Vidal! (Snakes Henchmen MC 6)

“I don't mean to be a prick, but I told you this would happen.”

“I should have listened.” I scrub my hands over my tired face and shift in my seat outside of Marnie's room.

“How long have we been friends, Draven?”

“A long time.” Longer than I can remember sometimes. Of all the men who work for me, Tony is the one I can count on for anything, no matter what.

“Yes, you're the Don, but I like to think you're my friend before my boss.” I look at him and nod. “We can’t change what Carlos and Louis did to Marnie, but we can protect her from here on in.”

“And we will because I will kill the whole damn council if they so much as say one wrong word!”

Tony clasps my shoulder. “And you'd have every right, my friend. Marnie has a good heart, a pure soul. No matter what those assholes did to her, no matter how scared and confused she was, she said not one word against you, Draven.”

I'm proud of Marnie for that, but I would have understood if she had told them what they wanted to here just so the torture would stop. Bigger men have done just that in the past. There's something extraordinary about a woman who can hold her tongue during something like that.

“If she chooses to leave,” I look Tony in the eye. “No one is to stop her. She's been through enough, and I wouldn't blame her for wanting to get as far away from me, from this shit show, and everything that surrounds it.”

“She won't leave you, Draven. Marnie has every right to be angry, just let her get it out there so she can move on. Take care of her, and I'll deal with the aftermath of Carlos and Louis.”

“You're a good man, Tony.” I clasp his shoulder and squeeze. “Make sure everyone knows to be Coley's tomorrow night, and I mean everyone. It's time I made everyone understand just how serious I am when it comes to Marnie. I won't have anyone thinking I'm weak; that's when the wolves descend.”

“You are far from weak, Draven. Give Marnie my love.” I nod and watch him leave. It's time for me to speak with Marnie.

Chapter Seven

Marnie

I haven't looked at Draven yet. I can't seem to bring myself to do so. To be honest, I feel empty inside right now. Those men tortured me for being with Draven, and for information, I had no knowledge of.

I should have listened to people when they said what kind of life I'd be walking into. I shouldn't have been so naïve as to think bad things wouldn't happen to me if I were with Draven. I could have lost my baby today. I could have died!

All those promises Draven made meant nothing because he couldn't keep them. I want to hate him for it, but I don't. I don't blame him for what happened either. I don't believe he wanted anything to happen to me, and definitely not our baby.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Do I walk away from Draven or do I try to put this behind me and make things work between us?

I heard Draven and Tony talking earlier. The doctor hadn't closed the door properly, and I could hear their conversation. They mentioned the names of the men who hurt me, and I got the feeling they weren't working for the enemy. I won't know for sure if they were Draven's men until I hear it from Draven himself. Deep down though, I know it's true.

How would I ever be able to trust the men who work for Draven after this when I couldn't even trust my driver? Stefano made sure my bodyguard was out of the way so that I couldn't call for help, and Tom would have helped me had he been there.

Tom is always near me wherever I go, so how was Stefano able to give him the slip so easily?

My head is banging, and my whole body hurts. Some of the nerves in my legs and hand are still shaking. The doctor said they'd settle down, but it's normal after the way I was shocked. I tap my fingertips together because they're tingling, so are my toes. I lay my hands on my belly and close my eyes, and a tear falls.

I'll move on from this day, the way I have everything in my life. However, right now, I just feel so hopeless. What the hell have I let myself in for with this man?

How stupid could I have been to trust a Mafia Don?

I thought I knew better than the gossips. I thought all the things I'd heard about Draven Vidal were exaggerated to scare people like me. I know Draven is a bad man, but I thought there was good in him somewhere. I thought maybe after he was so good to me this past week, that we'd formed a friendship.

I never dreamed this would happen to me. I'm a good person; I've never done anything bad. I always put everyone before myself, so why did this happen to me?

I don't look at Draven when he sits down in the chair beside the bed I'm lying in. I haven't looked at him once since he came into the room. I'm trying not to cry out loud because I don't want to look weak in Draven's eyes, even though I feel it right now.

Draven gently takes my hand in his. I don't pull away because somewhere inside of me, I feel a strange sense of comfort from his touch.

Does that make me some kind of sadist?

“Marnie, we need to talk.”

I shake my head slightly. “You let them hurt me.” I swallow back a sob and look at him through bloodshot eyes.

I swallow back another sob at the devastated look on his face. “Marnie, I did not allow them to hurt you. I had no idea they would do this.”

“Didn't you? Who were they, Draven?”

Draven blows out a deep breath. “The men who did this to you were elder members of the family council. I won't lie to you; it was put to me that your loyalty to me, and the family had to be tested the same way it is with a

nyone who gets close to the Don.” My eyes widen. Draven shakes his head. “Listen to me. I did not agree to it, Marnie. I would not have done that, especially while you're pregnant.”

But he would have agreed if I wasn't pregnant? Charming!

“Each of those me, including Stefano is dead. No one will live should they hurt you.”

I stare at him as anger rises in his eyes. He closes them and breathes deeply as if breathing away that anger. Something inside tells me that Draven has been affected by what his men did to me, and by what could have happened to our baby a little more than he's used to with others.

I realize that I'm not angry with him even slightly, I'm angry with the situation I found myself in, and the fact I felt so weak not being able to get myself out of it.

Draven kept his promise about what he would do to anyone who ever hurt me. I don't know, and I don't want to know yet what he did to those men, but I know they will have died in terrible ways. The Don isn't likely to just slap you around a little.

I want to believe this won't happen again, but I don't know whom I can really trust. I should go back to Brooke's and wash my hand of this whole thing. So why then, am I clutching Draven's hand in mine?

“They made me think they were the enemy, and that they wanted to hurt you. They kept asking me for information because they thought I would tell them anything at all to make them stop. I didn't tell them anything. I didn't betray you, Draven.”

He strokes my hair back from my forehead. “I know you didn't.”

“Then they said they would keep me alive long enough for the baby to be born, then they'd sell it on the black market.”