Chapter Twelve #2
“The news of her marrying you must have gotten to him, wherever he is. I refuse to believe that’s unrelated to this attack. Definitely, he’ll play another card. He’s bound to do something soon. We’ll outplay him at his own game and make him regret the day he decided to betray us.”
“And the Italians? I must say I’m rather surprised they dared to attack Mikhail’s residence. Of all the ways to die,” Roman remarked, chuckling. “They are too big for Marco to string along. Besides, they know better than to initiate attacks.”
“They have their motive. Something that Marco either doesn’t realize or is too stupid to see,” Viktor answered. “Or they have something on him.”
“With how deep the bastard is in debt, I’d say they have something on him,” said Roman.
I sighed, raking a hand through my hair.
I had never been one to hold back, in any way, from any type of confrontation or even war. But, for the first time, I was tired and hesitant.
**********
“Meeting over?” Isabella inquired, a bit of roughness beneath her soft voice.
She sat at the edge of the bed, turning her face away from the window she was looking out of.
“Yeah. We’re all alone,” I answered, my tone instinctually softening.
Another thing she does to me.
Just being in Isabella’s presence made me do unplanned things. It seemed my whole being always knew to match her frequency whenever she was around.
Her fragile voice was a clear-enough tell. She could rise up to our attackers and sound too cool to be shaken when my brothers asked if she was okay, but she wasn’t unaffected by the attack.
“It’s hard to know which panels were replaced,” she commented, gesturing towards the windows.
“Of course, it’s what they are paid for.”
She rose to her feet, clad in my grey T-shirt, catching my attention and heating me from the inside like it always did.
“Time for breakfast. Seems my appetite is back,” she uttered, walking towards the doorway where I still stood.
Nope. Not having that. Time to get some answers.
“There is still an unanswered question,” I pointed out as she approached, taking my hands out of my pockets.
“What are you talking about?” she asked casually, strolling closer to the door.
I grabbed her by the waist, turning her around and pinning her back to the wall.
“Tell me why you can shoot like a damn soldier,” I demanded, my eyes staring into her defiant ones.
“Let me go, Mikhail,” she fired, her voice firm.
“As much as I love it when you call my name, darling wife,” I stated. “That’s not happening.”
“What the fuck do you want to know?! I was trained like any other person, what’s so weird about that?” she questioned, her voice carrying a slightly shaky timbre like she was frustrated.
“By who? Your dad and brother were mafia soldiers, you had no reason to learn,” I went on, my voice calmer.
“Giovanni taught me,” she answered. “Everything I know, he taught me until he was sure I was good. Happy now?”
I was slightly taken aback. I remained silent as I watched her deliberate going on.
“He taught me because he always knew our dad would sell us out someday,” she whispered, looking up at me with eyes that were now cold.
“You guys never trusted your father, hm?”
“Never,” she replied, her eyes straying from mine as she went. “We were all each other had. He was my safe space, and I was probably his. He was barely home, but he never held back from showing me how much he treasured me. And now… he’s gone.”
Her blinks became more frequent, and I knew she was trying to keep tears at bay. Her chest heaved with emotion, and I could see how hard she was trying not to break.
It made me admire her even more. I admired how she held on to strength even when she had more than enough reasons to be weak and pitiful.
I admired how she remained calm in the midst of chaos.
Her fire set her apart from every other lady I’d ever admired in my life.
But admiration wasn’t the only thing on my mind.
There was a generous and crazy amount of lust, too.
Her honesty made her look so delicate; it made me want her more.
The way she held her lips tightly shut made me want to kiss them until they were an even darker shade of red.
I was close enough to see the outline of her bra beneath the material of the shirt, and it made me want to divest her of everything altogether.
But it was the knowledge of how much she wanted me too that made me want her like a drug.
“I just wanted to know,” I explained, lifting her chin with my right hand.
“And now you know.”
“And now I want to kiss you and tantalize you with my body. Not because your body pulls me in but because I want to show you how much I admire you.”
I didn’t take my eyes off her as she let out a slow breath. I didn’t need any other confirmation.
I kissed her, my lips moving over hers reverently as her palm landed on my chest.
Then, just as her other hand moved to the back of my head and her fingers laced through my hair, she broke the kiss.
“Breakfast,” she whispered.
I couldn’t hold back a frustrated groan.
“And it has to be now?” I complained. “When you were about to drive me crazy with your fingers in my hair?” I closed the distance between us, making her feel the growing hardness beneath my joggers.
“Oh,” she commented, amusement and lust swirling in her eyes.
“Funny?”
“Uh…I could just run my hands through your hair if that’s the problem,” she offered, giggling as her hands landed on both sides of my face, traveling into my hair and ruffling it like a child’s.
Despite myself, I joined in on her laughter.
“You drive me crazy,” I confessed, shaking my head as she let go of my hair.
I dropped a kiss on her forehead as I released her, and she led the way out of the bedroom.
We were a few feet away from the kitchen when I got a notification that someone was in the elevator.
“Seems Yuri is here,” I announced.
“Oh…okay,” Isabella commented, going into the kitchen as I turned towards the doorway.
“Must be an urgent update. We won’t be long.”
“Hm.”
Yuri met me at the door.
“Good morning, boss.”
“Any news?”
“Yes, boss,” he stated. “Marco was spotted with the Italian don. It was a sort of secret meeting.”
“He didn’t take our warning to stop his double-dealing seriously,” I mused.
“Apparently not, boss. He’s still affiliated with them, even while he hides away from us.”
“Marco will pay.”