Chapter 29 – Mari
Marriage. God help us all.
My men stiffened behind me, and Shara felt like a statue at my side, but I didn’t move a muscle beyond casually slipping my left hand—and my wedding ring—beneath my thigh. How they hadn’t seen it, I wasn’t sure, but there was no way I was showing that card yet.
“Pretty sure marrying cousins went away with the monarchy. You’re handsome and all, but you’re not my type.”
Christian’s lips tipped into the smallest smile, while Adrian tossed his head back and laughed.
Emmanuel smirked. “Not your cousin, his second.”
Adrien’s mouth snapped closed, and Shara snarled under her breath. This time, I squeezed her hand. Trust me.
She squeezed back, but I could tell she wasn’t pleased. I wouldn’t be either if someone tried to marry off one of my men.
Oh, wait…
Pasting a smile on my face, I said, “While Adrien seems nice enough, I can’t accept.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I’m already married.” Lifting my hand into the air, I wiggled my ring finger.
“Who?” Emmanuel glared at the men behind me as if he could get rid of my husband by sheer will alone. I didn’t even have to look to know all three of them puffed up at the challenge.
“Doesn’t matter. The point is, I’m unavailable. And if they should die, I’ll take the black.”
Widows weren’t uncommon in mafia life, and it was a sign of great honor and respect for a woman to wear black during the grieving period. Custom dictated that most widows remarried, but the ones who took the black never remarried. Never moved on. They were committed to their husbands beyond the grave.
I’d always thought that if Lucia Ricci had lived a different life, she’d have taken the black for Dominic’s father.
I knew I would.
There would be no other loves for me if my men died. They were already more than a lifetime’s worth, and I would be content living out my days in remembrance of them.
Shara leaned in, resting her cheek against mine so she could whisper in my ear. “Let me do it.”
Fuck me sideways, it was like Aislynn all over again.
“Before you refuse, you should know I’m already in love with Adrien. Marrying him isn’t exactly a hardship since I already said yes.”
Looking into her eyes, I saw strength and resolve, tempered by a lightness I hadn’t seen since Antoni was alive. She really did love Adrien just as much as she loved my brother, and this was likely the only way she could have him. Emmanuel or Christian would marry him off if I didn’t help her.
By agreeing, she could finally marry the man she wanted. She could move on in the way I knew she’d been dying to for years.
That it would clear the city of Cash at the same time was a boon I couldn’t ignore.
“I don’t want this to be like Cameron,” I admitted.
“It won’t be. Adrien’s… He’s amazing, but he’s also real. He hasn’t lied to me, and he’s proven it. I know that means nothing to you, but I’m asking you to trust me. I know what I’m doing.” When I nodded reluctantly—because what else could I do? —she straightened in her seat. “I’ll do it.”
Christian’s jaw clenched, while Emmanuel looked at her like she was roadkill. “What use is a friend with no power to us?”
“Shara is my sister in all but name, and if we’d had even a few more months with Antoni, she would’ve been that too.”
“Ah, this is the would-be fiancée.” Suddenly Emmanuel’s gaze was far more appraising.
“Yes.”
“Fine, she’ll marry?—”
“Me.”
Adrien started and Shara clenched her fists at her sides at Christian’s interruption, but neither of them spoke, so I did.
“No.” Marrying her to Adrien because she was in love with him was one thing. Marrying her to Christian was another.
“Yes,” Emmanuel said, jumping on anything to make me uncomfortable. Dick. “Your sister will marry my heir.”
He grinned at my unimpressed look, but my focus was taken by the two men beside him. Adrien glared at his best friend like he was ready to fight to the death. I couldn’t see Christian’s face well, but he maintained a haughty air that said he was baiting his second.
If you want her, you’ll have to get through me. It made me like him less and Adrien more.
Adrien slid his eyes to Shara, and only when she shook her head did he back down, though there was no doubt he was going to make Christian pay. As my cousin twisted back to us, Adrien watched Shara with a look of such stark devotion and possession that it made my skin tingle.
“Jesus,” Nate whispered behind us, and it made me laugh.
Shara’s firm nod pushed me to answer, though it pained me to do it. “Agreed.”
Emmanuel and I stood, shaking on the deal before he turned to Christian with a grin then looked at Two-Bit. “Congratulations, boys.”
What the hell is he— No.
My stomach dropped. It didn’t make sense at first, but Two-Bit was here, when he’d otherwise been separated from Osorio business. Why else would Emmanuel have invited him unless…
“You made them co-heirs.”
Emmanuel’s smirk got bigger. “I did.”
Christian’s head snapped toward him. “What? When?”
“No,” Two-Bit snarled.
“Now, and yes. My grandsons will take over for their father.” He sent a disapproving glance toward Rafael, who stood with his mouth open in shock. “You’ll both marry the girl.”
Every part of me wanted to pull Shara away, not willing to let her get involved in what was bound to be a brotherly shitshow, but she held firm. “Okay.”
I could practically see Two-Bit’s mind whirling, trying hard to come up with a way to get out of being pulled further into the life he clearly hated, but there wasn’t one. He’d come to the meeting, and even if he hadn’t fully agreed, he’d shown his support as an Osorio. Just being here, he had signed his name on the dotted line. Unless he gave up pretending and told them all the truth, he was going to rule at his brother’s side whether he liked it or not.
While everyone was still scrambling, I knew I had to figure things out fast. “The wedding will have to wait until after Cash is gone.”
“No,” Emmanuel and Christian said at once, though I had a feeling it was for very different reasons.
“Yes. Consider it a show of good faith that you’ll actually be where I need you.”
Emmanuel’s shoulders tightened, but he didn’t disagree, which meant Christian wouldn’t either.
“It’ll take two days to get my men here.”
Which meant that was all the time I had to come up with a viable plan. “We’ll be ready,” I promised. Greyson was already on the phone, whispering to Victor. When he nodded my way, I knew we’d make it. It would be a tight timeline, but we’d pull it off.
For a chance to destroy Cash for all he’d done, I’d do just about anything.
With a clap on Christian’s shoulder and a few whispered words to a pissed-off Two-Bit, Emmanuel swept out of the room, taking his guards with him.
Like an unspoken decree, no one spoke until the cars left the drive, and even then, we waited for Nate and Adrien to scan for and remove the five listening devices they found in the room and adjoining hallways. By the time they got back, Two-Bit looked ready to disappear into the wall, and Christian was practically vibrating.
“We’re clear,” Adrien said, Nate nodding his agreement.
Christian stalked over to Shara until they were pressed together, framing her face with his hands. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Even though the room was cleared, he barely spoke over a whisper.
She curled her hands around his wrists. “I already agreed.”
“You agreed to marry Adrien. This changes things.” He sent a dark look to Two-Bit, which he returned.
Shara huffed and pulled Christian’s focus back to her. “It changes nothing. If Mari trusts him, I trust him. Besides, you’re the one who changed things.”
“Don’t worry, amore. We’ll be talking about that later.” Adrien’s glower was impressive, but Christian didn’t seem to care. He pulled Shara in until he could press his lips to her forehead. “You’re too trusting, mi sol.”
Her cheeks flushed at the name, but he was already turning to his brother.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Two-Bit stared Christian down, and again, I could see the resemblance. Mostly in the eyes. They looked less like their father and more like each other. It was a little disturbing. “My presence was requested.”
I could see Christian tensing up for a showdown, and when Shara sent me a pleading look, I waded in. “Did you know what he was going to do?”
Christian shook his head, running a hand through his hair in agitation. “I knew he was going to remove Rafael, but the rest was a shock.”
“How’d you get him to work with us?” Grey asked Christian, coming back over now that his phone call was done.
“I reminded him that you may be Mario’s daughter, but plenty of people know you’re Bianca’s too. If we let you fall, it looks bad on us.”
“He helped because his reputation was on the line.” It should’ve annoyed me, but I’d made peace with Emmanuel. One day, he’d die and be out of my hands. Until then, I’d pretend he didn’t exist. “If you decide you want to speed up your transition to power when this is all over, let me know.”
Adrien laughed and Shara’s shoulders dropped, especially when he lifted an arm for her. She sped across the room and snuggled into his side as he kissed her temple. They were so wrapped in each other, whispering with their mouths almost pressed together, that they didn’t see the way Christian watched her like she was the most coveted thing in his life.
Or the way Two-Bit looked like he’d rather throw himself in front of a moving bus than take a single step closer to her.
I chose to believe it was because he didn’t like being commanded to marry and had nothing to do with Shara herself. If that wasn’t the case, we’d be having a very serious conversation soon.
Christian, however, decided the conversation was due now.
“I don’t care what the old man said. If you hurt her?—”
“I don’t even want her. I’m certainly not going to hurt her.”
They stared at each other like they were playing chicken until, finally, Christian scoffed, walking away with a look that promised death if he’d lied.
Through it all, Christian didn’t once look at his father.
After a brief chat, Shara skipped over for a hug and a promise to video-call soon before she grabbed both Christian’s and Adrien’s hands and swept them out of the room. Poor bastards stared at her like she was the only star in the sky, and I was kind of excited to see if she could truly find the level of happiness I had with my men.
With Christian gone, Two-Bit seemed to relax more, although he didn’t look at Rafael either. “You’re working with Paez?”
Shit. I was hoping we wouldn’t have this conversation today. “I am, but I’m not going to let him distribute in the city.”
It was technically within the lines of our deal, even if it didn’t honor the spirit of it, and he knew it. I thought he’d be angry, but instead, there was a hint of humor in his eyes. “Why am I not surprised you worked a deal like that?”
He wasn’t talking about the one with the cartel.
My shrug was automatic. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”
We watched each other for a moment, two people who had secrets that could destroy the other’s life. All it would take was choosing to let those secrets loose, and everything would be destroyed.
I’d be in jail.
Two-Bit would likely be dead.
It hit me that his little secret would spell death for more than just him if he wasn’t careful.
“Keep her out of the mess. Please.”
His hands clenched. “I’ll do what I can to do right by her.”
“That’s all I ask. For the record, I’m sorry about today.”
That he’d been dragged into the life he’d fought so hard to avoid. That he’d been gifted a marriage he didn’t want. That his existence was going to be even harder now because of all of it.
And that I’d be just another opponent if his actions caused Shara harm.
“I know you are.” He shook his head with a faint smile. “See you soon, Mari.”
“Good luck.”
He walked out with a nod to my men, leaving just us and my uncle.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Rafael stared at the door with the kind of acceptance that said he knew nothing would ever fix the way he’d fucked up. With his father. With his sons. He was on his own for the first time. I wondered how that felt. “I am. I should have done it sooner. For Bianca and for you.”
But he wasn’t okay. Walking away from his birthright would never be easy, but he’d done it for me, and I was grateful. So, when he turned to me and asked if I needed another sharpshooter, I accepted.
I had a feeling I’d need every man I could get.