By the time I come to my senses, we’re on the other side of next week.
Only one left until we get married. Hardly seven days.
Our spark in the training room lit a fire that spilled over into the night, then that night seeped into the day, and so on and so on until we found ourselves here, on the first morning of our third week together.
We’ve explored every inch of each other’s bodies, tasted every morsel, heard every sound. And still, as I stand by the small bedroom window that I finally cranked all the way open last week, all I can do is stare at my sleeping beauty and study her some more.
She’s stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. Even more breathtaking in person than in the photos that originally drew me to her. My obsession has only grown too. But it hardly feels like an obsession anymore. There’s another word for when you get to a point where you can’t imagine living without another person. It’s not a word I’m strong enough to even think right now. But it’s there, drifting around in the back of my mind, growing larger and heavier with every whiff of Elisa’s sweet scent and perfect image.
Instead, I’m focusing on getting her ready.
Today is a big day. For the first time since I put this whole plan into action, Elisa and I are going to be seen together on the outside. She’ll meet Dad and my brothers, be re-introduced to The Family as my bride, and even have a chance to catch glances with her despicable father.
Whether or not I’ll let them talk, I still haven’t decided. All I know for sure is that I’m nervous, and it’s not because of anything work related. Instead, there’s this undefinable thread in me that wants to wrap up this moment and show it to the world, but I know that it’s impossible. Whatever image Elisa and I show off tonight, it won’t be as perfect as this, it won’t do us justice.
Still, we’ll go ahead and look better than any of the other sorry fucks there. The theater at Calligastaro’s may not be the most elegant of venues, but it’s a good jumping off point. Completely under my control, well-guarded. The setting will be just right to show off my trophy, my spoils of war.
My woman.
Ciro will see what I’ve done with his daughter. He’ll see the look in her eyes when she’s with me, and The Family will see it too. The second we walk in, they’ll understand that I have my Italian figurehead. There will be no more hiding from the Kilpatricks. We will own every last inch of the underworld, and unless they help me figure out this business with Dmitry Gazin and the Black Delphi, then I’ll crush them under my foot.
My family can’t go legitimate while this crooked Russian plot still rages against us. But The Family seems hesitant to get involved. It’s clear why. They don’t want to waste precious resources on keeping me in power, especially when they might need those same resources to finally do me in after the Russians are through.
The Black Delphi are feared like demons. More myth than men, the superstitious Italians give them too much credit. For all we know, Dmitry and his crew already got what they came for and fucked off back to Russia. There’s been no sighting of them for days now, not even a peep. In fact, they’ve disappeared so entirely that Shane, Niall and I have been busying ourselves with another task.
Turns out, the Cheryshev Bratva have been trying to set up a sex trafficking ring right under our noses. Without Dmitry Gazin burning down our warehouse, we might not have ever paid the hacky Russian crooks enough attention to stop them before they did too much damage. But it’s a good thing we did.
While interrogating some of their higher members for information on the Black Delphi, they let their twisted plans slip. We’re putting an end to it. As much as I wanted to leave the underworld behind, and only control the broader points through Elisa and The Family, I couldn’t if shit like sex trafficking was going on.
Part of the reason I have so many connections in the government is because they appreciate the tight leash that I keep on some of the city’s most vile criminals. There are lines that I don’t let anyone cross, and it’s kept this city safe for the innocent for a long time.
The morning of the day that I gave Elisa her two gifts, I’d been on the ground with Shane and the Bulldog busting up a shipment of young Russian girls. The scared women had been kept in a container for the entire sea voyage. It was disgusting. We took care of those involved, and the new M.O. became to wipe out the Cheryshev Bratva once and for all.
Of course, while we did this, we needed others to keep an eye out for any sign of Dmitry Gazin and his crew. Something tells me we’re not rid of them yet. They don’t make mistakes, and what they came here for couldn’t have been so small I wouldn’t have noticed it being taken.
The Family is supposed to be vigilant on that end, but they’ve all been dragging their feet. After tonight, I hope to remind them that the longer they keep me in the underworld, the harder I’m going to step on their throats. Elisa will be my message to all who dare even consider not obeying my orders. Comply or be corrupted.
It’s a fine line I’m walking, but the more I listen to my true feelings, the easier it becomes. These past few days have been a perfect example. I’ve essentially been running my operation from bed in between love-making sessions with my girl, and everything seems to be going better than ever.
The Cheryshev Bratva is on its last legs, The Family is meeting tonight so that I can send my message loud and clear, and Dmitry and the Black Delphi are keeping their heads down.
When my princess stirs in bed, I leave my place by the window and wake her the rest of the way up. Our presence at Calligastaro’s isn’t required until later tonight. Before that, there’s something else I want to do with her.
“Good morning.” There’s a brightness in her soft smile that makes the dawn pale in comparison. It’s almost like she’s happy to see me, though I doubt she’d admit it. As intimate as we’ve become, we both still have thick walls guarding our damaged hearts. It’s going to take more than just sex to shatter those defences.
“Good morning, princess,” I say, gently pinching her chin and giving her a long tender kiss. “We have a busy day ahead of us. No more loitering around in bed. Put on your favorite sundress.”
“Where are we going?”
“Gardening.”
On the day that started our whirlwind of sex and passion, I gave Elisa two gifts. Today, I’m challenging her with two tests. The main event will be her behavior at Calligastaro’s tonight, but before then, I want to see another part of her. I want to make sure she knows where things stand.
We get changed and head outside together, close enough that if we were two different people, we might be hand in hand. No one interrupts us as we gather our tools and have a light breakfast that Meave has left at the foot of the special garden.
“I just can’t imagine you gardening,” Elisa says, after I catch her giving me a curious look.
“Well, now you won’t have to imagine. This is my garden, Elisa. Every flower and stem and branch and trunk was gathered and planted by me. In fact, I may be the world’s greatest gardener.”
She practically spits out her drink. “Ha! You just have to be the best at everything, right?”
It’s hot out, and I take Elisa’s banter as an opportunity to get a little more comfortable. Crossing my arms, I pull off my t-shirt. “I am the best at everything,” I smirk, loving the way she looks at me. That lust twinkling in her eyes is exactly what I want to capture. It needs to be there tonight. No matter how often I forget the purpose of this when we’re in the throes of our passion, the truth is, everything still needs to go as planned. And, as long as she can keep looking at me like that, everything will go exactly as it needs to.
“You’re so cocky,” Elisa rolls her eyes and bends over to get to work. I slap her ass and join her in the dirt.
“Let me show you how it’s done.”
“This is one thing you don’t have to teach me,” she shakes her head. “I’m a better gardener than you are!”
“You’re on, little flower.”
Separately, we start to tend to our own plots. But it doesn’t take long before we drift together again.
“Stay in your own area!” Elisa playfully scolds when our shoulders bump together. Her once pale skin is golden from the sun and so warm that I have a hard time keeping my hands away.
“This is all my area,” I correct her. “From here to the horizon. I own it all. And don’t you forget it.” Despite the lightness in my tone, a sudden heaviness falls over my bride-to-be.
“You don’t make it easy to forget,” she sighs.
Fuck. Now I feel bad. For the past three weeks, I’ve been drilling it into Elisa’s head that I own her. And, while it’s a fact she would do well to remember, I didn’t bring her out here to rub her face in it.
“Soon it will be yours too, my queen.”
That last word seems to snap her back under the light, but the giddiness she started the day with is gone. All it took was one wrong sentence. For such a tough girl, it sure doesn’t take much to send her into a spiral. I guess I can be blamed for some of that.
We work in silence for a little while longer before Elisa pushes herself up against a trunk for a break.
“Quitting already?” I tease. “There’s still so much more to do.”
Despite my intentions, my comment doesn’t seem to stoke any competitive flames in Elisa. She just looks around the messy garden with heavy eyelids.
“Why is there so much to do?” she asks. “A place this important shouldn’t be allowed to grow so untouched.”
Untouched. For some reason, that word sends a sharp physical pain through my heart. This is supposed to be Mom’s final resting ground. Since her death, our family has soared. Elisa’s right, it should be a palace, not some overgrown garden.
“I’ve been busy with work,” I say, more trying to convince myself than her. But there’s more to it than that.
“Then why not let someone else care for it?”
“Because this place isn’t for anyone else. It’s private.”
“… But you let me in here.”
Foolishly I was hoping Elisa would just take this gesture for what it is. A glimpse. A window into my broken walled-off heart. Something too painful to talk about and almost as difficult to show. But I guess showing just isn’t enough for her.
“And what do you think that means?” I ask.
She struggles to answer, but I don’t doubt that she understands the significance. What she’s struggling with is how direct to be about it.
“It means you trust me,” she finally says.
“Trust you with what?” The second I ask that question, I regret it. It’s too raw, too vulnerable.
“… Your heart.”
Hearing her say it draws the air from my lungs. She’s right, but it’s something I’d rather have left unsaid. “Perhaps,” I grumble.
“Then why didn’t you take care of it?” It’s hard to tell whether she’s talking about the garden or my heart. Though, I guess they can be thought of as one and the same.
“Because I was busy.”
“Aiden…”
I can’t tell her it’s because it became too painful. I can’t admit that I was a coward to the kind of pain that love deals you. I won’t show weakness in front of her. I won’t show weakness in front of anybody. In this world, it’s a death sentence.
“What did my father do to you?” The suddenness of Elisa’s question cuts through me like shards of ice. Lately, I’ve been avoiding Ciro for the same reason I’d been avoiding this garden. The past is just too painful. Maybe that’s just because when I think of a future with Elisa, the brightness sheds a shadow over all of the horrible things that I came from.
“He ruined my family,” I snarl.
“But what did he do to you specifically? I know there’s something. Please, tell me.” Elisa pushes onto her knees and carefully crawls towards me. The warmth of her sun kissed skin helps soften the ice inside of me.
Still, my first reaction is to snap. To tell her it’s none of her business. To treat her like the captive that she is. But then a glacial chunk falls from the wall around my heart and I’m laid bare.
“He did so many things. So many cruel things…” I grumble.
Elisa doesn’t yet know that I’m considering allowing her to see her father tonight. The cold calculating side of my brain tells me that revealing everything to her right now is the smart thing to do. She’s not like Ciro. She will be disgusted by his actions. And then, if I let her see him tonight, the blubbering old fool will see just what his precious daughter really thinks of him. He’ll shatter at the contempt I’ve sowed in her, at the corruption of her soul. It will be delicious.
Strategically, I should tell her. Or at least, that’s the justification my brain is coming up with to satiate my aching heart.
Elisa drapes her hand against my shoulder. A comforting touch.
“He took me,” I confess. The words coming out of my mouth almost don’t seem real. I’ve never told anyone about this. The only people who know are the ones who were around to be a part of it.
Elisa’s touch falters for a moment before she purposefully reasserts her strength. “What do you mean?”
“After Ciro burned my dad’s empire to the ground, he took me as a hostage. For him, I was the perfect collateral to make sure that Dad would never try to get his retribution. I was eleven. He tried to break me. Burn away the person I was. His dream was to turn me into a mindless soldier of hate and violence. A tool that he could use against my own family to truly destroy them forever. For three long years he tried. He failed.”
Darkness surges through me as these black memories seep through the melting ice caps around my heart. Elisa looks horrified. But this is what she asked for.
“…. Is that where you were when your mom passed? In my father’s prison?”
“Yes. He brought me to the funeral just to rub it in. He held a gun to my head while my brothers got to say goodbye. Then he dragged me away and threw me in isolation for a week. Well, he’s the one in isolation now.” I turn to my bride-to-be. It looks like the dread of what I’m saying might crush her. But my sympathy is waning. Hatred is taking control. “You’ll see him tonight,” I say, making up my mind.
Ciro needs to see what his daughter thinks of him. Elisa needs to see her father while his cruelty is still fresh in her mind.
“Tonight?” she rasps. The air in the garden has become so humid that it’s almost suffocating.
“Tonight, we’re going into the city. It’s time to introduce the world to my princess.”
No mercy. No more fucking mercy.
