Page 92 of Little Mouse

“And there’s the happy couple,” Alessio announces. He checks his watch, tsks and shakes his head sadly at Nico. “I’m disappointed, my friend. I thought for sure we had at least another hour before you’d show your faces. Gotta work on your staying power.” His brothers start laughing, and Nico pins him with a hard glare. Alessio just grins at him, and then winces when Nico slaps him upside the head when we walk by. Though that grin is back pretty quickly when he catches my eye and winks at me.

“Ignore him, Nico,” Pietro says with a long suffering sigh as Nico takes his seat and pulls me into his lap. “We’ll put him back in his cage when we get home.” Alessio grins and flips off his father, making Pietro smirk. If anyone said or did that to my father, they’d be dead. And speaking of my father…

I look at Nico and ask, “Did my father get away?”

The mood goes from being jovial to serious instantly. Nico’s expression darkens as he nods. “He and your uncle both did.” He looks at Massimo expectantly.

Massimo shakes his head grimly. “That bastard Marco got away too. Took out two of your men on the way out.”

Worry seizes me. “Does this mean they’re all going to try again?”

“Probably,” Nico says honestly. “They all want power, and you’re part of that battle. The issue is now that you’re my wife, that means I’m in this battle by extension.”

“You won’t be alone,” Pietro jumps in. “We’ll have your back. Though, perhaps you should take your new wife on a honeymoon and let us see what happens as they try to gather themselves,” he suggests. Nico doesn’t reply, and when I look up at him, his expression is thoughtful. Excitement builds in the pit of my stomach at the thought. “Leave your best men, and we’ll leave some of ours to cover your home while you’re gone,” Pietro continues.

Nico looks at Dante. “Do we have enough men?”

Dante nods. “Consider it done.”

Nico looks at me. “Do I need to even ask you what you want to do,topolina?” he asks me, amusement clear. I shake my head. “Then I think we should figure out where you would like to go. Pietro is right, stepping out will show we aren’t concerned about them. It will also give us time and space to figure out what their next move is going to be.”

“I’ve contacted another contact of mine who is going to see what he can find,” Aurelio interjects. “Once he finds out anything, he’ll let us know.”

“Good,” Pietro says with a nod. “We will head home, and then once you are finished with your honeymoon, we’ll reconvene to find out what we know and make our plans. It’s been a while since we’ve been involved in a war, and a good fight might be just what’s needed,” he adds with a grin.

“Speaking of vacations,” Sofia says then. “If you’re going to head out on a honeymoon, I think I’d like to take you up on your offer to go for a vacation.” She smiles at her father and brothers. “It’s time for me to go home and relax for a little bit.”

Nico nods. “Done,” he agrees. I glance at Dante and see his face is impassive, even from where he sits next to her. The man is smitten with her, but he’s fighting it. Perhaps this is the push he needs.

“Then we will leave in the morning,” Pietro announces. “It’s never good to be away from home for too long. Sofia, will you be ready to join us?” She nods. “Good.” He reaches forward and grabs his wine glass, lifting it in a toast. “Then shall I propose a toast. I hope the both of you have a long and happy marriage. That you lean on each other when times are hard, being each other’s strength.” I grab the wine glass that Nico hands me and we all lift our glasses in reply to his toast.

“And to new friends,” Alessio says with a wink our way. “Though I’m still pissed you didn’t buy me that ring, Boo Bear.” He cackles when Nico growls at him, and I look at him in question. Now that’s a story I want to hear, and so do the others from the looks of it, but unfortunately, Aurelio takes that moment to add the toast, cutting that off.

“And to family,” Aurelio says with a smile at his sons and daughter. “Those that God has given us, and to those that choose us.” He looks at Pietro and his sons, who smile at him. “And to those that are new and will learn that we’re as fucked up as the rest, but we’re the only ones you know will have your back no matter what.” He directs that to Nico, Dante and I. We clink glasses and drink.

“Alright, that’s enough sappiness for me,” Sofia says briskly, making me laugh. She winks at me. “Chef has been slaving away all day making a wedding feast, and if we don’t eat now, he’s going to be a damn bear and I don’t want to deal with it. So I say we forget about everything else and we get eating.” There’s a round of raucous agreement, and Sofia hurries into the kitchen.

“Where would you like to go for a honeymoon,topolina?” Nico asks me quietly as everyone around us talks.

“I’m not sure,” I tell him truthfully. “There are so many places I’d like to go.”

“Well, we have a few days before we can go, so you think and then we’ll make it happen,” he says.

Though an idea is already forming in my mind, and while it’s going to piss Nico off, I think he’ll get over it. But first, I need to figure out how to make it work.

CHAPTER37

Nico

I wakeand instantly I know something’s wrong. I bolt upright and look around, realizing that Gia’s side of the bed is cold and empty. I scowl. She and I are going to be having a talk about her leaving the bed without me. And I don’t care if that makes me sound like a bastard. I want my wife in bed with me, not off doing whatever the hell she’s up to now. I climb out of bed and head for the bathroom, irritated, but determined to find my wife and drag her right back to bed.

It was a late night last night, and it was amusing to see my wife getting tipsy with each glass of wine. She was having a great time laughing, joking around, and listening to them all telling stories that had most everyone rolling with laughter. There was one particularly amusing one that involved Alessio being chased out of a house by an angry husband when he caught Alessio in bed with his wife. A woman that never told him she was married. Alessio ended up running out buck ass naked and having to call his brothers to come get him, while also trying to keep his junk from getting torn up to hell from the bushes he was hiding in. Not that Alessio had been the least bit embarrassed. Instead, he just smirked and shrugged his shoulders, uncaring.

By the time I carried her to bed, Gia was out like a light before we even made it upstairs, and hadn’t even stirred when I pulled her clothes off and tucked her into bed. But apparently she’s right as rain this morning considering she’s already out of bed. I huff out an aggravated sigh as I head for my closet and pull on a suit. It’s time for me to get back to work, especially if Gia and I are going to be leaving on a honeymoon.

I walk out of the closet, but stop when I see a piece of paper taped to the mirror. Instantly suspicious, I grab it, and then I still when I read it.

Dear Husband,

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