Page 17 of Married to the Mafia

He watched her swallow before grabbing up the sunglasses, sliding them over her face carefully, and shouldering her purse once more. “As I’ll ever be.” She didn’t even question his holding of her suitcase, and he worried what that really said for the injuries he couldn’t see. He didn’t ask, just lifted it from the floor by the side handle and led the way out of the office.

As they passed Berto’s desk, Mikey snapped, “I’ll be out for a while.”

“Sure thing.”

When they were in the elevator, Mikey set down the suitcase and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Do you want me to call someone for you while I’m away?”

Brandi shifted her weight. “What?”

“A driver,” he clarified.

“Oh. No, thank you. I don’t want to go anywhere looking like this if I don’t have to.”

Mikey paused, his thumb hovering over a key, and offered her a frown. “Call me if you change your mind later.” He finished his text to Dante and tucked the phone away. The elevator released them and Mikey led them out to his car, opening the passenger door for her before placing her suitcase in the trunk. He walked around to the driver’s side and ducked in without looking toward the street, but the temptation was there. He made a mental note to ask for more details about her assailant when she seemed more up to it.

Holy fuck. The thought kept playing on repeat in her mind as they drove, and only got louder when she laid eyes on Mikey’s honest-to-God mansion.

She hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night. Between the pain of her injuries, the outrage, and the fear, she couldn’t relax enough to truly drift off. Every time she had caught herself nodding away, she’d jerked upright again and sent a fresh wave of pain coursing through her body. If she’d grabbed a cumulative hour she would have been surprised. But she hadn’t just sat on her bed crying, either. She’d put it to use, making plans and pulling things together once she could get her body to move.

The only thing she had been able to think was that she needed to get away. She couldn’t let that asshole get his hands on her again, and she knew full well her father wouldn’t help her. She couldn’t call in sick to work—or she would have—and she didn’t trust that her emails were safe. So she’d opted to take an Uber he would expect to see to work, then a second if she couldn’t bum a ride altogether to get to the bus station. She had really been hoping for a ride, if only to save money. The cash she kept tucked away in her condo wouldn’t get her far.

She hadn’t expected Mikey De Salvo to propose marriage. She never would have expected such a thing.

Sure, it hadn’t been the Hollywood romantic proposal most girls dream about with rose petals, flickering candles, and instrumental music in the background. There was no bended knee, no heart-melting words, no sparkly diamond that could simply never reflect the shine of love in his eyes. None of that.

It was so painfully straightforward and business-like it was still very much surreal, even as Mikey coasted into a garage big enough for half her condo. But in truth, Brandi wasn’t sure she’d ever wanted that flowery, over-the-top sickly sweet kind of romantic gesture. The one thing she had craved most in her life, for as long as she could remember, was safety. Comfort was nice. Reliability was a bonus, to be sure. Safety was first.

Mikey could give her that.

That was why she’d agreed. Maybe, over time, she would come to yearn for the comfort that currently seemed so less important. Then she’d re-evaluate.

Brandi was barely on her feet as Mikey came around to her side of the car, her suitcase in hand again. She was moving so much slower thanks to the pain. The ibuprofen had probably worn off, in fact. That explained why her head felt worse. She doubted anything was broken, but she had so many bruises and more than a few tender spots. To say nothing for the veritable stab wound on her thigh that she’d patched together with butterfly stitches and a large band-aid.

“Come on,” Mikey said, guiding her into the building. “I’ll show you the spare office and we’ll get you access to the network. My chef’s not due in until four, but help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I’ll let the staff know you’re here so there won’t be an issue. Any door that’s unlocked is fair game, I can give you a better tour later.”

Her eyes darted back and forth across each space as he led her through the halls. Holy fuck.

“Brandi?”

She stopped and looked forward again, belatedly realizing her sunglasses were still on her face. She reached up and pulled them off, this time tucking them away. “Sorry. Did you say something?”

Amusement teased the edges of his lips and she hated that she liked the way it looked on him. “Just making sure you were paying attention. Here.” He pushed open a door to an under-furnished office space with a beautiful desk and a floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcase, as well as a full window wall obscured by semi-sheer drapery. “Do whatever you want with the space, this office will be yours.” He set her suitcase down beside a plush loveseat. “Furniture can be changed out, too.”

“This is more than enough for now,” she said, stepping up and trailing her fingers over the desk. She smiled easier than she had all day. “Can I work from here from now on?”

He chuckled. “No. But I’ll allow it while you’re recovering.”

She supposed that was something, at least.

“Where’s your phone?”

Brandi looked up, blinking at him. He was watching her patiently and she realized with a start that she hadn’t told him that detail. She blew out a breath and walked around to the sofa, letting herself sink into the cushion nearest her suitcase and dropping the purse to the floor. “Shattered and in the garbage back at the condo. My stalker stomped on it before beating me.”

Mikey moved to crouch in front of her. “When you’re up for it, I want as many details as you can give me about him. It doesn’t have to be today.”

Her throat constricted, but she wasn’t really surprised by the ask, so she nodded slowly. Then she pointed to the suitcase. “My laptop’s inside. If you don’t mind. Honestly, I hurt all over and that thing’s heavier than I should have made it.” She’d crammed as much as she could into it, thinking it was all she’d have left in the world by nightfall.

Mikey nodded, stood, and hauled the suitcase onto the desk. “Let’s set you up.”

---