Page 44 of A Bride for the Mafia King

The building is slowly quieting around me. The sounds of crying girls and shouts of orders have faded into coordinated efforts. The men work quickly to clean house and escort survivors into waiting vans. The rest of the crew is tying up loose ends, burning evidence, and wiping the slate clean.

My fingers start to ache and I realize I still have a death grip on the gun in my hand. Exhaling slowly I holster it and crack my knuckles. Nico moves to stand beside me, staring down at the lifeless body at my feet, the edge finally bleeding from his posture.

He looks over at me, eyes narrowed, sharp in the low light.

“You really shot him in the fucking knee,” he mutters with a quiet laugh.

“He was trying to run,” I answer flatly.

“You were toying with him.”

I don’t argue. All that rage, all that fury inside me, unleashed in those final moments before taking the kill shot. He deserved every ounce of it.

Nico lets out a breath and claps a hand to my shoulder. “Still. Well played.”

Then he says it, quietly: “I heard what you told him. Right before you pulled the trigger.”

I don’t respond. Stiffening slightly.

“You called her your wife,” Nico goes on. “Not just in title. You meant it.” His voice is different now, no teasing, no bravado.

Nico studies me for a moment, thoughtful. “How’d you find out what he’d done to her?”

I glance at him, my jaw tightening with the memory. “Yaro. He brought it to my attention just this morning. Photos, notes, a pattern going back years. Turns out the Don had been sniffing around her for years. Pressuring her. Threatening her when she didn’t play along.”

Nico doesn’t flinch.

“You knew,” I accuse, watching him closely. “Didn’t you?”

A long pause. Then slowly he nods in acknowledgement. He’s quiet for a long moment. His eyes flick back toward the smoldering building.

“I found out the day I signed the treaty with you. I’d always suspected something,” he says. “But she never told me. She wouldn’t, would she? Too proud. Too afraid I’d do something reckless.”

A beat of silence stretches between us.

“You did something smarter,” I tell him. “You married her off to someone worse.”

That earns a dry laugh from him. “Worse, huh?”

“Meaner, perhaps.”

He grins. “Your protection was the only thing I had left to give her, Tolya. I couldn’t protect her in my house, not from him. Not forever. So I gave her to someone who could. I’m glad it was you. She’s got someone now. Not just a husband. A fucking monster willing to kill for her.”

I nod once.

“She’s mine now,” I say quietly, my voice raw, gravel-thick. “Whatever happens, she’s mine.”

Nico looks at me then, really looks. There’s something in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Respect, maybe. Relief. But also something sharper, more calculating.

“She changes people doesn’t she?”

I glance at him. “She didn’t change me.”

He smirks. “You’re right. She reminded you that there’s more to live for than vengeance."

We both fall silent. I hear someone shout something about the last van pulling out. Cleanup’s nearly done. The girls are safe. I run a hand through my hair, every inch of me tight with the urge to move, to do something.

“I should’ve killed him slower,” I mutter, mostly to myself. “Sooner.”