Page 39 of The Enforcer

He felt Mary tense. She was probably worried about what he’d do. Judging by Kristoff’s non-descript facial expression, he didn’t have that problem.

“Congratulations,bratan.”

Don’t fucking call me that.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat and instead said, “Yeah, thanks.”

Kristoff took an envelope from his pocket and handed it over to his bride.

“Just a little something for the shelter. I figured you already have everything you need.”

“Oh. Thank you, Kristoff. That’s very generous of you.” Mary beamed up at him and gave him a hug.

Hector kept in a growl. Barely.

Kristoff looked surprised by her show of affection as well, and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. He then excused himself.

Hector took Mary to a more secluded corner in the hallway.

She took a deep breath. “Are you… are you still mad?”

He hated seeing the insecurity in her eyes. Just minutes before, she had been excited, glowing, happy, and then he stomped on it. Like blowing out a candle. This was exactly what he’d been afraid of. Not married for all of five minutes and he’d already fucked up.

“Nah, we’re good.”

“I’m sorry,” she continued. “I shouldn’t have pushed you. I guess, in some way, I imagined this would be a great family reunion. It’s just that... I don’t like discord in my family. All I remember from my father is him away at work or at home fighting with my mother. Fights between family has a way to fester unlike any physical wound, and I suppose I thought I could heal that for you.” She grabbed his arm. “I had no idea that your wound was so deep.”

“Guess that explains why you invited the head of the Russian mob to our wedding,” he said begrudgingly.

Mary’s jaw dropped. “I did what now?”

“Yeah.” He couldn’t keep the smugness out of his voice. Maybe that’d teach her not to meddle in his things again.

“Oh, my God. He’s the head of...” She was speechless for a moment. Her eyes narrowed. “Of course. That’s why Jazzy had that smile on her face after I spoke to him. Not that she bothered to enlighten me.” Then she looked back at him. “Is that why you two had a falling out?”

He shook his head. He didn’t give a fuck about what Kristoff did for a living. Back when he’d seen his brother for the first time, Kristoff hadn’t even been this far up in mobster circles. “That’s not it. And I’m not gonna tell you what is. Not on our wedding night. I’d rather do something else.”

A blush colored her cheeks. She was an enigma. One moment she was defiantly blazing like an angry cat; the next, she was subdued.

“Let’s go.” He was done with the reception, and started pulling her outside.

“We can’t just leave.”

“Says who? It’s our wedding, we can do whatever we want. Also, I’m just following in Gio’s footsteps, keeping up with the tradition.”

That earned him an eyeroll, but she didn’t deny it. Gio had been married for all of an hour when he and his bride suspiciously disappeared.

He swooped her up into his arms and carried her outside, into the limo that was waiting for them. He made a mental note to thank Gio later for providing them with the car. It was something he wouldn’t have thought of himself. Which led to a second mental note; try to think about what his woman needed. Gio liked to micromanage his wife’s life; that is, as much as she let him. He was overprotective to the bone and Hector had never understood that before. But sitting in the back seat of the limo, with Mary draped over his lap, something inside him unlocked. The weight of the responsibility he’d taken on suddenly hit him square in the chest. He had his own woman now. One he had to take care of. He’d never had that before. Hell, he usually didn’t fuck the same woman more than a few times. Maybe he had more of his father in him than he’d believed.

He closed his eyes for a second as his arms tightened around the precious cargo in his lap. He was going to do right by Mary, the way his father had never done for his mother.

They didn’t speak until the car stopped in front of their house. He liked that about her; she wasn’t the type to fill the silence with meaningless chatter.

He didn’t let her on her feet until he had crossed the threshold for both their front door and the bedroom.

Mary looked nervous and he suddenly was reminded this was going to be her first time. Something primal bloomed in his chest. Women never forgot their first. It wasn’t enough, though. He intended to be her last as well.

CHAPTER 13

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