Foul play

PRESENT DAY

Nico was hovering. He didn’t want to leave my side after the explosion. My shoulder was still in pain, but I was healing well. Serena came to visit me almost every day. I hated to admit it, but I was enjoying her company. 

She was bubbly and fun even though you could see the trauma of what happened to her lurking beneath the surface.

I didn’t mind that the only reason she came to see me was that she was under the illusion that I had saved her life. Any friends in Italy wouldn’t hurt. My in-laws hated me because they would rather see their precious Don marry an Italian woman than marry an Irish blonde mafia princess with tattoos. 

I needed all the friends I could get. I knew she wasn’t going to be in Italy for long, but I was going to spend all the time I could with her. Besides, Nico had a soft spot for her. Even though I disliked her, I had to get along with her. 

“Nico, I’m fine. I have to go and see the city, or I will rot in here.”

I was trying to convince him to let me go out, but he was saying no. He could be overbearing at times. He had bigger fish to fry than taking care of me, and he needed to focus on that. Besides, how was I going to meet Samson to discuss our plans if Nico was breathing down my neck?

He already got rid of my bodyguard, Gaston, because he was jealous that the man was helping me sneak out of his mansion in New York. I didn't want to imagine what was going through his mind at the time. 

He almost killed Gaston at the time. The same man who had protected me from birth. I would have never forgiven him if he had actually gone through with it. That was the only reason he stopped. 

“That explosion and the sniper who shot you were not caused by Alexei and his Bratva, Gattina. It doesn’t match anything they use in war. This was an entirely different attack, and until I figure out who caused it, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

I rolled my eyes and stomped my feet on the ground. 

I knew for a fact that he was right because all those attacks were planned by Samson to make sure I pretended to save Serena’s life and get back in the good graces of her and Nico and the rest of their family.

Samson took an opportunity when he knew Alexei, the former Bratva king, would retaliate against Nico for killing his son and only heir, Viktor. We knew he would attack us at our wedding, and the DeLuca brothers were ready to kill him.

But I helped Samson sneak in an extra bomb and a sniper to pretend to shoot Serena so I would swoop in and save her. Nico didn’t know how such a perfect plan went so wrong, and I got shot. He suspected foul play, and he was right. 

“Maybe they decided to use ammunition you have never seen before. Please, Nico. Alexei and Viktor are dead. We no longer have Bratva enemies. There is no need for all this. I only need one bodyguard, and I’ll be fine.”

“Absolutely not. If you want to go out, you’re taking either me or all of my best men. Tally, this is not a joke. Someone tried to kill us all while we were in the middle of a battle with the Russians. You need to take this seriously. I have lots of enemies.”

Of course he did. I wanted to yell at him that the only reason he had so many enemies was that he was a menace to society. He killed people for the most trivial reasons and even destroyed families. 

It was a mystery that he and Nero had lasted as long as they had. Especially Nero. Every single time I saw him, I was reminded of how he had destroyed my family when I was too young to comprehend what had happened. 

If Samson and I hadn’t found each other, I wouldn't know where I would be. The DeLuca brothers destroyed everything and everyone in their path, and they smiled while doing it. Karma wasn’t real if those three were still billionaires and everyone kissed their feet.

But their day of reckoning was going to come, even if it was the last thing I did. Either way, I smiled at my husband and pretended I liked him. Or maybe I wasn’t pretending anymore.

“Fine. I’ll go with some bodyguards. But I’m not a child, and I’m not scared. I still think the attack from Alexei is the reason the explosion happened. There is no other person dumb enough to come after you.”

“Maybe you’re right, but that’s not a risk I’m willing to take. I will get to the bottom of it.”

He inched closer, grabbed my waist, and pulled me into his body. My shoulder was still sore, and Nico was gentle with me because of it. 

“I won’t be able to go with you today, but I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of. Don’t stay too long, wife.”

I tried to ignore the flutters in my stomach when he referred to me as his wife, but my efforts were futile. My resistance to him faded when he stared at me like he couldn’t bear the thought of letting me go. 

His eyes were trained on my lips like he was fighting the urge to kiss me. I was ashamed that I wanted his lips on mine just as badly. I wasn’t supposed to enjoy his touch, moan his name in bed, or want to be in his proximity. 

But I did, and having his last name brought a sense of satisfaction that I pushed away for as long as I could. If Samson found out I was falling for the person I was supposed to destroy, he would kill me. 

“Get a room,” Nero said as he strutted into our house like it was his. Our house. It felt weird to say that, but it felt right.

“You’re in my house, Nero. We can fuck here, and you still wouldn’t be entitled to tell us to get a room.”

Nero scrunched his nose in disgust and shook his head.

“I would rather not think about my brother fucking his new wife.”

Nico and Nero bickered for a few seconds before I excused myself. I hated Nero more than I hated any other member of the DeLuca family. The urge to kill him whenever I saw him was so strong that I caught myself glaring at him from time to time. 

He had caught me glaring a couple of times too, and asked me if there was a problem. Of course, I denied it and pretended like everything was okay even though it wasn’t. The day I got to put a bullet in his head, I would make it count. 

He didn’t deserve to be loved by a woman as amazing as Serena, but the worst people always got what they wanted. 

I should have known Nico would go too far when it came to security. He sent me out with ten bodyguards. Everyone would be looking at me in the streets. Rome was as safe as I could get when it came to Nico’s enemies attacking me.

But he didn’t care. He wanted to make sure I was safe. His actions would awe me if it weren’t for the fact that I hated him. 

I went to the coffee shop, and all ten bodyguards went in with me. Two stood over me while the rest found seats. Everyone was staring, and I couldn’t have been more embarrassed. 

I spotted Samson wearing a waiter’s uniform. He motioned for me to meet him in the women’s bathroom. That was the one place the bodyguards wouldn’t follow me into. Little did I know, they wanted to search it before I entered. 

“Oh, my God! Can I have a little space? There is no one waiting for me in there to attack me.”

“Orders from the boss–”

“I’m the boss now. Wait for me outside.”

I walked in before they had a chance to search for intruders. 

“I see your husband doesn’t want you going out without security,” Samson said. 

“He knows that the bomb was not a result of Alexei’s attack. I think he also knows the sniper who shot me wasn’t either. What if he’s on to us?” I asked in a panic. “If he finds out we planned this, he’ll kill me. We’re married. No one will question him if I turn up dead.”

I sacrificed a good shoulder so I could feign being Serena’s savior so she would forget about the phone call she overheard. It worked like a charm, and she spent a lot of time with me.

“Relax. Even if he suspects something, he won’t be able to prove anything. I don’t leave loose ends.”

“What now? We can’t meet as often as we did before without raising an alarm.”

“I’ll find a way to get in contact with you. For now, make sure Serena never brings up the phone call ever again. Befriend her and have Nico eating from the palm of your hand. Distract him so he won’t realize his reign is coming to an end. Fight for your place by his side during important meetings and report everything you hear to me. You won’t have to tolerate him for long.”

I wanted to smile, but I didn’t have it in me. If it was such a good thing that I was finally making the DeLuca family pay, then why did it weigh so heavily on my heart?