17. Franco

Chapter 17

Franco

The door clicks closed, and I feel around on the floor for my gun. It's somewhere in our discarded clothing.

"Franco."

It's my fucking brother. I really need to take away their keys. My family seriously lacks boundaries.

He's been conspicuously absent lately. This fight with Vito has rattled him, and Marco feels threatened. He has hidden behind work, but I know he is avoiding me and Aria. It is eating him alive that I have her, and he lost to me. Something must have come up because he only ever looks for me to do his bidding or to pick a fight.

One or the other.

"What?" I say, pulling up my pants and covering Aria with a blanket. He doesn't get to see what is mine. Marco steps into the living room, and Aria stirs, waking up on the floor where we fell asleep last night.

"I thought she was staying at the house," he seethes. "Are you seriously still doing this?" His jealousy is so ugly it really does turn him green. "I came to talk business, but I don't talk shop in front of whores."

"Careful, brother, that's my wife." My words are laced with a threat, one he knows I will make good on.

"No, it's my wife. Stolen property, and you fucking know it." God, he still wants her for himself. He will never let this go. He just can't let me have this one thing. Marco's eyes are on Aria, where she tries to cover up, and it's my jealousy that I have to keep in check.

"You can't take what isn't yours, Franco, and think there won't be repercussions."

"What are you going to do?" I ask him, genuinely wanting to know how he sees this ending.

"Well," he starts, taking a seat on the sofa closer to her, my trigger finger itches, "this started as a wager, one that I won. So let's settle it the same way."

I laugh at him, and Aria gets up, covering her body in the blanket.

"What exactly are we wagering for?" I wonder what angle my brother is working.

"Her." Marco points at Aria. "And the family," he says. "I win, and Aria and the baby are mine. I will raise it as my own. You will walk away, leave this family, the business and me. Forever."

"And if I win? "

"Then I will allow this charade of a marriage to continue." It's a stupid bet, and the cost of losing is too high, even for me. "What do you say?"

"You're fucking crazy," Aria says before I can. "I am not some prize you win. I chose Franco, not you." I know my brother. He will never let this go unless it is on his terms. Aria hasn't known him long enough to understand how his juvenile mind works.

"Fine," I agree to his bullshit, but it will be on my terms on my turf, where I know I cannot lose. "But not cards. I don't trust you not to cheat."

"What then?" He smirks at me like this is already over.

"The horses," I say. "Yours against mine." His three-legged donkey can't beat my prize winner. He knows it, and I wait for him to tell me to choose something else. Marco's sly smile is a dead giveaway that he thinks he can still win.

"This is stupid," Aria says between us. "You are both idiots." I can see how angry I have made her by considering this at all. Her whole life has been out of her control. She hates it when choices are made for her.

"No, this is the only way to make him stop," I assure her. "If I win, then he has no choice but to walk away from this fight."

"It's not a fucking fight," she huffs. "I married you."

"With Marco, everything is a fight. He's always afraid someone will have something he doesn't have." I say, looking him in the eye. "I'm not fighting over you. I am fighting for you."

"Betting on a horse race?" she snaps and then storms out .

"I see who wears the pants," Marco mocks. "Oh wait, she hasn't even got any on, and she's got you whipped." Not for the first time, he's trying to get a rise out of me. It's getting hard to ignore the jabs.

"And you think you could control her?" I laugh, knowing more about my wife now than he does. Some family secrets are secret. I haven't shared what I know with him—there is no reason to. "I would love to see you try." I laugh at him.

"Just because you can't control your woman doesn't mean that she wouldn't submit to me."

"Get out," I growl at him because if he doesn't, I am going to punch him. "I will see you at the track in two hours, we can end this bullshit."

"Two hours, don't let her make you late. I'll start with or without you." He's a sneaky fucker, I can't trust him if I can't see him. We will be there early to make sure nothing untoward happens before the race.

Marco saunters out of my apartment like he owns it. I ball my fists to hold back the urge to run after him and kill him. I make a call to my groom to have my horse ready in an hour. "Aria." She's in the shower, and if there were time, I'd be tempted to join her, but with traffic, we need to leave right away. "We need to go," I say to her as she steps out to dry herself. "I can't trust him not to do something underhanded."

"You want me to come with you?" She scoffs at me, clearly still fuming.

"Aria, I need you to trust me. "

"We have already established that we have trust issues, Franco." I see the hellfire flash in her eyes again, and that's why I love her. "You better have a better argument prepared than that." How do I explain that I know my brother and this is the only way to get him to let her go?

"Please, just today, don't fight me." I haven't got time to get into how his mind works with her. "Come with me, let us settle this shit once and for all."

"For the record, I do not want to go. I think you are both stupid. No matter which pony wins the race, I am your wife, Franco. Nothing will change that." She pulls on a pair of skinny jeans from the drawer. They hug her curves in all the right places. When she knots one of my white t-shirts at her waist, I'm caught staring. "You can stop," she says, "You have to win if you want to get lucky again."

I button my shirt, pull on a jacket to conceal the gun I plan to carry and look for the car keys.

***

"She's a pretty horse," Aria says, looking at my prize mare. "Is she fast?" she says, smiling. The race track is empty except for staff, my security and some of Marco's men. It's eerie being here when it's not a race day. The vibe is different when there are thousands of people with money on the line.

It's just us—it's personal, and everything is on the line for me. I'm not here to lose it all. Not to Marco. "She's the fastest one in the stable. "

"And your brother's horse?"

"My brother wouldn't know a donkey from a pony. He has a few duds. None that stand a chance. He knows he can't win, which is why he expects to try to cheat."

"Your brother is a donkey," She laughs, "that's probably part of the problem." Even when tensions are high, she can find a way to make light of the situation. Marco's cars pull up to the stable area. As always, he's un-fashionably late.

"We don't have all day," he says, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Let's settle this." His groom comes out with a horse, which I know isn't his, but I also know it still can't beat mine, so I don't argue.

"His horse looks good for a donkey," Aria whispers concerned.

"She looks good, but she freezes out of the gate at every race. She's a good-looking lemon." I need her to have a little faith. "We are waiting for you, Marco." He makes his way to the box where he will have the best view of the track, and Aria and I follow. I hold her hand, keeping her close.

We watch them load the two horses into the starting stalls. Aria is holding my hand tight. She was right—this is stupid, but it is too late to pull out now. My brother won't allow that, not without making me forfeit. I won't willingly give him what he wants, my wife and child, the family legacy to himself.

The start goes exactly as I predicted: Marco's horse freezes, and mine is like lightning out of there. She's a sure-thing week in and out. I chose this wager because I knew I could not lose .

Aria is closing her eyes, and I am holding my breath. The two horses are neck-and-neck around the bend. It's close but not over. My filly flies past us and pulls a full length ahead. She's over the line miles ahead. Aria looks up in time to see the win and to know we are free of my brother and his bitter jealousy. She jumps into my arms, wrapping her legs around me, kissing me in front of Marco and rubbing it in deeper.

Our victory is short-lived. The sound of gunshots rings out in the almost empty stands. I dive behind the bar with Aria still wrapped around me and pry her off so I can get to my gun.

"Who is it?" she asks, her eyes wide. Marco climbs in behind us.

"Vito," he snarls, "and about ten of his men." They must have followed us here. The man is fucking relentless. "I am getting tired of this, Franco. Ever since Aria arrived, this fucker has been a death shadow over us. You need to get to the bottom of it." It's an order, not a request.

Marco is over this war, and he's right—Vito and Aria came into our lives in one cloud of chaos. There has to be a connection that I have missed. Maybe he wanted Aria to marry him? What does she have that he wants? This can't all be about her brother's debts—it's too excessive for that.

I hate to agree with my brother about anything, but he is right; we need to find out what Vito really wants. "You need to kill him, Franco," Aria says. "Vito won't go away. You'll have to get rid of him."

"Get out of here," Marco yells over the sound of gunfire, "we will resolve this marriage fight another day."

"My horse won, Marco, it's over. "

"Another time, Franco." He cuts me off, "Get us out of here. I don't want bullet holes in my new suit." I pull Aria behind me, and we make a run for the service elevator at the back of the building. We can get to cars from there while our men distract them by firing in the opposite direction.

"Stay behind me," I say to Aria, who replies with.

"Give me your other gun." I look at her, "I won't shoot your brother, I promise." I hand her my backup weapon, and give her a stern look.

"Stay behind me," I say. "I mean it. You only shoot if you have no other choice." The doors open on the ground floor, and we step out. It's clear enough to make a run for it. They'll see us before we get to the car, but we have a head start.

Luca is in the car already waiting, and I shove Aria in ahead of me, shielding her. Marco is on his own from here. "Drive," I say, ducking down as they open fire on us. Once we clear the stable gates and blend into traffic, Aria and I sit up.

She looks shaken. "Are you okay?" I ask her, putting my hand on her stomach. My baby shouldn't be having to escape gun fights—not yet. It's not even born yet, and the whole world is trying to kill it. Vito has to be dealt with.

"I'm fine," She smiles, "we're fine." We are fine.

"Take Aria home," I say to Luca, "and stay with her. I have some unfinished business." Vito.

"He has a cousin we can get to," Luca says, handing me his phone. "I will make sure Aria is safe at the house." I trust my cousin with my most precious possessions. We pull over, and I swap cars, getting in with my men.