Page 17 of The Holy Ghost
“So, that gives himthe okay to mistreat me?!”
“He’s not mistreating you,Frankie,” Ciro said, softening. “He’s doing what he should havedone six years ago.”
That set hera-fucking-blaze. “Fuck you,Ciro!” she lashed out, and I thanked God the hospital floor wasbought out for privacy. “Fuck you, too, Luca!” Her eyes were likedaggers dripped in poison, vengeful and lethal. “Fuck you, most ofall, Phoenix!”
“That’senough!” I roared. “We’regoing to do this, Frankie, but we’re not going to do it here!” Istarted to step with every intention of dragging here behind mewhen her fist came flying high. I released her just in time tocatch it before hitting me straight in my jaw. I held her trappedand no amount of wiggling around was going to free her. “You wantto fight? Because I do,” I growled.
I saw thesecond she knew she wasn’tgoing to win this round. Her fury was so palpable, I was certainthe entire floor could feel it radiating from her soul. I also knewthat, while she might concede in losing the round, she was gearingup to win the war.
Frankiewasn’t a quitter.
“I’llwalk,” she rushed out, furious as allget out.
I stared downat the beautiful spitfire in my arms, and wondered for the first time if I should havechecked for weapons. She had her purse hanging over her shoulderand I was certain she was probably cataloging what was in therethat she could use as a weapon to use on me. Yeah, Ciro, Luca, andI taught her well, indeed.
I dropped herhands, but when she went to step around me, I grabbed her left handand laced her fingers through mine. Herhead shot up. “Wh…what are you doing?”
Ciro hadalready walked around us to join Luca when Frankie announced thatshe’dwalk, so it was just herand me in the room. Ciro and Luca had made their exits, making surethey left separately. We’d remained at the hospital together fortoo long as it was.
I looked downat her as I grabbed herchinand held it between my fingers. “Listen to me, and listencarefully, Francesca,” I said. “We are going to walk out of thisroom, and we are going to walk out of it as a couple.” Sheautomatically opened her mouth to argue, but I squeezed her chinhard enough to cut off her objection. “You are going to walk out ofthis room with me as Francesca fucking Mancini, you gotme?”
She hadquestions, but common sense finally settled in. Frankie knew something was going on even if shedidn’t know exactly what. “Okay,” she quietly agreed. “But once weget to your place, you better explain to me what’s going on,Phoenix.”
I had everyintention of letting her know what was going on. Ijust wasn’t sure if she wasgoing to want to hear it. Hell, I knew she wasn’t going to want tohear it, but it made no difference. And in the privacy of my place,she could rant and rave all she wanted. “I promise,” Ireplied.
She snorted.“That’s reassuring,” shehuffed. “Because your promises mean so much, right,Phoenix?”
Iignored the barb because Ideserved it. At the heart of all this mess, I had lied to her. Ihad kept secrets from her. I had made decisions that impacted ourlives without her input. It didn’t matter that we had all betrayedher. I was the one she was supposed to spend the rest of her lifewith. I had obligations to her that Ciro and Luca hadn’t,therefore, my betrayal stung ten times worse than Ciro’s or Luca’sand I understood that. It was the reason I was giving her so muchleeway. It was the reason I let her leave. It was the reason I lether be gone for so long.
But none of thatmattered anymore.
A new era wascoming upon us and a new kingdom was coming about. A kingdom thatwould be led by Luca Benettiwith the backing of Ciro, me, and Frankie, even though she didn’tknow it yet. That’s why she needed to walk out of here with herback straight and her head held high. She needed to walk out ofhere like the Mafia Princess that she was.
And even if I did have todrag her out by her hair, everyone just would have seen me exertingmy power and dominance over my woman. No one would have blinked aneye or thought less of Frankie. Everyone would have just seen metaking my woman in hand just like a million Made Men before me. Itwas the way of our world. Men ruled and women supported thatrole.
Butwhata lot of outsiders didn’tknow was that Frankie wasn’t just another Mob sister, friend,lover, or wife. She wasn’t just another woman in a life riddledwith violence and illegal activity. She wasn’t just a submissivewife, closing her eyes to her husband’s shady ways andinterchangeable mistresses.
Frankie was calledChurch for a reason.
In a worldwere three men were reputed to have no souls and showed no mercy, Frankie held each one of usin the palm of hand. There wasn’t anything Ciro, Luca, and Iwouldn’t do for her, including letting her throw a fit for sixyears.
She was theonly thing that mattered to us above and beyond who and what wewere. We would kill for her,and we would die for her.
We would start a warfor that girl.
And that is why sheneeded to walk out of here with her head held high. Shit was aboutto change, and she was the catalyst that was going to set it alloff.
Shejust didn’t know ityet.
Chapter 10
Francesca~
Thedrive to Phoenix’s house was weighedin furious silence.
I hadcavedat his command to walkout of the hospital, hand in hand, because he promised me answerslater, but that still didn’t mean I was happy about it. And, if Iwas being honest with myself, I didn’t completely trust myself tobe alone with him at his place. It’s been six years since I’ve hadsex, and I was feeling every bit of those lonely years the moretime I spent in Phoenix’s proximity.
Itdidn’thelp that he knew mybody better than I did either.
