Chapter 10
Aria
Ugh. I”ve never had a headache this bad in my life. Is this a pregnancy thing? God, I hope not. And why does my shoulder hurt?
I try to open my eyes, but I”m just so groggy that they are just too heavy to open. It takes a few tries, but when they open, I see I”m in an extra-large garage.
That”s when it all starts coming back to me.
As I was getting into the car, I was showing my bodyguard the picture of the baby and they grabbed me from behind. Was the person inside the car waiting for me? Maybe they were behind the car and just got past the guards?
Though there had to be more than one person. Almost instantly, I was surrounded. When my eyes started to get heavy, I distantly remember hearing a gunshot and a scream of pain. Then everything went black.
How long ago was that? I have no idea. Long enough to get me to a new place. Hopefully long enough that my husband will be here any minutes.
I”m alone in the room. So, I started cataloging everything. How sad is it that instead of teaching me how to ride a bike, my parents taught me what to do if I was ever kidnapped. Guess I get to put all those lessons to use today.
Such is the life of a mafia princess. Well, technically, I am now a mafia wife.
Forcing my eyes open, I look around the room. At the same time, I try not to draw attention to anyone who might be watching. What I see are concrete walls and a cold concrete floor. There are horrible fluorescent lights above and some red tool chests. Nothing else is recognizable.
When I try to move my hand to ease the pain on my shoulder, I discover that they are tied behind me and are bound to something. Though there is no way I can tell to what, other than metal clinks when I try to move.
Right now, I”m lying on the floor. But as the door on the other side of the room opens, I move to sit up. Whatever is coming my way, I refuse to take it lying down. Literally.
I”m beyond shocked when I find Eric amongst the people that walk in. He looks a little rough around the edges compared to the last time I saw him.
I bring my legs up to try to hide my belly. It”s not huge, and I could probably pass it off as having just eaten a really large meal. No matter what, I will do anything in my power to protect my baby.
”Oh good, you”re awake. It”s about damn time. I really expected you to wake up before now,” Eric says. Then he whispers to the guys that are around him. I recognize a few of them. I think they”re his guards and people that work with him and his dad.
”Eric, what”s going on?” I ask. Hoping that maybe he”ll give me even a little nugget of information.
”As you know, everything was set, and we were going to get married. I was going to have your dad”s support and then the plan could be finished. But your father didn”t even give me a chance to say I didn”t care that you were no longer a virgin. The contract was just null and void, and he moved on to the next guy very quickly.” Eric rants, obviously angry.
Of course, this is about me and the contract. He was so unhinged the last time that I saw him. Why didn”t my dad or Matteo think there would be any repercussions? I guess we thought if he was going to retaliate, it would have been at my wedding, hence all the extra security measures we took
But we”re mafia born and raised, we know better than anyone. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
”But of course, your dad just didn”t just go and marry you off to anybody. No, it had to be the ultimate betrayal. He married you off to the family from which I said I needed protection. He took his alliance away and aligned with the enemy,” he continues ranting.
“With no reason why other than you broke one little clause in the contract. So really, I was the one that should have had the issue. It should have been me who called off the wedding.”
What he seems to have forgotten is my dad watched him on his way out shove me against a wall the last time he was at my house. That doesn”t seem to register as a good enough reason to break things off.
It doesn’t seem to occur to him that could be the reason my dad wanted to change alliances and marry his daughter to someone else.
Then again, to Eric and his family, the fact that my parents actually cared about me as more than a bargaining chip is just incomprehensible. They made that perfectly clear.
It”s also never been clearer to me that Eric didn”t want me. He just wanted to align with my family at whatever cost. He”d have his way with me, produce a few heirs and then go and whore his way through all of Chicago every chance he got.
I would have never been happy in that life. Nor could I have handled being treated in that manner. What’s even worse is I wouldn”t have had an out. Mafia couples don”t get divorced. The wife would never make it as far as the divorce attorney. She would end up six feet under. Then they would just bring in the next side piece. Pop out a few more kids and the cycle repeats.
Having the type of relationship my dad and my mother have is not a common occurrence. And what I have found with Matteo is extremely rare in my world, so rare that it”s pretty much unheard of, at least around here. Orlando and Ruby seemed to have found it. Maybe it”s more common outside the city of Chicago.
”Eric, we were going to be married. Why would you do this to me?” I say, trying to get him to talk again. Maybe I should have thought about my words a little better first.
”How could I do this to you? How could you do this to me, is more like it. Running off, whoring yourself out to any guy that will look at you. Any idea how that makes me look? Any idea how insulting it is to have my wedding cancelled?
You”re so selfish, Aria. How could I do this to you? What did you think was going to happen after you went off and slept with someone and broke our marriage contract?
You ruined everything. But it”s okay because now you”re going to be the perfect bait to get exactly what I wanted. What your father was supposed to help me accomplish.”
So essentially, his pride has been hurt and now he”s seeking revenge. Just great.
”What am I being bait for?” I ask, trying to sound like the pure little innocent girl that I know Eric wanted to marry. The kind that will do exactly what he says when he says. And how he says, basically the exact opposite of me
”I have a feeling you will see soon enough. Just be patient.” He says, looking down at his phone.
”Much sooner than I had planned. Alright, let the show begin,” he says. Then his men fan out across the room, and Eric stands in front of me.
Everyone faces the door that they entered. Everything”s quiet for a moment and Eric takes a step towards the door. I relax slightly. There”s a good six feet between us. Honestly, the more space between us, the better.
Then the door opens. Standing there are the men I recognized from around the house and behind them, my husband.
”I have to give you credit. You got here much faster than I thought you would,” Eric says in his cocky tone.
”Guess I should have realized it would be you with how sloppy it was. You didn”t even take her phone out of her purse, which you dumped at the front door to this place. It”s like you wanted me to find you,” Matteo says to Eric, but his eyes are on me. I take the opportunity to mouth to him that I”m okay. Then his eyes shift back to Eric.
”I have a deal for you. One that I think you”re going to appreciate.” Eric says with a smug smile on his face as he looks back at me.
”Actually, I don”t have any intention of working with your family, but sure for the sake of a good laugh. Let”s hear it.” Matteo says and Eric takes another step towards the door, but no one else in the room moves.
”You can have Aria back or I can give you the name of the man who killed your father.”
Matteo”s eyes snap back to Eric and my heart sinks. He”s been hunting for the name of that man for months. Long before I even came into the picture. Of course, he”s going to choose the name. He”s been solely focused on revenge.
My mind is in a panic. He will pick the name and then go on his revenge hunt, probably calling my father on the way to let him know where I am. Hoping that my dad will come and save me if it”s not too late. As a mafia wife, I”m replaceable, at least in the eyes of men like Eric.
What the hell would Eric even want me for, anyway? I”m married to Matteo legally and in the eyes of all the mafia families nothing is going to change that. Is Eric really the kind of guy that would get his rocks off on killing me just out of revenge for breaking the contract?
Looking at him right now and how unhinged he is, I”m thinking it’s a good possibility. Maybe that”s his plan. Eric definitely seems like the type of guy to seek revenge.
”Well, that”s an easy decision. I will choose my wife and our child every time,” Matteo says.
There”s an expression of shock on Eric”s face, and he hesitates. Just that little moment of hesitation is all it takes for my husband to pull out his gun and put a bullet through Eric”s head.
The minute Eric”s body crumples to the ground, the men around Matteo go for Eric”s men. They overtake them with ease, but my husband heads straight for me.
The moment he reaches me, he drops to his knees and starts working to free my hands.
”Are you okay, baby girl?” he asks.
I have to say his voice is remarkably calm, as I sit there in complete shock unable to answer him.
But I don”t see or hear the chaos going on around us. Instead, I try to process the fact that he chose me over the revenge that he has been his driving force for months. He chose me with no hesitation. Trust me, there is no other option.
The moment he has my hands free, he picks me up and carries me out of the building.
”Please tell me that you and our baby are okay. We are heading straight back to the doctor to check on both of you,” he says.
”I”m okay. We”re okay,” I whisper. A group of cars come racing into the parking lot and I tense up until I see my father come flying out of one of them.
”Is she all right? Who the hell was behind this?” my dad asks, rushing over to see me with his own eyes that I”m fine.
”She says she”s okay, but we”re taking her back to the doctor to make sure that she and the baby are fine,” Matteo says.
My dad”s a smart guy and I can see it in his face that he puts two and two together instantly. Even if Matteo didn”t know that I was pregnant when we got married, he”d find out soon enough based on how old the baby is when they do all their measurements.
”Who did this?” my father asks again. His men surround us waiting for orders.
”Eric did this. Before you go rushing in there, he and all his men that were there with him are dead. My men are working on clean up, but I plan in another operation to obliterate his entire family. We can divide up his assets right down the middle,” Matteo says. Then gently places me in the car.
”Sounds fair to me. I”m going to go check out the scene in there. Call us as soon as you hear from the doctor,” Dad says. Then he leans in to give me a quick kiss on the forehead before walking into the building that we just came out of.
Matteo gets in the car beside me, and his driver takes off immediately. Once we’re on the road, Matteo pulls me onto his lap.
Whatever they gave me to kidnap me has me still groggy and now that the adrenaline has worn off, I can barely keep my eyes open. As much as I”d like to stay awake and reassure my husband that everything is all right, sleep wins over.