Chapter Sixteen
Luca
The melodic music plays, and the room glows in holiday white and gold, but I notice none of that the moment Angel begins walking toward me.
My eyes latch onto hers, and my heart aches for her to reach my side.
It’s as if time has stopped, and she can’t get here fast enough.
Suddenly, I am afraid that somehow she might disappear.
It isn’t as if she has to walk a great distance to get to me, but I need her to be here now.
It’s insane how much I need her. I can’t tell her that, though; she can’t even stand me, except for when we are in bed.
Then I am her king, her great lover, the air she breathes.
I take deep, calming breaths, trying to control the urge to snatch her up and bring her to my side.
It’s insane that I’ve hardly known her for a week, and yet, I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with her.
I know she’s a good girl, so whatever she’s done or planned to do was out of necessity, and now she doesn’t need to worry about anything else because I’ve got her back and always will.
I impatiently take her hand in mine, wanting the ceremony to be over as fast as humanly possible just in case someone is dumb enough to object, even though there’s hardly anyone here that would have the balls to do it.
It’s only my men and my parents with her little brother in tow, looking handsome in a fresh suit that my mother picked out.
At least Noah has the decency to be polite and respectful so I don’t have to beat the shit out of him later.
I’ve given him an opportunity to prove himself, and he’s already talked about running away and taking my bride with him.
He’s fucking lucky I didn’t beat the shit out of him already, but I can’t let her see him looking rough until after the wedding.
Maybe later I’ll take his ass in the ring and teach him how to square up.
If he’s going to run his mouth, he’s going to learn how to fight.
The priest begins. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for joining us as we bring together two souls in holy matrimony.”
“You look beautiful,” I tell her with my heart racing. The truth falls from my lips so easily. I see her blush even through the makeup they put on her face.
“Thank you,” she whispers softly.
We say our vows, and thankfully she doesn’t fight the process and says “I do” without reservation. “You may now kiss your bride.” I don’t wait a moment. My hand slides around her waist and then the other cradles the back of her head.
“With pleasure,” I whisper, kissing my beloved wife. As I pull away, her lips chase mine until she remembers where we are. The clapping begins, and I pull her to my side and face the camera. “Smile, Angel.” The photographer gets in several photos before we meet with my parents.
Everyone congratulates us except Noah, which actually surprises me and doesn’t at the same time. What an idiot, because his plan is about to backfire. Like clockwork, there’s a commotion at the front gate.
I lean in and whisper to my new bride, “Your brother has made a monumental error, so play along and he’ll live.
” It’s a SWAT team sent in as requested.
They believe we have a captive here, and they’re here to rescue Angel Scott.
Since Noah was left in my care, he can’t claim he was held prisoner.
He was in my custody; however, his sister wasn’t, and so he thought it would work.
“Send them in,” I reply, feeling up to the challenge and in the mood for a good fight after such a fabulous victory.
They enter with their guns aimed at us. I jump in front of my bride.
Snarling, I warn the head man, “Please put those down. There is no need unless you care for a bloodbath.”
“Sir, we were informed that you are holding a family hostage.”
“Oh really? We’re celebrating our wedding,” Angel says, peeking her head out from behind my arm. I could kiss her right now.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but are you Angel Scott?”
“No, I’m Angel D’Antonio now, so I don’t know who called you or who put in that stupid request, but it’s wrong, and so you’ve wasted your time and resources on a phony complaint.”
“Who filed a complaint?” I ask, wanting to see if they’ll give the little fuck away.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t reveal that information.” I glare at him.
“But you can come in here and make accusations. Still, you can’t tell me who made the complaint.
” He doesn’t need to tell me because I can see the look on Noah’s face.
The little fucking shit thinks I’m dumb.
My men already knew what he was up to and tipped me off earlier.
It’s why we upped the wedding time even earlier.
The kid has so much to learn about me and my men and the bastard that he was running to help.
“Please get the fuck out of my home now. We’re in the middle of celebrating, and you’re upsetting my new wife.” Noah hides his expression, but Angel clings to my side without even asking. I’m not sure if it’s because she believes I’ll destroy her brother, or because she fears Fields.
“You heard my husband. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.”
Fields steps up from behind the main guy, and I shake my head. Of all people, he shows up. He’s itching for a war. “Angel, I never expected you to side with a criminal,” Fields tells her, looking at her with disappointment.
My wife is too damn smart to fall for his bullshit. She has to know he was involved in the explosion, unless she thinks I set it up and tried to blame it on Fields. “Funny? I’m sure I’m staying away from the true monster.”
When they all leave, she turns to me and says, “Are you trying to tell me that Noah is the one who called them?”
“Excuse us. My wife and I need to talk privately.”
We enter my office, and the first thing I do is pull her in my arms for a sweet kiss. This woman is my existence.
“Luca, we need to talk.”
“Sorry. Yes. We do. He did call the cops and said you were kidnapped,” I tell her.
“He did? After everything we talked about?”
“No, he did it before he saw you.”
“We need to tell him the truth about the explosion. I don’t care how shitty the news will be. I refuse to give him a chance to be swayed by the idea that they are the lesser of two evils.”
“Do you think he still believes that?”
“No, but he wants to protect me, so he probably thinks we can run. There’s more danger than you know.
We didn’t get to talk before the wedding, but Noah told me that the woman he had in the car that day knew Fields and they were also working for someone named Tommy and they were also planning to double cross him.
My brother’s accident wasn’t a part of the plan. ”
“Oh, that’s interesting. It seems we need to have a family sit-down.”
“Please don’t be mean to him.”
“I’m not, Amore Mia.” I kiss her lips. “Let us join the family, and then we can have a small discussion after our meal.”
We enter the room where everyone is gathered with the champagne.
“Let us toast to the lovely new couple, Mr. and Mrs. D’Antonio.”
“Thank you. I am pleased and blessed to have a lovely Angel as my bride. One day we will hopefully be as equally blessed with more little angels. Now, let us dine and celebrate before we’re interrupted by any more unwanted guests.”
We dine and make small talk. It’s a little over two hours before we end the dinner, and then I lead my bride to the dance floor. “Let me dance with my beloved bride.”
The music kicks off, and I swing her into my arms. Her chest slams against mine. “You look so radiant, Mrs. D’Antonio.”
“And you are dashingly handsome.”
“Thank you.” I splay my hand on the middle of her back and hold her close as we sway together. The last-minute twinkling white lights above us shine just right, casting a glow around her. She couldn’t look more heavenly.
Slowly everything comes to an end and then comes the hard part—pulling my father and her brother to the side and having a private conversation.
“Mom, we’re going to need a word with Dad and Noah.”
“That’s fine. I have some presents to wrap.” They’re staying in their rooms that are set up here because we’ll be celebrating the holidays here under the beautiful white tree. Everything is set up for a white Christmas wedding and gathering.
“I’ll be right back down, Son. Go on and start without me,” my father says. I nod and walk Noah into my office with Angel by my side.
“Noah, take a seat there.” I point to the sofa, and then I pull out the chair from behind my desk and sit, setting Angel on my lap.
“What’s going on?”
“Here’s the thing. Angel just told me there was more that you refused to share, and I wish I’d known a little sooner, although I understand why your ass didn’t tell me. Still, it doesn’t change the outcome of what happened a few days ago.”
“What happened?” he asks.
“We went back to the house the other day, and it was ransacked. We were about to go in and assess the damage when it exploded.”
“Exploded?”
“Yes. Thankfully we were far enough back that we landed in a snowbank, but one of my men was killed by the blast.”
“No. Fucking hell, no. Our lives were in that house. I don’t have anything left of Mom and Dad,” he sobs.
“The other day, I did snag this when I went to get a peek at the house the night I took both of you to my home.” I unlock my drawer and pull out the two items I confiscated.
One is a photo album in her room that she had open on her bed, and the other is a signed baseball bat by Frank Thomas that was on his dresser in a fancy display case with a photo of him and his father standing next to Frank.
“These looked like they meant something to the both of you.”
“Why did you take them? Did you expect someone to do that?”
“No. Truth is, I didn’t trust Fields not to pull some shit as a cop with a warrant to search the premises, and I was right. More than likely, the ransacking was done by that asshole.”
“You’re right. The cops said the call came in the middle of the night, and then no one came out until right before we got there, so that just didn’t make sense.”
“No, especially because there were eyewitnesses to the incident.”
“That’s crazy.” Noah holds the encased bat, and tears well up in his eyes. “This was the last thing we did together. It was a charity event the White Sox hosted.” He sobs into his sleeve, and Angel gets up and hugs her little brother.
“I’m so sorry for all of this.”
“This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten mixed up with them at school.”
“What? At school?”
“Yeah, my supposed friend is the one who introduced me to May.”
“Are you serious? When was this?”
“Right before our parents died.”
“Oh my God, did she…?”
“What?”
“Did you two fuck, is what your sister is asking.”
“No, but she tried to get me that way. I just was spooked.”
“Good. She’s too old for you. At least get some girl in her twenties.” Angel slaps my chest.
“He’s just a teenage boy.”
“Yes, I know, Amore. Walking around with a perpetual hard-on and women are going to throw themselves at him. I’m just saying if he’s going to do it, pick one that isn’t old enough to be his mother or grandmother.”
“He can wait a little longer and continue beating off like he already does,” she huffs.
“What the fuck? I’m right here. Why the hell do you have to bust me out like that?”
Angel gets up and paces around the room, arms flailing like a violent, angry little kitten. It’s sexy as fuck, and I wish we were alone because I’d channel that anger into something productive. “Whatever. I’m just glad that bitch didn’t touch you, or I’d cut her myself.”
Noah’s mouth falls open, and he laughs. “Wow, you have been married to him for a minute, and suddenly you’re a mafia wife to the core.”
She stops her frantic pacing and then takes his hands. “It’s my job to protect you, Noah. And so far, I’ve been doing a terrible job at it.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m starting to think your parents got mixed up with the wrong people.
Who are your parents, exactly?” I have to know their names because something isn’t adding up.
Why were they so interconnected to all this nonsense?
There is no way everyone is involved purely by coincidence.
Angel gets a job in my company right before her parents died, his classmate introduced this woman into Noah’s life, and then the series of criminal missteps that led her into my arms.
“Ricky and Sanda Scott.” Damn it, I believe I saw their names in the ledger. He was in debt to Torcello. I open my drawer and then look at the printout I have, reading through it again and finding his name.
“I’m sorry to say that neither of you are to blame for this.”
“It seems your father is on a list from one of my enemies. He owed money, and they wanted it back. You two became useful when the money wasn’t able to be claimed.
Now, I can’t say if your parents were killed by Torcello, but if he couldn’t collect the money from your father, the next best thing would be getting it from you two. Two young kids who he could exploit.”
Angel drops to sit down beside her brother and sighs. “Maybe we should have waited for another day to discuss this.”
“No. This sucks ass, but I needed to know, Angel. I’m sorry I called the cops. I had no idea they would send that asshole here. I swear I didn’t call him.”
“I’m betting he invited himself to the SWAT party.”
“He’s going to get his one of these days.”
“Sorry that took so long.” My father enters, fixing his hair. I roll my eyes because some things don’t change. “Did I miss anything?”
“Actually, there are things we need to discuss, but it will have to wait until later.”
“I’m a little tired,” Angel yawns.
“Maybe we should call it a night.”
“Noah, we have a bedroom upstairs, if you’d like. Unless you’d prefer your old room.”
“Oh that’s a difficult choice,” he sighs, rolling his eyes. “I’ll take the mediocre bedrooms you have here.”
“That’s a smart choice.” I wink at him and then shake his hand.
“Well, if that’s the plan, I’m going to head to bed.”
“Goodnight, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Come on.” Angel and I walk Noah to his new room, which is down the hall from our bedroom. I’m not worried about him getting out because I made sure there were several added security features just in case he gets any bold and stupid ideas.
“Goodnight, Noah.”
Noah smiles at his sister and then says, “Congratulations, Angel.”
“Thank you.” She smiles and gives her brother a big hug.
He looks at me and says, “Take care of my sister like you vowed to earlier.”
“I will. Get some sleep.” We head to our bedroom, and I help my beautiful wife to bed.
“This is our wedding night,” she whispers.
“Yes, my darling.” I strip her bare, and we slowly make love. I whisper how I love her in Italian as I fill her with my seed. We fall asleep and I hold her tight, hoping there are no more problems for a few more days.