Page 78 of Christmas with the Mafia
“Whatever Desiree told you was done so out of revenge. To drive a wedge between us and well, remove any obstacles in her way.”
“So, she was lying to me.”
Regina sounds so tired, disappointed and devastated, and it tugs hold of my heart in a way that surprises me.
I turn and, gripping her face, force her to stare at me, and the confusion I register in her stunning eyes is like a switchblade to my heart.
“What did she say?”
Her breath hitches as she attempts to look away, and I increase the pressure.
“Tell me.” My voice is laden with resolve and probably too firm for dealing with this, but for a man used to torturing information from his victims, I’m quite proud of my restraint.
Regina pushes against my chest, and my hands drop as I witness the anger flashing in her eyes, and she hisses, “You could have told me, Nico. I mean, I know it’s pretty obvious when you think about it, but were you ever going to tell me that my life is in danger?”
“Your life is not in danger.”
My tone is fierce, and she visibly blanches, but the grim determined set to her jaw delights me rather than saddens me.
“I called your father out on his manners yesterday at the dinner table. What sane person does that to a freaking mafia don in his own home?”
I attempt to diffuse the twitch on my lips as she rants, “What if he rewarded me with a bullet through the head? It would have completely ruined Christmas. Then there was that clay pigeon debacle. Was that part of a plan to get me out of the picture after a devastating accident?”
She stands and begins pacing around the room, her tone increasingly angry.
“Then there’s that bitch Desiree. I’m afraid she’ll offer to carve the Christmas turkey and stab me in the heart instead, so for God’s sake, don’t seat her anywhere near me. Mind you, I have another seat reserved beside the don himself, no doubt to slip a deadly poison into my drink sohe gets his choice of daughter-in-law. Then there’s Christmas Day.”
She throws up her hands and hisses, “No doubt my gift will be a freaking horse’s head on my pillow when I wake. I’m not going to lie, Nico, I am pretty disappointed in you. You could have said something, and I definitely would have thought twice about this entire thing.”
I say nothing and let her spill angry venom, recognizing its more through anger than fear, and she slumps into the seat near the window and sighs, “I want a gun. Your gun that you keep close to your chest.”
“You want a gun?”
I repeat her words, and she rolls her eyes. “To defend myself, of course. Any one of your family and guests, not to mention the staff, could come after me, and I kind of love Christmas and will not go out like a firework before New Year if I have my way.”
“You can have my gun.”
I face her with indifference, noting her eyes widen as I give in to her request.
I lean over and slip open the nightstand drawer and pull out my spare, handing it to her, loving how the blood drains from her face.
“You keep a gun by your bed?”
Her eyes widen, and I nod. “Of course. As you said, any one of my family could come for me, especially now I’ve gone against the code.”
“The code?” Her voice drops to a whisper, and I stand, moving closer, my voice low and urgent.
“It’s the mafia way. If you dishonor the code, your punishment is death by firing squad.”
“Are youserious?”
Her lower lip trembles as I nod, feigning regret.
“I’m sorry, Regina, you’re right. I should have told you. You see, when I broke the code, I kind of dragged you into my mess. Our only way out of this is to escape. To fight even because on Christmas day if Desiree isn’t my fiancée, we suffer death. By firing squad.”
“Oh my God.”
The blood drains from her face, and as she stares at me in horror, she gasps, “You’re a fucking liar, Nico Ravera, and I shouldn’t be surprised after you conned me into marrying you.”
