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Sebastian’s words are sobering, and both Marco and I nod in reply. I look at Marco, trying to gauge what he is feeling. We were both so elated only moments ago, but now the room is cold, and I notice out the window that the sun has disappeared behind the clouds and a grey hue has descended on the house.
“I need to go, enjoy your honeymoon and stay out of trouble,” Sebastian says as I stand. He shakes Marco’s hand and then embraces me, squeezing me tight, before turning and walking out the door. His men follow him out of the house. Together, they get into their waiting cars and leave, a small motorcade down the driveway before Sebastian’s cars veer left and the cars with Alf and Sofia veer right.
He was here for less than two hours, and for that I am grateful.
31
Marco
We say goodbye to my brothers, and we all depart the mansion, leaving at different times and taking different routes, and all in dark cars with tinted windows. Shaun and Stephen are going to their girls and Jake is heading to the restaurant to catch up with Romeo, where they will look after everything in Boston for the next few weeks until we all feel safe enough that there is no immediate threat, and we can slowly go back to life as normal. Well, somewhat normal.
Frankie and I are in the car heading directly to the airport. We have cars in front of us and behind us, and have a full team of people with us to ensure we get to where we need to go safely. After our honeymoon, Frankie will move in with me and remain on lockdown while I get back to work and try to act like normal, when all I really want to be doing is lying in bed with my wife.
At least Prince will have a companion at home with him, and hopefully my house won’t be wrecked during the day by him now that Frankie will be there. Although, I am sure that the two of them will get fed up pretty quickly with being inside together for days on end.
Jake is organizing increased security at my place and will purchase all new clothes and amenities for Frankie so she doesn't need to return to her apartment at all. Everything that is there will remain there and it will continue to be a safe house that we can use at a moment's notice.
Sebastian will still have a team who will watch over her, who will watch my place, and they are in contact with Jake to ensure everything goes smoothly. Jake wasn’t pleased to be working so closely with the mob, but it is now part of his daily duties, and he takes it all in his stride for me.
It is now late afternoon as our car pulls up to the private jet on the tarmac, and both Frankie and I rush up the plane stairs, not wanting to wait in Boston a minute longer than we need to. Within five minutes, we are wheels up and in the air and we both breathe out a sigh of relief at the same time which we laugh at.
I grab her hand, my fingers entwining with hers, and I put her hand to my lips and kiss her. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Marshall?” I ask, and a smile I cannot control comes to my lips because I am so proud and excited that we are now married, and she is my wife.
She looks at me and gives me one of her megawatt smiles, which I haven’t seen in a while and she reaches up and kisses me.
“I am so proud to be your wife, Mr. Marshall.” As the plane continues its ascent, the seatbelt sign turns off, and I stand up from the seat and pull Frankie toward me.
Bending down, I whisper into her ear, “I need to be inside you, Mrs. Marshall, and I don’t think I can wait until we land.” I kiss her neck and her jaw before taking her lips in mine.
Pulling back a little, I look at her and she is smiling, so I tug her along with me to the back of the plane and we ease into the long flight by retiring to the private bedroom and consummating our marriage while joining the mile high club.
* * *
It has been a long flight, but finally, our private jet lands at a small airport in a place called Townsville on the northeast coast of Australia. We depart quickly, and walk directly to a helicopter that is waiting nearby. We slept a little on the plane, but we are both excited to get to our final destination. Once our bags are loaded, the helicopter takes off and we are back in the air for another 30 minutes. It is truly magical as we fly high above the blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef, and the local helicopter pilot is giving us an overview of the region. To any outsider, we are a normal couple on our honeymoon, and that is exactly what I wanted.
Before too long, we come in to land at our final destination. Orpheus Island. A small island found off the coast of Australia. Scarlett suggested it, saying the remoteness would be ideal for our secure gateway and also private and romantic. We don’t have any security with us, the pilot and crew we had on the jet are now staying in Townsville in case we need to get back to America quickly, and until then, they will have a holiday themselves exploring this amazing part of the world.
We land to see the glowing afternoon sun hanging low in the sky and the beautiful water glistening under the sunset. We have been here for a mere moment, but already I feel relaxed and excited to explore, and I know Frankie feels the same.
We are taken directly to our bungalow which we will call home for the next two weeks, taking refreshments of cold mocktails from the staff. Our bags are already sitting in our room waiting for us.
Since the sun is setting and we don’t want to miss it, we leave our bags to unpack at a later time and head to the beach for a walk to acclimatize to the weather and time zone.
We stand looking out at the ocean, breathing in the beautiful fresh air. The sounds of the small waves lapping at our feet makes me content, and for the first time in my life, I feel pure happiness. I look over to my wife in admiration, but under the orange pink light of the sunset, I notice her staring out to sea, lost in her thoughts and a small tear running down her cheeks.
“Baby,” I whisper out, turning my body to face her, my hand cupping her cheek and catching her tears. “What’s wrong?” I ask quietly, not wanting to disturb her peace but wanting her to know that she can talk to me.
Her eyes still are focused right ahead of her. Following her gaze, I realize that she is staring at the low sun, which is nearly gone behind the horizon.
“Baby, talk to me, what’s going on?” I ask, wanting to comfort her. “We will be okay, everything will be okay,” I say, wanting her to know that I am with her every step of the way.
Her head turns and she looks right at me, her eyes full of water, but her expression stoic. I rub her cheeks with my thumb, my hands not leaving her face. She turns her body so we are now facing each other. There is nothing between us, our energy is flowing back and forth freely, and I remain silent, knowing that whatever she is going to say will require my full attention.
“There is something that you don’t know. Something that I need to tell you,” she says, barely in a whisper. If I wasn’t standing so close to her, I would not have heard her words. Staying silent, I keep my eyes on her and nod, knowing that now is the time for me to listen.
“Enzo was always a good friend of my papa’s,” she starts and just listening to his name has my blood boiling, but I keep it bottled inside, not wanting to spoil this moment with my angry explosion. “They have been business associates for years, always profiting from each other and Enzo was keen to be a part of our family from the very moment he met my papa. He wanted to be the head of the family, and he knew the only way he could be, is if he married me and then got rid of Sebastian.” She is silent again and my eyes remain locked on hers. I know whatever is coming is going to slay me, but I stand firm, beside her, remaining quiet.
“I first met Enzo when I was 13. He came to the house to visit papa, and papa called me into his office to meet Enzo. He was scary, and the look in his eyes I now know was predatory.” Frankie takes a deep breath and continues, “Our house in Sicily is somewhat removed from the towns, so Enzo stayed in one of our guest suites for the night after having too much wine with papa over dinner.”
