Obsessed with His Bride

Dante looked up slowly, the pain slowly twisting into uncertainty.

“What are you saying?” Dante asked.

“Take all of this territory. Take all of his businesses, all of his money, all of his people and his drugs and his girls. Take Eastwick, every inch of it. Take Gray’s Ferry. Take it all, Dante, and let the city know that although Vlas Volkov may not be dead, he’s as good as worm food. Show the city that he’s worthless, Dante.”

Dante frowned and stared at the table top then slowly relaxed his hands. He sat back in his seat and appraised the Don before nodding his head. “All right,” he said. “I’ll take his money and his territory. And when I find him, I’ll bring him to you alive.”

“Good.” Don Leone smiled, and looked like a friendly old man. “Bring me that pathetic fuck. I’ll use him to leverage a deal out of his father. This is going to work out for us, Dante. I’m very happy you decided to come speak with me first.”

Dante bowed his head. “I am too, Don Leone.”

The Don slowly got to his feet. Roberto put down his newspaper and walked over, helping the Don along. Don Leone paused as he moved toward the door and looked back at me.

“This was your idea, wasn’t it?” he asked.

I frowned. “I, ah, it was— yes, Don. It was my idea.” I felt flustered but I didn’t want to lie to him.

His smile got even bigger. “Good. I knew you’d be worth his time. Keep making him better, Aida.” He turned and left the bakery without another word.

Dante sat there, staring at the door. Nobody spoke and the silence was thick with tension.

Then the back door opened and Sergio came out with a big, elaborate loaf of bread, multiple strands woven around each other.

“Ah, fuck,” he said. “Did I miss the Don already?”

Dante looked over and barked a laugh. The tension immediately left the room.

“What the hell is that?” Dante asked.

“It’s bread,” Sergio said.

“No shit it’s bread,” Dante said. “Was that a gift for the Don?”

Sergio glared at him. “Of course it was.”

“You could run out there and catch him,” Dante suggested.

“Fuck that,” Sergio said. “And fuck you too.” He walked over to the display case and threw the bread in there. “Fifty dollars for that fucking hunk of shit.” He turned and stormed off, throwing the doors open, and disappearing into the back.

Dante howled with laughter. I grinned at him and walked over. I sat down in his lap and he put his hands on my hips. I leaned down and kissed him softly on his rough lips.

“What do you think?” I asked. “Good enough?”

“It’ll have to be,” he said.

“When you’re done with him, Vlas might as well be dead,” I said.

He nodded slowly and reached up to grab my hair. I let out a little excited gasp as he pulled me down and kissed me again. “Damn right,” he whispered.

“All right, you two,” Steven said.

Dante let me go. I looked over as Steven lingered near the doorway.

“What’s your deal?” Dante asked.

“I’m going to go spread the word,” Steven said. “Let the guys know what the plan is.”

Dante nodded. “Good. Tell them to find Vlas, but he has to be alive. No fuck-ups on that one, Vlas can’t die.”

“Fine,” Steven said.

“And tell them we’re taking Eastwick and Gray’s Ferry. Tell them to start making a list of all of Vlas’s businesses and all his associates. We’ll flip those that’ll come to us and kill those that won’t. If I can’t have Vlas’s blood, I’ll settle for the bottom-feeding fucks that worked with him.”

Steven nodded and gave Dante a very rare smile. “Works for me.”

“Get moving,” Dante said.

Steven saluted and left without a word. I snuggled close against Dante.

“Happy you listened?” I asked.

“Don’t press your luck.” He kissed my hair and held me close.

There was going to be a war. But it didn’t feel as terrifying as I thought it would.

Instead, I was excited.

I couldn’t wait for his guys to start moving on Vlas’s places. I couldn’t wait for the violence, the action, the excitement. I knew it was sick, knew it was coming from a dark place inside of me, but I didn’t care.

Sitting in Dante’s lap, I felt invincible, I felt alive.

That was all that mattered.28DanteSteven picked me and Aida up early the next morning. I’d spent the whole day before meeting with my soldiers, laying out plans, and getting my pieces into position. I felt high from the excitement of it all, but that didn’t surprise me one bit.

What really shocked me was the way Aida stepped up.

I worried about her. I thought she might not be ready to go into full-on war mode. I couldn’t leave her behind, since it wasn’t safe, but I was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle being in the room when we talked about murdering men and destroying buildings.