Page 26 of Married to the Mafia

Mikey nodded.

Dante said, “George has stalked and assaulted my future sister-in-law. I need everything, immediately.”

Rocco muttered something in Italian that didn’t quite carry. “I’ll get back to you before the night is through.” The line clicked and Dante tapped his fingers on his phone.

Mikey blew out a breath. “Doesn’t really sound promising.”

“No. But it’s a start.” Dante tucked his phone away. “Let’s assume we’re briefing Alessa tomorrow. Brandi should be part of that. Is she still uncomfortable leaving the house?”

“For another day at least.”

Dante hummed. “I suppose that gives Cris and Felicity time to get home.” He stood and motioned for Mikey to do the same. “Mother says she wants to meet her, and if Brandi’s not comfortable coming to dinner tomorrow she would like to stop by on Saturday.”

Mikey stuck his hands in his pockets. “Am I gonna have to beg to keep her from smacking me in front of my fiancée?”

“I’m not getting in the middle of that. That’s on you.” Dante settled a hand on Mikey’s back. “Your announcement was a surprise, little brother, but what you’re doing is honorable. Just be gentle with Mother while she comes around.” He paused, his hand fell away, and he added, “I would like to see you find a happiness of your own. It might surprise you how much that will improve your life.”

Mikey leaned away from his brother. “I thought the female was the one who went through the hormonal changes during pregnancy?”

A familiar glare settled on Dante’s face.

“Thank fuck. You are still in there.”

“Go home, Michele.” Dante turned to walk down the hall where it veered toward another sitting room. “And if I hear you got married without allowing your blood to serve as your witnesses, I’ll deck you.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “With the weekend coming up, we went ahead and booked an appointment for Tuesday. She should be mostly recovered by then.” He watched his brother pause and glance over his shoulder. “I can email the details to everyone, but we’re not having a big ceremony.”

“Do that.”

Mikey let himself out without drawing out the conversation any further. From the driveway he sent the promised information and then he aimed himself in the direction of his not-so-empty home. It made sense his mother wanted to meet her. If he’d had more time to simply think, he’d have been more prepared for that. It made at least as much sense that his siblings wanted to weasel their way in to somehow celebrating what they surely perceived as his big day. He'd need to brace Brandi for that.

Would she want her father invited?

He snorted at the thought. If she were comfortable with her father, she would have called him for help when she’d been stranded. She would have gone to him after she’d been attacked. No, if her father showed up, it was because he had connections in the courthouse system that tipped him off to her name in a marriage appointment. And that was unlikely.

Mikey drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. There was one other reason they’d pushed the appointment past the weekend. Even courthouse weddings needed some forethought. He would have to remember to do a little shopping in the next day or two.

She had more texts waiting from Mikey when she rolled out of bed in the morning. The first was essentially a greeting, and she caught herself smiling at the notion of him thinking to send it. Then her eyes drifted to the second message. She hadn’t slept as late, a direct result of not being as sleep-deprived and feeling better rested, so she’d only missed it by about half an hour.

Mikey: Do not check your email this morning. I’ll be home for lunch.

The warm feeling drained from her chest and anxiety twisted her stomach as she read his words. Then re-read them. She tapped the button to reply, but stopped herself. She didn’t need to ask why. Obviously, her stalker had emailed her again and whatever it was, Mikey was trying to shield her from it. Whether that was because it was terrible or because he’d seen nothing but Brandi-the-victim for most of the week, she didn’t know.

Indignation ignited inside her, overwriting the anxiety, and Brandi rushed through her morning routine to hurry downstairs. Fuck that. She was not cowing for some nutjob. And yes, literally, she could admit she needed protection—like it or not—but she was not so sensitive that she needed to be sheltered.

“What’ll it be for breakfast this morning, hun?” Daria asked, already stirring a cup of delicious-smelling coffee.

Brandi managed a smile for the fifty-something woman. “Could you make me another omelet? I’ve never had one so good.”

Daria handed over the coffee with a laugh. “Happy to.”

“Thanks so much. I’m just going to mess around on my laptop in the den until you’re done.” She sipped the coffee and groaned. “You’re a goddess, Daria,” she added as she turned to scurry to where she’d left her laptop. She wouldn’t have long, and she knew it was risky to open the email without the protection of Mikey’s encrypted setup, but if her system blew, she could just use that as an excuse to put something nicer in her office. She’d been nursing some serious envy since she’d laid eyes on Mikey’s setup the day before, anyway.

Brandi knocked back half her cup of coffee before pulling the laptop close and navigating straight to her email. And there was what she was afraid of—another message from RG, bearing another attachment icon. This time the subject line was a little more daunting.

That wasn’t so sweet.

She hesitated a beat, then made herself click on it. Mikey had said they were going to stake out her condo again. But if RG was emailing her, she had to assume he’d somehow dodged whoever the De Salvos had put in place.

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