The Mafia's Arranged Bride

Chapter-3Tradition

Nico

“The jet is ready, capo,” I rubbed my face, fighting the exhaustion that threatened to get the best of me, and turned my eyes to Caelian, his expression impassive as always.

Caelian Rizza was my underboss—my right-hand man and the only person I could truly call a friend. I trusted him implicitly. Despite his rugged, bad-boy exterior, he was a very calm person. Like me, life had put him through the wringer.

“Good,” I nodded. “We will be ready to leave in fifteen. Any news yet?” Caelian’s expression turned somber as he gave me a small nod. But before he could speak, the door opened and Domani, my advisor, and my next most trusted man after Caelian, walked in, his expression dark.

“Morning capo,” he murmured, giving me a bow of his head.

“Any news?” I repeated, my eyes flitting between the two.

“The stolen shipment was tracked,” Caelian said. “But...”

“But?” I demanded, and looking at their expressions, I knew whatever came out of his mouth wouldn’t be good.

“They were all destroyed,” Domain replied instead, looking pissed. “There was nothing that could have been salvaged.”

“How much is the loss?” I could feel Domani and Caelian shift uncomfortably.

“Say it...” I hissed, meeting their gaze. “How much?”

“There were two million dollars worth of cocaine in there...” Caelian answered. “The estimated damage is around three million...” I closed my eyes and started to count to three to simmer down the rage that erupted through me.

“We are looking into this,” Domani said hurriedly. “We will soon find out who is behind this.”

“This is the third shipment that was destroyed in two months,” I said, shooting both of them a glare. “And your excuse is that you are looking into this?”

“We...we will soon find out,” he murmured. “We will surely have something soon...”

“I want answers, and I want them immediately. If another shipment is destroyed...” I warned, glaring at them.

“I will get my best men on this...once we get back...”

“Now...” I said, trying to keep my calm because Domani was much older than me, and I respected him. “I want you to get on it...NOW.”

“Yes, capo,” Domani murmured and then hurried out, slamming the door shut behind him. I let out a hiss and almost reached out to pour myself a damn drink. However, it was too early in the morning, and I still had to deal with Gianna. My wife.

The thought didn't leave a good taste in my mouth.

“We will take care of this,” Caelian added after a beat. “You should focus on other, more important matters.”

“Yeah, I have several meetings lined up as soon as we get back,” I sighed. “And then there’s the party tomorrow...”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said, giving me a look. I raised a brow at him, not quite liking how his caramel eyes studied me.

“Then what do you mean?” I demanded, lighting a cigarette.

“I meant Gianna…” he said. “And your marriage. You canceled the honeymoon? I figured you could’ve taken a few days. I thought you trusted me to handle things while you were gone, Nico.”

Right. Here comes the holy Caelian wisdom.

“This is not about not trusting you,” I said flatly. “This is too grave a situation, not just with the financial losses, but the fact that someone dared to mess with my business, mess with Baldocchi's trade. We need to find out who the motherfucker is.”

“And that couldn’t wait a few days?” Caelian said, and I sure as hell did not like his tone.

“No Caelian...it cannot wait,” I hissed. “And don’t worry about Gianna. She is mature enough to understand her husband’s line of work. Her brothers are on the same ship, if you remember.”

“I guess that explains why you slept on the couch,” he muttered under his breath, glancing at the duvet and pillows lying on the couch. I clenched my jaw and threw him a glare in response.

“Is there anything else you want to report?” I demanded tartly. Caelian's lips pressed into a thin line, and he shook his head.

“No,”

“Good, then please see that the jet is ready for us,” I said, and my tone was dismissive enough that he silently turned on his heels and left.

As soon as he disappeared, I let out a hiss. Caelian did test my patience sometimes.

Grimacing, I got up to see if Gianna was ready. Earlier, when I went to grab my clothes, she was still asleep, curled in the duvet. I had paused briefly to watch her. But something about her made me uncomfortable, and so I quickly left. The thought was unnerving. She was one tiny person after all.

I made a face and just as I was about to knock on the bedroom door, it opened, and her dark eyes blinked back at me, looking a bit startled. She had eyes like Bambi, so big and beautiful. And innocent.

In all honesty, Gianna Ammassari was devastatingly beautiful. But not the kind you see in magazines and movies. The kind that reminds you of warm sunlight on a cold day, of hope and happiness, and that everything was good and pure in this world. As if that was even possible.

“Good morning,” Gianna said in that soft, twinkling voice of hers, distracting me from my glum thoughts.

She was dressed simply in a pastel halter-neck dress and, as always, she looked graceful and feminine. She reminded me of cherry blossoms in their full bloom for some reason.

Gianna was the beloved, pampered younger sister of Don Leonardo and Xavier Ammassari, the leaders of the Ammassari family. And two of the most powerful men in Italy. The Ammassari and Baldocchi families had been fierce rivals, locked in a power struggle until two years ago, when the peace treaty was signed, and this marriage between Gianna and me was arranged to seal it.

“Are you ready to leave? The jet is ready,” I said, because really, what else was I supposed to say to her?

I don’t do small talk. And she doesn’t seem like the kind of woman you can have small talk with anyway. But then she didn’t want me to touch her either. So what was I supposed to do with her and this marriage?

Whatever was in between those two situations, I didn’t know and couldn’t bother with. Gianna gave me a nod in response.

“Sure,”

“Good,” I muttered.

We stood there in that uncomfortable, tingling yet awkward silence, and I would admit it was hard not to replay last night's kiss in my mind. That was...something. But it won't happen again, so I'd better not go down that path. Would I mind f*****g her? Probably not. She was gorgeous and sexy and submissive. I have noticed what I do to her. But she said no, and I respect that too. I wasn't completely the monster people perceived me to be.

Thankfully, Gianna decided to break the silence by retreating into the bedroom. And it was only then that I realized I was holding my breath for some reason, my eyes reflexively following after her and my heart thudding against my chest as I caught a whiff of her scent.

Okay...this was weird.