Page 66 of Married to the Mafia

Too many emotions clogged her throat for Brandi to do more than frown.

Mikey stroked his thumb over her cheek, below what remained of one of the small cuts she’d gotten when her window had finally shattered. “You’re my wife, Brandi. The woman I love most in this world. Of course I’ll protect you, and if that has to mean risking myself, that’s what it means.”

In her mind, she watched him shove from the car with a gun in his hand. She watched him stand so as to obscure any line-of-sight between her and George. She saw him bleeding, she heard the gunfire, she tasted her own blood in her mouth.

The tears poured from her eyes without warning. “Don’t you dare die, Michele,” she said, repeating the words she’d said to him that day. Her nails bit into his skin, but she couldn’t let go. “I never even thought I knew what love was—I didn’t think it was something I could do—until you. So please, don’t be so reckless.”

His always bright blue eyes softened, warming in an unfamiliar way, and Mikey slid his hand to support the back of her head. “Only as a last resort, kitten. I promise.”

She tried to hum her consent, knowing she would never talk him completely out of such behavior, but the sound escaped as more of a whimper.

Mikey leaned in and brushed his lips over hers briefly. “You know, I think I like the way you say my name.” He angled his head to trail his kisses toward her ear. “I think I need to hear you scream it.”

A shaky breath escaped her. “Are you—”

“Famished,” he grunted against her skin. But instead of hauling her into his lap or all the way up the stairs, he lifted his head to meet her eyes. “And I’m completely fucking serious, Brandi. It doesn’t matter how we started. You’re the one.”

She exhaled weakly and finally unclenched her hands enough to raise them to his chest and twist them in the fabric of his shirt. Her voice was a whisper when she found it to offer him her reassurance. A quiet certainty she had finally recognized deep in her soul. “For me, too.” She pulled him in, kissing him again. “For me, too.”

Epilogue

‘Til Death

As always, The Dragon’s Roast was bustling with the late-dinner elite. Brandi was absolutely sure she’d spotted one of her favorite actresses on the way in, sitting at a table with two men. She’d have to tell the girls about that when she saw them next. They had an unofficial who’s-who bingo game going and someone always seemed to cross another name off their list after a night at the restaurant. It was completely stupid, but that same inanity was what made it fun.

Tonight, however, she wasn’t here to gather names. Nor was this one of the nights when the wives occupied a corner booth and pretended their highly attentive wait staff weren’t doubling as bodyguards while their husbands discussed deeper topics in backrooms. This wasn’t a work night at all. It was her anniversary.

I can’t believe it’s been a year already.

Brandi let her gaze linger on the still shining diamond she’d come to love that adorned her left ring finger. That really had been such a dramatic day, it turned out.

Benny, their server, disappeared when Mikey finished his order and Brandi lifted her gaze across the small table. The lighting in the restaurant was purposefully low and moody, which had surprised her at first. She was fond of it now. She particularly loved the way the surrounded darkness made it look like Mikey’s eyes were glowing as he smiled back at her.

“Happy anniversary, kitten,” Mikey said, the low tone of his voice just barely carrying over the din of their fellow diners.

Brandi’s smile broadened. “Happy anniversary, Michele.”

He grinned faintly. “Behave yourself, or we’ll both get in trouble.”

She matched his grin. “I have no idea what you mean.”

Without breaking their stare, Mikey reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a manila envelope. He set it on the table beside the bottle of wine and said, “Though I would rather not mention it at all, I won’t break my promise to you. Your year is up. If you want out, for any reason whatsoever, that option is available.” His jaw tightened the way it did when he was less than thrilled with something. “This is the contract we signed, plus a simple non-disclosure I would ask you to sign if you make that choice.”

Her heart faltered in her chest for a single moment. For just that moment, she thought he was asking her to. Then she pushed aside the old, reflexive doubt to hear what he’d actually said, and she let out an easier breath.

She had come to know Mikey quite well in the past year, and one thing she knew about him was that he took his obligations seriously. If he made a promise, he made every effort to see it through. He also didn’t tend to make haphazard promises. Knowing him so well reassured her that he wasn’t sending her off—in fact, the tension in his jaw and dip in his brow were indicators that he wasn’t happy even with discussing it.

That was all she needed.

Brandi glanced around briefly and her gaze landed on one of the restaurant’s flashier features. A wall-mounted dragon’s mouth-styled fireplace with real flame flickering inside. The flame never licked up past the dragon’s jaw and was placed too high for small children to reach without deliberate aid from an adult, and it was located in a visible but technically non-seated area of the building. A decoration to enhance the atmosphere, nothing more or less. But it was perfect.

Brandi snatched up the envelope and stood from the table, but met Mikey’s wide-eyed stare. “Watch closely, husband,” she said. Then she turned and navigated her way through the few tables between theirs and the back wall, following the line of the wall to get to the dragon’s head. She swore she could feel his eyes on her like he was the only one in the room. She ignored everyone else, even the ignorant server who called out to her when she neared her destination.

With a twist of her wrist, Brandi tore the small metal clasp off the envelope, then raised the envelope over the dragon’s open jaw and dropped it inside.

Someone gasped behind her.

“You can’t do that!” the same ignorant server exclaimed.

---