Page 68 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

“No idea. I’ve never seen anyone fight like that. It’s as if he weren’t human.”

Alessio turned around. “He was known as Monster. I’d heard his name mentioned a few times by my contacts in the underground rings. He was Sean’s reigning champion. Apart from that, he’s a mystery. No idea where he came from or who he was.”

“But you knew I’d be up against him?”

“I knew it was a possibility. That’s why I tried to talk you out of it and to let me fight him instead, but of course you wouldn’t listen.”

“You’ve been out of action for years, and you’re old as fuck, Alessio. Your knees creak when you sit down, for fuck’s sake. Plus, you’re the Mafia King of Italy. How would that look on us all if you died in a cage fighting for my wife and sister’s honour? I was never letting anyone do it but me. And do you really think you’d have fared any better?”

“Honestly, probably not,” he chuckled. “But none of that matters now. It’s what happens next.”

I sat up a little straighter. “McKenna’s mine.”

“Raya stabbed him twice. He might not have made it.”

“If he lived, he’s mine.”

“Agreed,” Gio nodded, his expression darkening. “McKenna needs to die, regardless of who does it.”

“We will get revenge for Raya,” Alessio added, running his hand over his short brown hair. “But we have a more pressing issue to deal with.”

The Bratva. Our alliance wasn’t secured until Soraya married their heir. We’d spent weeks searching for Raya after we found Nero’s headless body outside our estate. The only lead we had was the file we found on the floor next to him, which had turned our blood to ice. Of course, we thought the worst. We knew her disappearance had something to do with the Irish, but Sean was impossible to track down. When we finally made contact with him, he point-blank refused to discuss any negotiations other than handing Arianna and me over. I was happy to go in exchange for Raya, but fuck no, I would never give my wife to that piece of shit.

As the weeks passed, we grew desperate, and we knew we had no choice but to reach out to the Bratva, who already had a relationship with him, and explain the situation. We offered a marriage alliance, something we’d never done before. That appealed to them, knowing this was rare for us. They’d held up their end of the deal by arranging the fight with Sean, but now it was our turn to meet their demands.

“They’ve already called,” Alessio sighed. “They want the marriage finalised by the end of the week.”

“Are they joking?” I shouted. “After what they just saw? They think she’d be ready to marry in a week after God knows what she’s been through?” Anger spiked hot through my blood at their lack of empathy. My sister hasn’t been on a vacation for the past six weeks.

“The Russians never joke. I’m not entirely convinced they know how,” Alessio said.

“Tell them to wait,” I snapped.

“I did.”

“And?”

“They told me they were already being patient.”

“She’s been home for four hours!”

“For the Russians, a week is what passes for compassion,” Gio groaned, rubbing his stubble.

“I’ve managed to convince them to give us until the end of the month, which is just over three weeks. But they had a condition.”

“Of course they did.”

“They’ll send the heir and some of his men to Italy next week. To get contracts in place and deals made. I thought that would be a good idea for Raya to meet him before the wedding, anyway.”

“I don’t like it,” I growled, throwing back my whiskey. “I didn’t like it from the start, but no one listened. She won’t even speak to me, Alessio. She needs more than three weeks. She’s clearly been through hell and needs help. Therapy or something. The last thing she needs is to be forced into a marriage with a stranger and then shipped off to fucking Russia!”

“None of us want this,” Alessio said, refilling my glass. “But she proposed it. This was her idea. And the last thing we want is a war with Russia. Our business is fragile enough after the mess in Rome. If we go to war with the Bratva, watch how many more contracts and allies we lose. We’d be a sinking ship, and they know it.”

“If Soraya’s changed her mind and doesn’t want to go through with this anymore… then we’ll deal with it then,” Gio said, even though we knew it was impossible. This had to happen. “But let’s just focus on making sure she’s okay.”

“And Sean?”

“If he survived, he’ll be in hiding. I’ll send Fabi to Ireland with soldiers to scout and search. If they come across any of McKenna’s men, they’ll torture them for information on his whereabouts. We will find him, eventually.”