Page 4 of Mafia Boss's Fake Wife

Who Elio killed.

Figuring out how to provide evidence to incriminate the Irish, who we now think may have been behind the attack that killed Elio's parents and mine, has been..

Challenging.

Escaping protective custody even more so.

Especially when my jailer had beautiful strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes...

Shut the fuck up, Marco.

I slam the door on thoughts of her before I let them destroy my mood even more.

Elio is still patiently staring at me. I shrug. "So do the kids need to come in off of your giant carved ice palace or what?"

"They have coats," he says with that same curious expression. "They will be fine."

"You're right. They will be. We always make sure they're fine," I snap.

I'm not sure that I meant it to be so harsh.

Elio's eyes narrow. "You have always ensured the safety of the family, Marco. Even if I did not see it. I'm....thankful," he says.

If I wasn't so angry, I'd smile.

Elio struggles just as much as I do when it comes to expressing gratitude.

Instead, I give him a sharp nod. "You're welcome."

"It seems that..." he huffs. "Fine. I'll just state it. Since we are no longer opposed, I would like to discuss with you the possibility of you... reinstating some of your business obligations."

The thought sends a fissure of ice down my spine. "What does that mean?"

Elio nods. "For the most part, De Luca shipping has been absorbed into the Rossi fold. Dino has a handle on the docks, but Gia and Sal have been handling your... end of the business."

He means the unpacking of illegal goods and the distribution. "I know," I mutter.

Being held in witness protection by Interpol, I haven't exactly been around to handle the things I used to.

"It would be nice to bring you back. To the family business," Elio says.

The heavy emphasis on the word 'family' sits in my mind.

Family business.

My whole life, I have been acutely aware of the family business. It has been everything I wanted, everything I aspired to. Everything that I worked, day in and out, to protect. I was the head of the De Luca family very young, when our parents were tragically killed in an explosion following Elio and Caterina’s first engagement party.

Elio and Gia’s parents were killed as well. For a long time, we both thought that the other was behind the murders.

It drove a rift between us.

Prior to that night, Elio had been my best friend. We’re the same age, and went to the same schools. In high school, Elio was a gangly Italian with an accent thicker than mud and a temper that kept people from mocking it.

I enjoyed being his silver-tongued advocate in the world.

The murders of our parents broke us.

The time he spent trying to get back at me through marrying Caterina…

---