Vidal! (Snakes Henchmen MC 6)

“You let this fuckin' dago get you pregnant?!”

I wanted to answer him. I wanted to say something smart to make him look stupid. Tell him how this dago as he referred to Draven as fucked me in ways that Paul never could. That this dago is the hottest man, I have ever laid eyes on.

However, I can't say anything, all I can do is stare as Draven beats the hell out of Paul like he's a professional boxer. The two men who arrived with Draven are standing to the side just watching their boss beat the hell out of my ex-husband like it's nothing to them, and I honestly don't think I have ever seen a man as strong as Draven Vidal.

What am I supposed to do? I can't just stand here and watch Draven kill Paul. The racist piece of shit deserves a beating for what he just said to Draven, but... Dammit!

“Draven, stop!” I yell, but it seems to fall on deaf ears.

Draven punches Paul in the face again and again. Paul is no longer trying to fight back, and with each punch, his head swings with force to the side.

“You've hurt her for the last time! Come near her again, and you are a fuckin' dead man. Give her the divorce she asked for or so help me...”

I scream and grab his arm before he can punch Paul again. I can't stand the man, but I can't stand seeing this much blood and violence either.

I can't even believe he would beat someone while wearing what could be the most expensive suit I have ever seen in my life before.

Oh, yeah, because that's the first thing you think about, Marnie?

“Please don't do this, Draven. He's not worth it!”

“You think I'm going to stand back and watch while this racist cunt beats my kid out of you?!”

“Don't yell at me!” I don't give a damn who he is and how much power he may have; he will not speak to me that way! “You were adamant it wasn't even your kid a couple of weeks ago. What the hell changed all of a sudden?”

His eyes widen as he drops Paul to the floor with a thud. A thud that makes me jump, yet I can't tear my eyes away from Draven's intense brown ones. He grabs my forearms and pushes me against the wall behind me. Am I supposed to be turned on by this? Of all the damn situations to get turned on by, it just had to be this one? God, I must be insane.

“I've been a busy man of late. I've also done a lot of thinking. Why would you tell me the baby is mine if it isn't?” I narrow my eyes a little, my lower lip between my teeth. “Then it hit me. You wouldn't.”

“No, I wouldn't,” I whisper.

“You're a strong woman, Marnie. You wouldn't need to use your unborn baby to get away from that cunt.” I swallow past the dry lump in my throat. “There would be no reason for you to come to me unless this baby really is mine.”

“There has been no one else, Draven. This baby is yours.”

“I know that. I'm sorry for what I said.” I bite my lip to hide my smile. “I want to be a father to my child, Marnie.”

“That's why I told you. This baby deserves to know its father.”

I giggle to myself. I like feeling him stroking my stomach, knowing he's touching our baby somehow. This is all I want from him, to be a father to our child. I want him to be involved in all aspects of this pregnancy. I want him to experience it all with me. It's his right as the father, but that is all I want from him.

“This baby is mine,” He looks into my eyes. “And so are you.”

“Wait. What?”

He doesn't answer me. He just turns to his men and orders them to take Paul somewhere. I'm baffled, what the hell is going on? I'm trying to find words to tell him that I don't want to be anything to him other than his friend. However, as he leads me past my car and towards his own, I'm mute. I can't find any words at all.

What the fuck?

Chapter Four

Draven

Fucking sonofabitch! I should've killed Paul Simpson then and there, and I fucking would have if Marnie hadn't grabbed my arm and begged me to stop.

What the fuck is it with this woman? Never have I allowed any woman to speak to me the way she just did in front of my men. When she yelled at me, it turned me on so fucking bad that I pushed her against the wall. I would've fucked her stupid if we hadn't been surrounded by people, including her half dead ex-husband on the floor, whom I told my men to take to the warehouse. Cunt won't give Marnie that divorce quick enough, and I won't let him live knowing he has no damn boundaries where Marnie is concerned. I'll wake up one day to find he's killed her and the baby.

Not going to happen. I'm going to end him, and I'm going to do it myself! I'll show that motherfucker why nobody messes with the boss and what's his, and Marnie is mine, the mother of my child, my soon-to-be wife.

Oh, she'll fight me on it, I have no doubt about that, but I'm not about to give her a choice. I'm the boss of the Vidal Famiglia Crime Organization, and I have many enemies who would love nothing more than to take me out.

Oh, come on, whom the hell wouldn't?

I have to keep a close eye on my men in case they get a little too big for their boots and think they can overthrow me. There are people out there who would love nothing more than to take what's mine, my girl, my child. It's only a matter of time before it gets out there that I'm having a child with this woman, and the worms will descend. The only way for me to protect Marnie is to keep her with me, make her my wife whether she likes it or not.

I shouldn't have beaten that prick in front of her, I've scared her, I know I have. The last thing I want is for Marnie to be terrified of me, but there's this fire about her that tells me she's not scared of me or anyone else. Not even that cunt of an ex-husband of hers.

It irks the hell out of me why she stayed with him so long. Okay, Brooke told me about how racist their father was. She told me how he would beat his daughters, both of them if they so much as looked at a man of color, which was fucking ridiculous in this day and age.

Brooke also told me how Marnie was forced to marry Paul, that she was then kept away from her family for years by him, and Brooke said Marnie had no way out. I wonder if there's something he has over her, something Marnie is scared will get out. I can't think of any other reason why a woman as beautiful, smart, and strong as Marnie would stay with such an asshole. Then again, why leave him now if that was the case?

“Was there any need for that?” Marnie asks without looking at me. She's pissed off, I get it, but still, she's sitting right beside me in the back of my Audi. Tony is driving as always. Why the fu

ck should I drive when I don't have to?

“Every need, Marnie. No one will ever touch you again, and that's a promise.”

Those eyes. She turns them to me, and I see so much within them. A beautiful woman trapped behind the only thing she knows. Violence – and here I am bringing her into a life filled with it.

Not that she will ever see violence if I have anything to do with it, but violence is part of this world, I can't shield her from it entirely. I can guarantee, however, that as long as I live, as long as she's mine, then nothing and no one will ever hurt her again.

“I'm sorry I've ignored you these past few days.” That's what she comes back with? Okay, then.

“There's no need for sorry, Marnie. I shouldn't have attacked him in front of you, but I won't have anyone touch you, or my baby!” She physically flinches. Dammit!

I sigh before taking her hand in mine. She entwines her fingers with mine so effortlessly, and it feels so right. It shouldn't feel this right. “I'm not trying to scare you.”

“I'm not scared of you, Draven. You might be the big tough Boss of the Vidal Crime Family, but I am not afraid of you.” She smirks at me, and damn, where the hell did this woman come from? “What did you mean by what you said back there?”

“About you being mine?” She nods, shifting in her seat while adjusting her skirt before her eyes lock with mine again. “Exactly what I said. You are mine, Marnie.” She shifts uncomfortably. I won't let her think about this.

Slowly, I slide my hand around the side of her neck. I can feel her pulse pumping through her veins against my fingertips. “I can give you the world, Marnie. I don't just mean money. This baby,” I place my hand on her tiny swollen stomach. God, I love feeling my baby inside of her. I can feel it, so small, so delicate. “I was not expecting this to happen in my lifetime.”