Borrowed Bride: Chapter 32

The cold wind billows around me, carrying with it the scent of oil, old waste, and salt from the water. Below me, the city stretches out with each building lit up like an urban Christmas tree.

For the past month, Leo and I have been digging while hiding behind our war. On the surface, it looks like we’re both still at each other’s throats and targeting what territory we have left, but in secret we have been using that distraction to freely investigate the Ricci family. It was clear early on that they were deep in the human trafficking trade, and there were several other smaller families that worked alongside them. The key connection was indeed Dante who, upon my return from the “hospital,” was all too eager to listen to my pre-planned rant about how Leo trying to kill me in the club was the last straw.

Keeping Dante busy gave Fawn the opportunity to delve a little deeper into the Barrone financial records. She discovered a link between Dante’s personal account and the Russian Mafia. It’s been a long time since the Russians were safe on this side of the ocean, and when they retreated, we took that as a victory.

A misplaced victory if Dante has been feeding their skin market all these years.

It was a step forward but a painful one for Fawn and myself. Knowing my father, the man I trusted above all, had a hand in harming the woman I had loved so dearly was crushing. I feel sick every time I try to guess what he had planned for Gianna.

Over the past month, I’ve watched him closely since Gianna’s disappearance surely reached him when those guards he sent never returned, but not once did he give the impression that anything was wrong. In fact, his performance was so good that sometimes I doubted he really was the mastermind behind this hell.

It was proof of how good he really was at hiding the twisted shit.

While I was busy with Dante and Fawn was digging into the money, Leo took the Ricci’s. Over time, he accumulated the names and addresses of every single Ricci business and establishment. There were more than a small family of their size should ever have, and most were on Barrone territory. This was another gift from my father, no doubt.

The man placed at the head of my family to throw Leo off the scent was eventually brought in on the plan because without him, controlling what men I had left would have been difficult. I didn’t tell him the names of the targets, or even anything about Leo. I simply informed him that soon I would have a list of Leo’s places that we would attack simultaneously and bring this war to an end.

If this man betrayed me and told Dante, Dante would think I was targeting Leo, and I kept a fake list of Leo’s remaining properties on hand.

In reality, when the time comes, I will send the real list, and every single Ricci establishment will crumble under the combined might of my men and Leonardo’s.

“Marco?” Gianna approaches me slowly, picking her away across the rooftop and reaching for me when she was close enough.

The hardest part of this entire thing has been being away from her while pretending to be back on Dante’s side, and seeing her again lifts my heart immensely. I’m utterly infatuated with her. She consumes all of my thoughts and even now, with her hand in mind, it’s not enough.

It will never be enough.

“Are you sure you want to be here?” I ask, kissing her cheek. “You can stay with Freya.”

“No, I have to be here,” she says with a firm nod. “Freya is safe with Tara for now and this … everything has been building to this.” She squeezes my hand. “I want to be here.”

“Do you think Fawn will pull it off?” This entire night rides on Fawn’s ability to break into my safe house and rescue Emilia, who Dante has barely stepped away from the entire month I was back. My own plans to rescue her had to be put to the side, and now Fawn is my only hope of saving my sister.

“I think if anyone can, it’s her,” Gianna nods. “She’s strong. Capable. And she’s fighting for a lot more than herself.”

“You’re right.”

“The places you hit tonight, are you going to kill everyone?” She looks up at me with her large doe eyes and I nod slowly.

“Yes. Because every finger in the Ricci family has been in the slave trade pie and no one gets out. The only people seeing a hospital tonight will be the victims we rescue.”

Gianna nods as the wind catches in her hair, so she tilts her head to keep her face clear. “So why here? Why this roof?”

I shrug one shoulder and then point down toward the river. “From here, we can see the river and the docks. Any victims we find are likely going to be there, and from here we’ll be able to see the ambulances helping them. And then over there.” I point to the other side of the city. “Leo’s rigged several Ricci warehouses to blow. We’ll get to see that too.”

“You’ve really thought it through, huh?”

I study her face as the city lights reflect in her eyes. “I lost you. For five years, I lost you because of this. Because of all of this. Leo lost his sister. I lost Fawn. I missed my daughter growing up. There’s no room for mistakes, y’know? Tonight?” I lift her closed hand to my lips. “Tonight, we take back our home and make Dante pay.”

Suddenly, my phone blares to life and Fawn’s voice fills the air when I hit speaker.

“I’ve got her,” Fawn says. “Your sister’s made of stern stuff.”

“Marco?” Emilia croaks softly in the background. Cherry’s voice drifts through as she soothes my sister.

“Thank you, Fawn. Truly.”

“Don’t mention it,” she says. “Good luck.”

The call ends, and I remain silent as I type out a text to the acting head of my family and attach the real location list. Given how long it will take people to head to the right areas, I calculate we have about twenty minutes before it all kicks off.

“Is that it?” Gianna glances at my phone. “Now we wait?”

I nod. “Now we wait.”

“It was supposed to be a rumor,” Gianna says twenty minutes later as explosions rock the city and men and ambulances pour across the docks. “How did it end up being real?”

“Maybe it was too good a cover,” I reply softly with my arm around her shoulders. “If I had looked closer at the rumors instead of using them for cover … if I had even looked closer into Fawn’s death then maybe …” Puffing out my cheeks, I sigh. We could do this dance forever and reach no conclusion.

“Do you understand his goal?” she asks, looking up at me.

I shake my head. “Power? I guess I was too powerful, held too much loyalty otherwise he could have just killed me and taken it. Instead, he does this.”

“Maybe the Barrone line is just twisted,” scoffs Leo’s voice as he melts from the shadows and joins us on the roof.

“A month ago, I would have killed you for saying that,” I reply.

“And now?” Leo tilts his head, his hands in his pockets as he stares down at the city.

“Now I’ll just contemplate shoving you off the roof.”

“I can live with that.” Leo breathes deeply. “My men are almost done. There’s going to be nothing left.”

“Same,” I say, eyeing the docks. “You know what happens next.”

“What happens next?” Gianna asks, clutching at my shirt.

“We declare open war on the Ricci’s and my father will know he is caught. If he doesn’t know already. Then it will be a race to stop him before he goes into hiding,” I explain.

“And after?” Gianna straightens up, stepping away from me. “What about after? Or is it foolish of me to think that far ahead?”

“I actually have an idea,” Leo says, catching both our attention. “Look … there’s a lot of bad blood but without it, I wouldn’t have my sister back. And that’s all that matters to me. We destroyed each other out there, Marco. We’re both ripe for the picking. But together?” He waggles his eyebrows and his suggestion becomes clear.

We could join up.

Gianna laughs. “No Mafia family has enough room for both your egos.”

We laugh because she’s right, but as I watch her, it suddenly all becomes crystal clear to me. What I want is Gianna, and Leo may just be giving me the means to make sure I can safely have what I want.

“That’s not a bad idea,” I say. “For a Simone.”

Leo shoves me lightly.

“But ego won’t be a problem because I will step down.”

“What?” they both cry, and Leo’s jaw falls open.

I focus on Gianna. “I’ve lost enough time with my family already. Five years. If we survive this then Leo, you can have all the power. I already have what is precious to me.”

“Dude,” Leo gasps.

Gianna smiles shyly, her cheeks flushing crimson as I take her hand, and she steps closer. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly. I want to be with you. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my days with you and our daughter, away from everything else.”

Her arms drape around my shoulders and she kisses me sweetly as her eyes sparkle. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Holy shit,” Leo repeats.

I glance at him. “I get it. You didn’t expect power so easily.”

“No, no, not that.” He glances up from his phone. “It’s Fawn. She caught Dante.”

“What?!”