Ruthless Empire: A Dark Mafia Collection

“Bro, are you like, high or something?” Gabriel asked me, looking concerned.

And I laughed again.

“Maybe.”

Molly leaned in and kissed my forehead, but I didn’t feel it. Just how many painkillers did they give me? We were sellers and distributors, not users. Then, I brushed my hand against the spot and realized there was a bandage there. Okay, that made sense.

“So I take it you’re feeling okay?” she asked me.

“No pain at the moment.” But then I had a sobering thought and every bit of my humor dried up into nothing. “How’s my baby girl?”

“Mild smoke inhalation but nothing serious,” Molly said, filling me with relief.

“How’s Marco?”

Just then a doctor walked in, his features blank. I knew that look. It was the same expression Molly’s physician had given me before telling me she’d slipped into a coma. Dread made my stomach go cold.

“I’m here to share your prognosis with you, Mr. Varasso.”

“I’d rather know my brother’s.”

He hesitated, but whether he recognized the Varasso name or didn’t mind going against rules, he sighed and told us. “He has third degree burns to ten percent of his body, primarily to his back and shoulders. We’re treating him now, but this may take multiple surgeries to fix.”

“How much danger is he in?” Molly asked.

“His burns are severe but localized, so they’re treatable. Skin grafts will be necessary to cover the affected area. The problem with these sorts of burns are the complications that arise when there’s an infection. Therefore, we’ll need to keep him here for the foreseeable future.”

I nodded and he left. How had I thought anything could possibly be funny right now? “I know the house is a lost cause.”

“Yes,” Alessandro agreed. “They found Francesca’s remains a little while ago. She was in her room on the first floor.”

I shut my eyes. I should’ve known our family couldn’t come away from something like this without casualties. Francesca had been taking care of our home for the past ten years. She’d served as both housekeeper and personal shopper. Along with Greta, she was the only employee who’d chosen to live on the premises. And now she was no more.

Yet I was so thankful that it hadn’t been Molly or Anna. So glad I almost couldn’t breathe.

“She had no family.” Gabriel said.

“Just us,” Sandro put in.

“We’ll lay her to rest, have a nice service for her,” I told them. Then, something suddenly occurred to me. “Fuck!”

“What? What is it? Are you in pain?” Molly fluttered around me like a hummingbird.

Damn. I hadn’t meant to scare her. Especially since all that fluttering had caused her limp to become more pronounced. All my reactions felt out of whack. Still, I wasn’t putting this off for one more minute. It might not make a difference in the long run, but at least it would be one less regret I’d have to face if something else happened.

“Could you guys leave me alone with Molly?” I waited for Alessandro to make some rude quip about me hitting that or something, but he didn’t. Apparently, he was all quipped out. Good.

They departed without fanfare, and I took her hand in mine. “I had a special plan for this. I was going to surprise you once you were totally healed. We’d go on this walk down through the Dream Garden, then I’d kneel and do this right. But I’m starting to think if I wait any longer, we’re not going to get the chance.”

She furrowed her brow, puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

Her expression suggested maybe she thought I was loopy again. Yeah, not so much. This was for real. “Molly RaeAnne Greene, would you please do me the privilege of becoming my wife?”

In movies, TV, and books, this sort of thing is typically followed up by a yes or no answer. But Molly didn’t provide me with either of those. “What?”

Maybe she needed me to repeat the question. So be it.

“Will you marry me?”