Chapter 40 – Markos
“Are you happy?” Her words hung in the air, filled with uncertainty.
How could I not be? Granted, we’d never spoken about children, or our futures for that matter. But this solidified our lives in a way little else could.
“So happy,” I promised.
And because there weren’t words right now to convey how much this meant to me, I found her mouth. I poured my heart and joy into the kiss. I breathed gratitude and inhaled her relief.
A pop rent the air.
Pain thumped in my ribs.
Serena yelped. Her hands clutched me, trying to angle me away from the danger. I stayed firm.
Holding her close, I gave her brother the darkest glare. “What the fuck, don?” I shouted.
“Now we’re even.” The black look in his eye dared me to protest.
If I was in a rational frame of mind, I would have shaken his hand. Shooting my vest was fair. But my wife was in my arms, and our precious future protected between us.
“You could have hit Serena!” Penelope smacked her husband, the crack of her open palm on his arm reverberating through the room.
“Are you hurt?” my princess gasped, feeling me for blood.
I clutched her hands, clasping them between us. “I’m fine,” I assured her.
“He wasn’t going to hit her,” the soldier behind the don drawled.
“Enough!” Serena pleaded. “Please, enough of this insanity! We have a real threat out there, Sandro. And my husband is not that.”
The don and I shared a hard look. It promised that this wasn’t over.
But he tucked his handgun in the waistband at the small of his back.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” I murmured into Serena’s hair, my hand rubbing slowly up and down her spine. There was a tremble in her hands that I didn’t like. “I’ve booked the penthouse at one of the downtown hotels for the night.”
Serena leaned back, not pulling from my grasp. “Let me grab a few items?”
I nodded. “Only what you need for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll come back for the rest of your things.”
Mancini looked like he wanted to say something, but his wife cut him off.
“I’ll help you, S! Do you have any luggage left here, or do you need to borrow one of my bags?” Penelope moved to the stairs.
Serena moved toward her. I shifted my grip to hold her hand, letting her lead the way. If I stayed with the Italians, there would likely be more bloodshed.
The room the ladies led me to was huge. The ceilings were tall, the centers indented a foot higher to give the illusion of grandeur.
Everything, from the four-poster bed to the sumptuous vanity, screamed luxury.
One thing was quite clear, we would need a bigger house for my princess. ..and our little heir or heiress.
Only once we were safely inside did I let Serena go. She hurried around, pulling a matching set of lounge clothes, a soft dress, and toiletries onto the bed.
I leaned against the wall, feeling like a stray. Why she chose me, I couldn’t say. But I would happily spend my millions to make sure she never felt like it was a downgrade to be mine.
A creak in the hall had me pricking my ears.
The brother stopped in the doorway. It was as if he didn’t trust his own wife around me.
“Do you need security for the night?” he asked roughly.
I flicked him a glance. “It will be a cold day in hell that I can’t protect what’s mine.”
The don snorted.
The sound sent the hair on the back of my neck prickling. I’d disarmed myself the moment the threat was neutralized, knowing that if I kept my weapons out, that soldier wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot.
But in a flash, I took the long knife strapped at my thigh out and lunged.
To his credit, the don anticipated the attack. He moved into a defensive posture, but it was too slow. My blade brushed against his throat as I shoved him into the doorframe.
“Shoot near my wife again, and I’ll cut you open,” I growled.
Mancini glared at me. “I wasn’t anywhere close to hurting her.”
“Down range from your gun is too close.”
We stared hard, waiting for the other to make the next move.
“Oh, for the love of heaven!” Penelope snapped, coming out of the walk-in closet. “Will you two quit pissing on one another?”
“Please, stop it,” Serena added, wrapping her arms over her chest.
I disengaged and stepped back, both hands raised in acknowledgment. “Not again, don.”
“But I will have my vengeance,” Mancini promised.
“I look forward to mopping the floor with you,” I responded with a grin.
It took another ten minutes, but we managed to leave with both the don and I breathing.
The drive to the hotel was quiet. I let Serena have time to decompress. There were a thousand things I wanted to ask her, but it wasn’t until we pulled into the valet lane and I stopped the vehicle that I asked the most important of them.
“How are you feeling? Physically?” I leaned over and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, holding her behind the head.
Serena leaned into my touch. “Exhausted.”
I nodded. “Just that?”
“Hungry, but food sounds gross,” she admitted.
“Well, if there’s something that sounds good, we can order it to the room.” I massaged the skin on her neck. “We can...how do you say? Veg and chill?”
My words had the desired effect. Serena chuckled. Tension eased from her body.
“That sounds perfect,” she sighed.
My hand traveled to her cheek, thumb stroking the soft skin there. “Something’s still bothering you.”
Her hands fidgeted in her lap. “I just...I never imagined telling you about the baby with gunfire. I’ve been picturing all the ways, and that wasn’t it.”
“Not my ideal scenario either,” I admitted, trying to keep my tone light. “But we’re okay. You’re okay. And our little one is okay. That’s what matters.”
A gentle knock on my window sent a rumble of anger through me. How dare the valet interrupt this moment? My body tensed, ready to fight.
“He’s just doing his job,” Serena said bluntly. “Don’t shoot him.”
I squeezed her shoulder before stepping out and handing over the keys, then rounded the car to help her out.
The penthouse suite was exactly what we needed—neutral territory, luxurious enough to make Serena feel comfortable, and secure enough to unwind.
She changed from the dress that had blood splatter on one side.
Seeing it stoked the flames of anger. Her brother was so disillusioned in his power that he didn’t protect his home as well as he should.
The security was good, but not good enough.
Once I placed the food order, I joined Serena in bed. She snuggled into my side, hand curling possessively over my shirt.
“How are you?” she murmured.
“Good now that I have you back.”
“But your wounds?” she insisted.
“Almost healed.”
She nodded. There was still worry radiating from her. I needed to find the cause and banish it so she could fully relax.
“So....” I slid my hand over her belly. “When did you find out?”
“This morning, actually.” Her laugh was rough. “I didn’t know how I would get away with not drinking wine, but the internet said the few glasses at dinner that I’d had previously should have no adverse effects. Thank heavens I didn’t go for the vodka to put me to sleep.”
There was a question in her eyes. I wanted her to ask about my nocturnal visit. When she didn’t, I kept my mouth shut. There would be time enough to tell her I couldn’t stay away, that I’d had to taste her in the dead of night the moment I came to town.
I hummed. “We’ll get you checked out first thing when we get back.”
“Okay,” she murmured.
“Serena.” I gently tipped her chin up. “Prinkípissa.”
“Yes?” she whispered.
“This is the second-best thing that has ever happened to me.” I brushed my thumb over her soft skin. “Do you know the first?”
She shook her head, eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
“You.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You are the best thing to come into my life.”
Her sigh shook her frame. “And you’re really okay with this?”
Was that her worry? “Oh, darling, sweet darling.” I gathered her tight. “I’m blessed. More so than a black soul like me should ever be.”
She buried her face against my chest, and I felt moisture seep through my shirt. My arms tightened around her reflexively.
“I never thought I’d have this,” she whispered against me. “A husband who wants me. A baby. A future that feels....”
“Safe,” I finished for her, pressing my lips to the crown of her head.
She nodded.
“But why?” I drew lazy patterns on her back with my fingertips, memorizing every curve, every dip of her spine. “You come from a place where that future was possible.”
“No, Markos. That house? It was a cage. You saw what Sandro is like. Leo is worse. I would never have found someone—and I would never have found you if I didn’t fly free.”
She nestled closer, if that was even possible. The weight of her against me was an anchor in a world that had always been chaos. For the first time in my life, I felt no urge to check exits, to scan for threats. In this moment, there was only Serena and the miracle growing inside her.
But that was not how it would always be. I was going to protect my family with every drop of life in my veins. And Serena deserved to know that.
“I never told you how I got my scars,” I murmured into her hair.
She winced slightly. “They don’t matter, pirate.”
I believed her, but it was still joyous to hear. “It does in this aspect. Once, I wasn’t strong enough to save my family. Our village was attacked by a warlord. What started as a blissful Sunday at church, turned into a nightmare by the time the sun set.”
Serena shivered. “Markos.”
But I continued. “My parents were slaughtered. Sisters assaulted and killed. Brother executed. Me? Well, a sick group of men thought it would be fun to tear me apart and feed to the fish.”
“Oh, madonna.” Serena sat up, clutching her mouth with her hand. I reached for her, but she pushed me gently back. “Give me a moment to breathe through this.”
I waited, hating that this story, while important to my vow, was physically upsetting her.
When she finally dropped her hand and gave me a small nod, I finished. “I swore never to have a family, never to love. It only brings heartache and pain. But then you happened, a little mermaid washed ashore. The sea knew my torment and gave me what I needed.”
“I was dropped off in an SUV with smelly men,” Serena deadpanned.
Laughing roughly, I pulled her close. “Don’t ruin the analogy, prinkípissa. That’s how I remember it, and that’s how I’ll tell the story till my dying day.”
Serena snuggled close. “Make that very, very far in the future, pirate. Because I’m so in love with you, I don’t want to think of a day we’re not together.”
“I love you, Serena,” I let loose the scariest words I’d ever said. I felt them with every fiber of my being, and once they were set free, they didn’t seem so terrifying. Only beautiful.
We remained that way for what felt like hours, our limbs intertwined, her heartbeat steady against mine.
The weight of her in my arms grounded me to this reality—one where I was a husband, soon to be a father.
One where I had something precious to protect beyond my own interests.
The world outside could burn for all I cared.
In this moment, everything that mattered was right here in my arms.