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"And she's your wife. Sounds to me like you're both going to want to protect the same woman. You do the math," he says.
I shove a hand through my hair. He makes it sound so fucking easy, but we both know it's not. Our path is littered with pitfalls. I married the Capo's sister without even telling him that she existed. And I did it without giving her a choice. It doesn't matter why I did it. Any way you slice it, he's going to be pissed.
I don't regret a single fucking thing I did. I don't regret a single moment with her. But Rafe…well, convincing him to see the light has never been particularly easy. He's a stubborn bastard with his own moral code. And in Rafe's world, women are untouchable. Coda knows that. Everyone knows it. I didn't just touch one. I drugged her and forced her to marry me. He's going to lose his fucking mind.
"Why are you calling, Coda?"
"Her mother," he says. "I think I may know where she is."
Chapter Ten
Aurelia
Ahint of acrid smoke wafts through the air as I slip into the bedroom, eager to shower with Mattia. I missed him all day. Being by myself was strange after spending so long under constant guard, but I didn't hate it. I simply missed my husband. His commanding presence and those steely gray eyes comfort me in ways nothing ever has before now.
He's my peace, my safety. Ironic that I'd find it in the one place I've been terrified of going for the last two months—my brothers' inner circle. But Mattia gives me hope that I've never had.
In his arms, I don't feel like I'm drowning. For once, I feel like maybe, just maybe, there is a way out of this for all of us.
I didn't realize how badly I needed that until he gave it to me last night. I've been so afraid to tell anyone, so convinced that no one would believe me and that there was no way this ended without blood and pain, that I stopped hoping there was a way out.
Today is the first time, I feel like maybe I'm not going to lose everything. Maybe we can save my mom. Maybe my brothers won't hate me. Maybe, just maybe, Mattia is the answer to every desperate prayer I've spoken since Brio invaded my life and turned it into a waking nightmare.
As I approach the bathroom, I hear his voice murmuring from inside.
Is he on the phone?
"Jesus Christ, Coda," he mutters.
I pause outside the door, not wanting to interrupt his conversation. Truthfully, Coda scares me a little bit. I've never met anyone as big or formidable as him. He kept watching me last night as if he was trying to figure me out. He didn't look angry. Just…quietly intense. He's a hard man to read.
"What do you want me to say?" Mattia growls suddenly, startling me. "That I fucking married her to protect the family?"
My heart slams against my ribcage. They're talking about me—about why he married me.
"That I did what I had to do just like I always do?" he asks. "That I'm a fucking heartless asshole for it? You already knew that."
I stand there, frozen, my hands trembling as his harsh words twist through me. They're a betrayal, crushing me. He told me that he married me to protect me. But he didn't, did he?
He did it to protect them—my brothers.
Everything in me wants to deny what I've heard—to scream that it isn't true. That this isn't Mattia. He doesn't lie. He's fiercely loyal and dangerous, but he loves me.
His next words destroy that illusion entirely, ripping through me like a bomb blast.
"Do you want me to tell you that I regret marrying her or that I never should have done it? What is it you want to hear, Coda?"
My hand flies to my mouth, desperately trying to stifle the cry threatening to break free.
He regrets marrying me. The one thing I think I've done right in my life…he'd take back if he could.
No.
No.
No.
Yet, no matter how many times I deny it, I can't change what I heard. He regrets marrying me.
