Page 3 of Fragile Union

Georgina knew as soon as I agreed to marry Holly our arrangement was over. She knew nothing would ever come from it. She was convenient and there. Easy. I don't work hard for my women, I never have. Georgina runs in our circle, she's in the life, and her uncle is head of the Carter Syndicate. She knows to keep her mouth shut, it's the only reason I kept her around longer than a month.

I've never been one to give a fuck about what people think, but knowing my soon to be wife was hurting when she saw the message from Georgina fucking broke something inside of me. Since that day, I've tried to get closer to her, show her I'm not that much of an asshole, but it seems whenever I make progress I end up pissing her off and she'll glare at me.

"Are you listening to me?" Dante demands and I sigh. "Don't fuck this up," he growls, "you hurt Holly and there's nothing I can do to save your fucking ass. Don't you understand that?"

Anger spears through me. When did he become this bastard?

I stare at my brother in disgust. "What happened to you? Hmm? Where's the man who would rip anyone's head off if they even thought about threatening your family?"

He steps closer to me, his nostrils flaring as his jaw clenches. "You're going to be an Underboss now, Romero. It's time to be accountable for your actions."

I shake my head. "Ice," I scoff, using his nickname. "You’re not even there. You're letting your wife lead you around by the balls. Grow a fucking pair, Dante."

He moves quickly so we're face to face, his forehead pressing against mine. He's got a few inches on me in height but I have more muscle. "You are my brother," he snarls at me. "Don't you dare fucking disrespect me. I have your back, I always have. But you fuck up with Holly and you’re putting me in the position to choose between my wife, who is the mother of my fucking child, and you. That will piss me the fuck off."

I don't say anything and I don't back down. Fuck that, I'll stand my ground until the day I die. It's the way I was raised. Never back down, don't give someone the upper hand.

"You always were a fucking little shit," he gripes as he takes a step backward. "I'm not going to war if you can't keep your fucking cock in your pants."

I glare at him. "If you must know, I told that fucking bitch to stay the fuck away from me before Holly even arrived in the states. Georgina obviously hasn't gotten the message yet, but don't worry, brother," I say through clenched teeth, "you can reassure your wife I won't hurt precious Holly."

He narrows his eyes at me. "Just to let you know, brother," he fires back, "Holly never told Kenna why she's upset. It was Alessio who let the little bomb of Georgina showing up drop. Holly hasn't mentioned you at all to Kenna, and that's why my wife is suspicious."

Fuck, I thought for sure she'd have told her aunt about the text message she saw, but she hasn't.

The door opens and Alessio pushes through. "Over two hundred people at this wedding, the majority of them Irish, why the hell is there no fucking alcohol?"

"Because if there was alcohol before the wedding, we'd have a fucking drunken mess on our hands," Makenna says as she strolls into the room. "Would you mind giving Romero and I a moment alone?"

Alessio immediately slips out of the room and Dante glares at me before following behind him. I stand here and wait for her to begin her threats of what will happen if I hurt her niece.

"I think you and Holly need to talk," she begins and I raise a brow. "This tiptoeing around each other shit has got to stop. You're going to be married, and while I'm a bitch and will come out and tell you that you're an asshole if you've pissed me off, Holly won't. She buries it, let's it fester, and she grows distant."

I cross my arms over my chest and tilt my head, studying her. I don't get it, why is she here, talking about this? "Why are you telling me this?"

She sighs. "I like you, Romero, I really do. I think you're a good man and you'll be perfect for our Holly when she gets over whatever the fuck happened. You'll protect her unlike anyone but her father can, you'll love her like no one else, and you'll cherish her like she deserves."

I hold back the scoff. Love? Really?

"Holly takes things to heart. Way more than she should and I can't blame her. That bitch of a mother of hers needs to be shot for the way she treats Holly. So, my niece is closed off and tries to protect herself by keeping her guard up. Fix whatever the hell happened, and then be her husband, Romero."

"Makenna, where the hell did you get this idea that I'm going to be this fucking perfect husband? I don't do love. I don't even want a fucking wife."

"I know, but have you considered what this means for you?" she says.

I frown, what the fuck is she talking about?

"Holly is untouched, Romero, she's going to be yours. Yours to protect, yours to cherish, yours to love. Only yours."

Her words are like a punch to my gut.

"You need to stay out of my fucking head." I scowl at her. She's the only one who seems to get inside of me and see past the darkness.

She grins at me. "Think about what I said, you've never had that before. But you also have to realize that neither has Holly, she's never had anyone that's all hers."

"What?" I hiss. What the fuck does that even mean?

She shakes her head. "That's for Holly to tell you when the time is right."

---