Married to the mafia King

Adriano

While Bianca and her mother were packing, Massimo took the opportunity to rip me a new asshole.

“What the fuck were you thinking?!”

“I told you, we’re not talking about this anymore.”

“Yes we ARE,” Massimo snarled. “You’re the capo of Florence you’re supposed to look out for the family, not for some whore!”

I don’t know why, but that enraged me. “She’s not a WHORE.”

Massimo looked bewildered. “What’s gotten into you?! You’ve made every bad decision in the book tonight ”

“Like what?” I shot back.

“You didn’t go back to the house like Niccolo ordered ”

“We would’ve looked weak.”

“To WHO?! They’re all dead!”

“Which we wouldn’t know if we hadn’t gone to the safe house which YOU didn’t want to do.

“And we wouldn’t know the Agrellas are dead if we hadn’t gone to Fiesole, which YOU didn’t want to do, either.

“Thanks to ME, now we know there’s somebody else out there who wants us dead.

“So YEAH, I took some big risks but every single one of them paid off.”

“You got lucky,” Massimo said sourly.

“Three times in a row? That’s not luck; that’s skill.”

“And that’s delusional,” Lars said.

It was the first time he’d spoken since I’d shot Sergio.

“Oh, you too?” I snapped at him.

“The smart play would have been to take Sergio alive. You just blew the best piece of intel we had.”

“He could’ve killed the mother!”

“Which would have been horrible, but she’s not family, Adriano.”

I scoffed. “You always talk about how you don’t kill women or children but you’re fine just standing by and letting somebody else kill them, huh?”

Lars narrowed his eyes. “Fuck you.”

“No, fuck you, man. You’re a hired gun and this is family business, so stay the fuck out of it.”

Lars had a damn good poker face, but after nearly a year of living and fighting next to him, I knew him well and I could tell by the look in his eyes that I’d hurt him.

I immediately regretted it.

He said nothing, though, and I knew he wouldn’t.

I was just about to take it back when Massimo shoved my shoulder.

“You little shit!” he snarled. “Lars has saved our lives a dozen times! He’s as much a brother to me as you are, and he’s ten times smarter! How fucking dare you ”

I slammed Massimo’s arm away. “Get your fuckin’ hands off me!”

“Then get your fuckin’ act together!”

I stood there and looked at him coldly. “Go back home, Mass. That’s a direct order. Take the men and Bianca’s mother and go back home.”

Massimo scoffed. “And you’re gonna stay here and find the father.”

“Yeah. I am.”

He shook his head. “You don’t deserve to be capo.”

“Well, I am. And until Dario changes that, you’re still under my command, and you still follow my orders.”

“What, like you followed Niccolo’s orders?” Massimo snapped.

“I went over Niccolo’s head to the don, and the don agreed with me,” I said in an ice-cold voice. “You’re welcome to do the same.”

“I will,” Massimo snarled. He pulled out his phone and walked off into the kitchen.

I nervously watched him go. I’d mouthed off again and there was every chance in the world that Dario would cut me off at the knees and side with the others.

I might’ve just made a huge mistake.

I knew I’d made another one just a minute before.

I looked over at Lars. “…I shouldn’t have what I said about you.”

That was as close to I’m sorry as I’d ever said in my life.

Lars looked at me for a long moment.

Then he said quietly, “You can say whatever you want.”

His refusal to accept my apology just made me madder. “It was the heat of the moment. I said some shit I didn’t mean, that’s all.”

“If you’re going to be capo, there’s going to be lots of ‘heat of the moment’ situations. Don’t use that as an excuse.”

THAT pissed me off.

“You know what? Fuck you,” I snarled. “Go back to Tuscany with the rest of them and fuck off.”

“We’ll see what Dario has to say,” Lars replied as he looked over at the kitchen.

I turned to see Massimo walking back towards us.

He looked sullen as hell as he shoved his phone back in his pocket.

My heart lifted, but I didn’t let on. Instead I asked belligerently, “Well?”

Massimo wouldn’t look at me. He focused on Lars instead. “The don said Adriano’s the family’s representative in Florence… and what he says goes.”

Relief flooded my entire body.

At least one of my brothers had my back.

Lars nodded. “Well then, I guess we’re headed back home.” He turned to me. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“No I haven’t,” I snarled.

“Alright,” Lars said. “That settles it, then.”

“Yeah, it does. Massimo, call Vincenzo and tell him to leave the bar. Lars, you call the warehouse and have everybody ready to pull out in 30 minutes. I’ll get the women and we’ll go.”

Bianca

I knew something big had changed between Adriano and the others. An icy silence filled the car on the trip back to the warehouse.

I looked at him questioningly, but he gave me a subtle shake of his head. Not now.

I nodded and just held my mother.

When we got to the warehouse, all the men were bustling around and packing the cars including the ones riddled with bullet holes.

Adriano stepped out of the Mercedes and clapped his hands once to get everybody’s attention.

All the men stopped what they were doing and turned to watch him.

“I’m sending you guys back to the family compound. I want you to know it wasn’t anything you did. It’s a strategic choice, and that’s all. There’s somebody out there gunning for our family, and we don’t know who it is.

“What we do know is they wiped out the Agrellas’ entire organization in one night. Some of you saw the safe house, and I’m sure the rest of you heard about it. We also think they killed Don Agrella and his entire family.”

The men muttered and looked at each other in shock.

“That’s why you’re going home so we can plan the next move. I just want you to know that I couldn’t be prouder of you guys. I pushed you hard tonight. I made you take some big risks, and you came through for me. All of you. Thank you. I’ll remember what you did tonight, I promise. Now get outta here and get home safe.”

The men started piling into the cars. Dario went and talked one-on-one with Cosimo and Elio, the two men who had been shot.

I could see his respect for them in how he carried himself the way he shook hands with both of them.

Then he came back to me, my mother, Lars, and Massimo.

“Take Bianca’s mom back with you and keep her safe, alright?” he asked Massimo and Lars. “I know I pissed off both of you tonight, but I’m asking you as a personal favor make sure she’s safe, okay?”

“You know we will,” Lars said.

“Of course,” Massimo said sourly, like he was annoyed Adriano had suggested it might be otherwise.

“Alright.” Adriano turned to my mom. “My family’s gonna take care of you, and I’m gonna take care of your daughter, okay? If your husband calls you on your cell phone, you tell my brothers immediately. And you tell your husband we’ll guarantee his safety, okay? If he won’t listen, tell him to call Bianca, and she and I will go get him. Alright?”

My mother still looked terrified but now she also looked confused. She was used to dealing with Sergio and the Agrellas, who were complete assholes. To be treated with respect by a mafioso was a new and bewildering experience for her.

To be honest, I was having trouble wrapping my head around it myself.

She looked at me.

“It’s okay, Mama,” I said. “You can trust him.”

“Bianca… please, come with us,” she pleaded.

“I can’t I’ve got to find Papa. You know that.”

She started crying and hugged me. “He doesn’t deserve you…”

I laughed. “He doesn’t deserve you, either. Now go with them and I’ll see you soon. I promise.”

She cried a little bit more, gave me one last hug, and allowed Lars to lead her away.

As Massimo was walking off, I put my hand on his arm to stop him.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

He looked down at me dourly.

“I know the situation isn’t what you wanted… but thank you,” I told him.

Immediately his face softened a little, and he nodded.

“You’re welcome.” Then he looked off to the side at someone. “But you should really be thanking him.”

I glanced over to see who he meant, although I already knew.

It was Adriano, who was off talking to one of his men.

Massimo smiled slightly. “Don’t worry… I’ll keep your mother safe.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded again, then got in the back seat with my mother and shut the door.

Adriano banged his hand on the roof of the lead car as a sign Okay, go!

Then the fleet of Mercedes all pulled out into the alleyway and disappeared into the night.

I waved to my mother, but the windows were all tinted black. I couldn’t see her wave back.

As the car drove away, I felt a curious mixture of sadness… and relief.

At least she was safe.

Now I just had to find my father.

I looked over at Adriano, who was lowering the garage doors by tugging on their chains.

When all but one were closed, he looked at me. “Alright, let’s go.”

There was a single car left in the garage. He grabbed my small suitcase and put it in the trunk.

I was about to open the passenger door when he beat me to it and held it open for me.

“What a gentleman,” I teased him.

“Just get in,” he said gruffly.

I did. He shut the door, then got in the driver’s seat and pulled out into the alley.

He hopped out, left the car running, and shut the last garage door. Then he came out of a side entrance and got in the car.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“A safe place I know.”

“To start looking for my father?”

“No. To get some rest. We’ll start looking for him in the morning.”