Michael


    I nce down at the dagger protruding from my chest, then up at her. The train of her ck dress streams behind her. Her hair flows about her shoulders. She raises the dagger and the blood-my blood drips from her fingers. Her green eyes ze at me, the look in them triumphant and stricken, at the same time. I hold her gaze, and in the depths of her eyes, I see myself reflected. I reach for her and she holds out her hand-the one without the dagger. Our fingers touch, cling together. Her lips part and my gaze drops to her mouth. The redness of her lipstick matches the scarlet that runs down the de of the dagger.


    “Beauty,” I whisper, “what have you done?”


    “I…” she swallows, “I didn’t have a choice… I didn’t mean to-” Her shoulders shudder. “I-”


    Her beautiful features sway in front of my eyes. ck spots flicker at the sides of my vision. My knees seem to give way from under me.


    I hear her scream and her fingers tighten around mine. The dagger slips from her fingers and tters to the ground. The world tilts. Arms grab me from behind, and I shake them off. I steady myself, nce past her to find my brothers crowding in around us.


    Sebastian reaches for her and I growl, “Don’t fucking touch her.”


    I nce over their shocked faces until my gaze connects with Luca’s. I re at him, then lower my gaze to her face, then back to him. He nods. And a breath I hadn’t been aware I was holding leaves me. I take in her pale features, her green eyes pooling with tears that run down her cheeks. I raise my palm, brush away the moisture on her delicate features.


    “Shh,” I bare my teeth at her, “you didn’t think that I would die that easily did you?”


    I tear at the front of the shirt and my buttons bounce to the floor. I nce down at the bleeding cut, then back at her. “You barely broke the skin,” I drawl. “Seems I am going to not only discipline you but also instruct you on how to use weapons.”


    “Fuck you.” Her chin wobbles, “I managed to hurt you. In my books, that’s a win.”


    “You barely wounded me. You showed your cards too soon, Beauty.”


    Her breath heaves.


    “I am afraid I am going to enjoy teaching you your ce.”


    She stiffens. “You can go to hell,” she snaps.


    “Only if you’lle with me. Now that we are husband and wife, and all that.”


    “Fuck your sham of a marriage.”


    “It was very real, mia cara,” I smile at her broadly, “don’t forget you still wear my ring.”


    She raises her left hand then begins to struggle with the ring on her finger. “Shit, shit, shit,” she snarls, “it won’te off.”


    “Of course, not.” I smirk, “You didn’t think I was going to leave anything to chance, did you?” I drum my fingers on my thigh, in part to distract from the pain in my chest. “It’s half a size smaller, easy to push onto the finger, much more difficult to get off.”


    She stills, then raises her gaze to mine. “Bastard,” she spits out, “how dare you?”


    Behind me, the priest winces.


    “Now you’ve shocked the Father.”


    Her cheeks tinge red. “The hell I care?”


    I click my tongue. “You’re spirited, I give you that.” I smirk, “I’ll enjoy teaching you your ce.”


    “Argh!” She makes a sound deep in her throat that seems to tug on my nerve-endings. The blood drains to my groin.


    Then, Luca wraps his arm around her shoulders and urges her away from me. Her fingers drag against mine, as she pulls away. A shiver runs down my spine.


    Nonna steps in front of her. I see her hand move, then the thud of a p echoes around the church as her palm connects with Beauty’s face.


    “Stop,” I call out. “She’s my wife, mine to punish as I see fit.”


    Nonna’s shoulders rise and fall. She turns, tips up her chin at me. Her features are flushed. She seems topose herself, then nods at me, “See that you do.” My grandmother pivots and walks out the way she came, through the side entrance of the church where, no doubt, her bodyguards are waiting for her.


    “Take her to the basement.” I jerk my chin at Luca.


    Around me, my brothers stiffen, but none of them say anything. They wouldn’t. They know better than to question my authority in front of the Don.


    Beauty stares at me over her shoulder as Luca guides her away, Adrian in tow.


    I don’t take my attention off of her, until she’s out of sight, out of the main door. My chest twinges, but I dismiss it. I nce down to find the front of my shirt sodden with blood.


    I shrug off my jacket, then my tear off my shirt and press it into the wound.


    “You need stitches.” Christian murmurs, “I am calling for the doctor.”


    I am tempted to say I don’t need to see a doctor, but I know better than taking foolish risks. I nod, as my father prowls over to me. “I hope you are not going to let this go unpunished.” He looks me up and down, “She spilled the blood of a Capo; you know what that means.”


    I stiffen, “She’s my wife. I decide how I am going to make her pay for what she did.”


    He chuckles, “No doubt, you can turn the consummation of the marriage into something that she will never forget.”


    I whip my chin up, re at him. “Mind how you speak about her,” I say through gritted teeth. “She’s still mine.”


    “Not questioning that, son,” he says in a soothing voice. “Just making sure you realize that this cannot be overlooked. When word of what happened gets out…” He shakes his head, “It will seriously undermine your position as being in the running as sessor of the Don.”


    “And who will let news of this leak out?”


    My father nces at the priest. I pull out the gun from the back of my waistband and shoot him in the forehead. The man copses to the floor.


    I turn to the Don, “That only leaves you as the weak point in this entire proceeding.”


    “You threatening me, son?” he asks in a mild tone. “Not even you would be foolish enough to do that.”


    “It was merely an observation.” I tilt my head.


    “As long as that’s all it was.” He bares his lips in the semnce of a smile, which is almost as sharklike as mine. Apparently there is more of him in me than I’d like.


    He nces around at the faces of my brothers, “I’ll see the lot of you at our next meeting then.”


    Turning, he begins to walk away, then stops, “By the way, Michngelo.” He nces at me over his shoulder, “Congrattions.”


    He leaves by the side entrance. The door ms shut, the sound echoing around the space.


    “Fucking fuck,” I growl as I pull the shirt away from my chest. I nce down to where the blood flow seems to have lessened, then ball up my shirt and throw it on the floor. “What a fucking mess.”


    “Was that necessary?” Xander nces sideways at the priest’s body, “Did you have to kill a man of god.”


    “I didn’t have a choice.”


    “The man would have taken what happened here to the grave with him,” he protests.


    “And I made sure he did.”


    Xander grimaces, “And her… Did you have to send her to the basement?”


    “It’s where anyone whomits a crime against any of the famiglia is sent.” I tilt my head.


    “She’s part of the famiglia now,” Xander argues.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “She needs to prove herself first.” Christian jerks his chin in my direction, “I agree with fratellone, here.”


    “You were very lucky,” Massimo rumbles. “She missed your heart.


    “She wasn’t aiming for it,” I retort.


    Silence descends as the guys nce at me.


    “You sure of that?” Sebastian drawls, “because from where I was standing, she sure seemed to be aiming to kill.”


    “To injure, at the very least,” I agree, “but did she want to kill me?” I raise a shoulder, “I am not so sure.”


    “So why send her to the basement?” Christian frowns.


    “Why not?”