4
Michael
"Hello, Beauty." I bare my teeth, and her fingers tremble. Her gaze widens and color drains from her face.
"No," she shakes her head, "No, no, no."
"Yes." I allow my smile to widen, "Oh, yes, my darling wife."
"It can’t be." Her voice wavers and her chin trembles. She looks like she has seen a ghost, which of course, is what I am to her now. It should be almost comical. I should enjoy just how terrified of me she seems to be, except…The throbbing pain at my temple where she had smashed the oar into me insists that she is real, and standing in front of me, arm outstretched. Tears glisten on her cheeks.
She opens and closes her mouth, grows even more pale.
She pulls back her arm and I swoop my hand out and grab her wrist. She sways; her eyes roll back in her head. Her legs seem to give way and she slumps toward the floor."Che cazzo!"I growl as I sit up, then leap over the side of the coffin. I catch her before she hits the floor, then pull her into my arms as I sink to the floor. She’s so fucking tiny, and weighs next to nothing. Has she lost even more weight in the last day? The veil flutters back from her face, the paleness of her skin a stark contrast to the black of the fabric. Dark shadows circle her eyes, her cheekbones seem too prominent in her face. She seems too still, too lifeless. I hold a finger under her nostrils. The warm rush of air flutters across my skin and the tension drains out of me.
Seb approaches us. He squats down next to us, peers up and into my face, "You okay,brother?"
His voice is gentle, and fuck, if that doesn’t annoy me. "My wife tried to kill me. Do you think I am okay?"
He hesitates and I blow out a breath. "Get them out of here," I jerk my chin toward the gathered crowd, "and the lot of you can leave too."
"But," he frowns, "Mika, you’re still in pain."
My heart hurts. And I don’t understand why. She hit me on my head, which has no connection with my chest. So why is it that there is a heavy sensation crowding against my ribcage?
"Go," I snap. "Keep watch for Luca. He’s bound to turn up again for her."
My grip on her tightens. My own brother had deceived me. He’d helped my wife escape from me. He’d prompted my wife to hit me with the oar, then he'd sped away as I had sunk under the waves. He’d left me for dead. They both had. So why the hell had she returned? To gloat over what she’d done? It doesn’t make any sense… And yet, I had counted on it.
A part of me had been confident that she would come. It’s why I’d had Seb formally announce my death to my clan. Luca has a mole on my team… Someone leaked the news out to him. I’d had my suspicions…and I had been right. He’d taken the bait and believed the news. He must have told her and she’d asked him to bring her.
I’d vacillated over whether she would show up, but ultimately, I’d been sure she would, just to make sure I was dead. To ensure that she was rid of me… I’d been right. Which also means that she spent the night with my brother. Fucking, fuck. A growl rips out of me, and Seb frowns, "We need to get both of you out of here, before the Don gets wind of how you staged your own death."
"Not now," I snap.
His frown deepens, "Mika, you’re not thinking straight. Let’s take her and get you both home. Get you looked at by a doctor and—"
"Not-fucking-now." I glare up at him, "Leave."
"But—" He raises a hand and I cut him off.
"That’s an order." I glance around to where my brothers watch me with varying expressions of concern on their faces, "All of you, out. Now."
Seb nods, then rises to his feet. He glances at the other men, who exchange glances with him, before they begin gathering up the guests and ushering everyone out the door. Finally, the door closes, leaving me alone with my errant wife. My beautiful wife who’d dared defy me. Who’d spread her legs for me then walked away from me. Who’d taken my brother’s help to escape from me. Who’d left me for dead then come back to gloat in my face.
The silence deepens, intensifies… A beat, another, then her eyelids flutter. I take in her features as she opens her eyes. She gazes up at me, and for a second, there’s a genuine smile on her face. As if she’d fallen asleep next to me then woken up from a dream. Then a line appears between her eyebrows as her forehead furrows. A look of pain… of helplessness… hopelessness?—taints her gaze.
"Mika…" she whispers, "oh, Mika, is it really you?"
Her green eyes hold mine. She reaches up to touch my cheek and I pull away. She swallows and her frown deepens. "You’re alive," she murmurs.
"Are you surprised?" I tilt my head, "Wishing I was dead, Beauty?"
"No." She shakes her head. "No, no, no. If you were dead, I don’t know how I would have survived."
"You seemed to have done quite a good job of it, considering you left with my brother."
"Luca?" She frowns.