe, and yet he doesn’t blame me for it. So yeah.”
“He’s going to be so angry. Jesus, you’ll need to do some smooth talking, or he’ll be here in the morning, ready to do battle.”
“Okay, alright. Don’t get all worked up. It will only make you feel worse. You shower and get changed. I’ll call Alessio.”
“I can’t give you the number, though, and my cellphone is trashed and?—”
