30
Antonio
Iwish I could have stayed in that hotel room with Mia all morning. How could I not? After last night, the way she let loose, throwing all caution to the wind—I’ll tell ya, it was sexy as hell. And now, the way she’s laying naked next to me, her skin bathed amongst those white bedsheets, it’s something dreams are made of. But business is business, and some stupid fucks thought it would be a good idea to make a move on us, so we have no choice but to bring hell to them all. “Come on, we have to get moving.”
We get dressed and just when we’re about to leave, Mia stops me. “Just in case I didn’t make myself clear last night, I want to marry you.”
“Yeah,” I answer with a lopsided smile. “I got that.”
“But I also refuse to sit on the sideline. So if you’re expecting a wife that stays at home with a bottle of wine while trying to ignore what her husband does for a living, then you better find someone else.” She leans in, kisses me. “You understand? I want to be involved in all of it.”
I hold her body against mine, taking a moment to speak truthfully. “I know. You’ve made that very clear. It’s why I want you by my side. When you held that gun to me, I couldn’t have been prouder.” I lean down and whisper in her ear, “Or more scared.” She giggles and kisses me again. “So, babe, we have a job to do. And you’re gonna help us out.”
A deviant smile possesses her face. “What are we waiting for?” She walks ahead of me, out of the room, leaving me to watch her swaying ass.
* * *
We takethe short drive back to the house, and I’m glad to see the various vans parked up in the courtyard. Walking inside, the mess has already been cleaned up and the repair guys are fixing whatever was broken during the fight. Of course, they’ll get paid generously for their discretion. I’m sure people think we’re crazy, and we can’t fault them for that. I can see why you would question our train of thought for returning to the house after that outright battle, but let’s not forget that every single one of those men, and I mean everyone, who came for us yesterday, ended up being roasted at the back of the incinerator at our local crematorium. God bless Father Cusano, always generous with his facilities.
“So, what’s our move?” Huxley asks, his gold chain hanging over his floral print shirt. Got to give it to my kid brother, he kicked some serious ass yesterday, proved himself as he always does. While we may ultimately have a different approach to our methods, he always gets the job done. Vinnie too—he proved himself as a loyal friend. Mia told me what he did, how he saved her life. I’ll be forever grateful to him for that, because if he didn’t save her, then she wouldn’t have saved me. Right there is the perfect analogy for loyalty.
I’ve called for a family meeting around the long dining room table. All our guys are here, even my aunt and Fiona, who quite rightly are taken aback by the passing of Sophia. Their eyes on me, and more so on Mia, who is seated alongside them with Sophia’s cat purring in her lap.
“What happened here yesterday was unforgivable, our dealing with the matter is why I called you all here, but first things first. As you’re all aware, Mia came to this house unexpectedly, and I wasn’t sure how things would unfold between us. I thought that I could use her presence here as insurance in case this business with her father didn’t go to plan.”
I lean over the table, my palms down, arms straight. “And out of respect for those of you here, I will be honest by saying that the experience has brought us together.”
Fiona rolls her eyes but shoots Mia a small smile. Huxley bounces from one foot to the next, his impatience toward the whole thing obvious. He wants to bash some faces in, the formalities bore him.
“In respect of our family, to ensure there’s as little confusion as possible about where she stands, I will announce now that we are going to be married.”
My aunt lets out a small gasp, along with Fiona. The latter was an excited one, but the former, insulted. She frowns at me, disliking my timing of such an announcement. We’re all still in mourning over my father, and now Sophia as well. To announce something to be celebrated is against her beliefs.
“I understand the timing is unfortunate, with everything else going on, but I wanted to be clear. I traded her father’s debts for her hand in marriage. She will become a Moretti.” I look over at my family, knowing full well that initially they will question my actions, so I make it as clear as I possibly can for them. “She proved herself to be trustworthy yesterday by saving my life.”
“And then pointing the pistol at you?” Huxley asks accusingly.
“When she believed I had killed her father, yes. Which only stands to prove her loyalty to family.”
“I vouch for her.” Vinnie steps forward. “In a time of extreme stress and fear, she fought for her life, and she fought for those around her. For the first time in her life, she watched people die but kept a clear head. I believe that’s a strength to be respected.”
“Thank you, Vinnie. That being said, any question toward her loyalty to us, or the debts of her father, will come as a direct insult to me. Understand?”
In response, I get a communal nod of agreement.
“Good,” I say, clapping my hands together. “But before we talk of wedding days, we all know that we have more pressing matters to take care of. What happened here was a shock to all of us. And those we lost, will be sorely missed. May Sophia rest in peace. She was a true part of this family. As most of us know, my father saved her, as a young girl, from an abusive family, and brought her here to recover and to learn what a family should be like. She will always be remembered as kin.”
My auntie starts sobbing.
“Fiona, why don’t you take Zia to the kitchen?”
“I’m not going anywhere!” My auntie slams her hand to the table. “Antonio, you promise me that vengeance will be served for this. In your father’s memory, you have to make this right, you hear me?”
I nod to my auntie. I feel her pain, having both her brother and friend lost in such a short amount of time.
“It’s clear that our enemies out there think that they can take us out, but all I saw was a weak attack, that even through the advantage of surprise, they couldn’t achieve what they wanted to. A mistake we’re not going to make.”
“Motherfucking, Corsetti assholes!” Vinnie pounds a fist onto the table.