15. Franco

Chapter 15

Franco

I missed Aria's call because I was on the phone with the fucking rat. He's been chasing leads on Vito and digging a bit deeper into my wife's past. I wish she had just been open with me and trusted me enough to tell me everything.

Instead, I have had to chase down information that she has gone to great lengths to cover up and hide. Like the fact her brother isn't dead. He's just on the run, hiding from a pile of unpaid debt.

When my third call goes unanswered, I know something isn't right. I call my men one after another, and no one answers. My wife is in trouble.

"We need to get to the lake house," I yell at Luca as I storm out of my office. "Aria is in trouble."

"What sort of trouble? Is it the baby?" he asks as I throw the keys to the car at him.

"No," I am afraid to say it out loud. "I can't reach anyone at the house. "

Luca hits the gas, and I keep calling, praying she will answer. "How did they get to her?" I grind out loud.

"I can't get hold of anyone either," Luca says, hitting dial again. "Someone got in. I will see if there's anyone closer than us who can go up to the house."

The wait is killing me. Every second is one that something could happen to her. Luca keeps making calls, and I hit re-dial over and over, trying to reach Aria.

"Fuck!" I punch the dashboard in frustration. The hour drive is too long. If someone has her, they will be long gone when we get there. "Drive faster," I growl, knowing he can't go any faster than he already is. His phone rings, and I push the answer button on the car dashboard.

"Yes," we both answer in chorus.

"Vito and his men took Aria. We have lost everyone who was working the house except one. The cameras show her letting in a guest, and right after he left, they breached."

A guest? "Who the fuck did they let in?" I bark.

"He says it was her brother." There's a commotion in the background. "Apparently, he owes Vito, and this is how he paid him."

Her fucking brother. I know how much trouble he is in. I just didn't think he was in it neck-deep with Vito. Of course, they'd use him to get to her—to get to me.

"Where have they gone?" I sign for Luca to pull over because there's no point in going to the house. Not if she's already gone .

"We don't know where they took Aria, but her brother has crawled back to his local bookie. They're keeping him occupied." I understand sibling rivalry more than most, but I wouldn't ever hand my brother over to his enemy. How low could a man possibly go?

"Keep looking for her. We will pay my brother-in-law a visit." Luca has already turned the car around. "He will know where they have her."

"Yes, boss." It goes without saying if she gets hurt, heads will roll. It is time to get acquainted with my extended family and decide if they're worth keeping around or not.

***

Her brother is nothing like her. He's a weak, selfish coward who is crumbling under the pressure of the debts he owes to men far less forgiving than I am. It cost me enough just to get the weasel out from under the bookie.

"Boss," Luca interrupts me as I try to persuade the yellow-bellied piece of shit to tell me where they took my wife. "We have her."

"And him?" I ask because I want to gut Vito like a fish.

"Not yet." It annoys me that he keeps slipping away, but I am sure my new little brother will help me find him. He has to be good for something. He's cost me enough that I might as well get my money's worth .

"Bring him with," I tell Luca, shoving past him to get out of here and to the car. "Tell them to take Aria to the house. I will meet them there." He gives me a nod as they drag my squealing pig of a hostage behind them. Weak men make me sick. If you cannot protect your family, you don't deserve them.

I have failed Aria, but I will do everything I can to make it up to her and never allow anything to harm her ever again. I am nothing like him, and I will prove to her she can trust me.

"She's a killer," her brother hisses as we shove him into the back of the car. "Worse than you," he persists.

"I don't care." Do I care? I am a fucking monster. I can't judge her for who she was before we met.

"You want a murderer raising your baby? One killer parent is enough to fuck a kid up, but two? They don't stand a chance."

"Do we not have duct tape for his fucking smart mouth?" I snap. "Or do I have to shoot a fucker in the face to make him shut up?" Luca gives him a look, knowing I am on a knife edge and could care less about getting blood all over the car. What he is saying bothers me more than I should let it; he's getting under my skin, and I hate him more for it.

He's quiet now, but the fucker knows he's got to me—I see the smug satisfaction on his face.

"Where did they find her?" I ask Luca, desperate to fill the void of my thoughts with anything else.

"She had a knife. She saved herself." Of course, she did. She is a hellfire. "Killed three of his men and hurt a few more. "

"Told you she's a fucking killing machine. You have no idea who you married." The peanut gallery pipes up again, and this time, I put a bullet in his kneecap. I'm surprised he still has kneecaps with the debt he has.

"Shut up," I warn him again as he wails and squirms. "She wouldn't have to kill anyone if you didn't sell your own sister for your debt."

"Wouldn't be the first time. She's quite an asset," he says through gritted teeth, breathing heavily. I should kill him, but he's her family, and that might make her mad at me. So he can just suffer for now.

"If you were my brother, I'd kill you," I say. "But you're not, so I will let Aria decide if you live or die. I have my own brother to worry about." Men are crawling all over the grounds as we pull up to the house. My pretty wife has caused more chaos than most women are worth, but I am only happy to know she is safe.

"Luca," I say, "put him somewhere. I need to deal with my wife." Even if I have no idea who she really is, she is still my wife. The men part like the Red Sea as I walk toward the house, scattering from my path. No one looks at me, nor do they speak, but I can feel the whispers and thoughts. They're questioning me and my choices.

"Aria," I call into the house as the front door bangs shut behind me. "Get out, all of you." My security make themselves scarce very quickly.

"Upstairs, boss," one says, side-stepping me to stay out of my way .

"Aria," I call again. Why is she so fucking stubborn and defiant? Just answer me. The doors to our bedroom are closed, and I'm about to storm through them when I stop. She has lied to me about everything, putting my family and my child at risk. I am not sure I am ready to have this talk with her yet.

I knock on the door to my room and wonder how the fuck I got here? "Can I come in?" I ask through the closed doors.

"I don't know, can you?" She is snarky even now. "It is your house, Franco." It is my house, but she made it my home, and now I am not sure where I want to be. I open the door slowly, not knowing the state of the woman behind it. She killed three men today. I do not want to be number four.

"Are you okay?" I ask cautiously, forcing my anger down. "Is the baby okay? Do I need to call the doctor?"

"We are fine," she says, coming from the bathroom where she's taken a shower. "I told you I can look after myself," she says, pulling the towel off her wet hair. Aria is beautiful even now, like this, vulnerable and bare of any mask.

"I don't even know who you are," I say. Looking at her, my heart aches. "I love you, but is it even you I fell in love with? You have kept so much from me. Your brother—"

"My brother is a weak coward, and he is the reason I walked away from this life. I chose to forget the Mafia because I knew he would get me killed or sell me off to pay his debts. My brother is dead to me after today."

"He's in the basement. I will let you decide what to do with him. It's been hard not to kill him myself." She understands that this is a truce and that I am giving him to her out of respect because her and I are not that different.

"We need to talk, Franco, really talk."

"I love you, Aria, but now isn't the time." I can't do this, looking at her half-naked. I forget who I am when I am with her. "I love you, and I am happy you are home safely, but I am going to stay at the city apartment for a while. I need to clear my head." And my heart, because she is going to break it.

"You don't have to leave. I'll go back to the lake," she says, her voice soft and warm.

"No, you will stay here where I know you're safe." I am not risking having her anywhere else, not again. "I just need some space, Aria." She has to understand how this makes me look and how I feel, knowing it has all been a lie. I'm not sure I can even trust myself right now.

"Franco, you don't have to go," she says, and I want to break and stay with her. To pull her into our bed and make love to her and forget the world. But I can't allow her to cloud my judgment anymore.

"This is for the best, Aria." If I don't walk away now, I won't have the willpower to do it. "Deal with your brother as you see fit, but if I see him again, he will regret it." She nods, and I leave my heart in the room with her as I walk away. Why was I stupid enough to fall in love?

Luca is waiting outside to take me to the penthouse above our offices in the city. He is loyal to a fault. But today, even he looks as if he's questioning my judgment and my ability to do my job.