Mafia Monster's Forced Bride Read online

  “Is that better?”

  Dana nodded.

  “Would you like me to put you back to bed?” Alex asked.

  Dana nodded and held her hand out. The little girl was eight years old and had been found alone in an apartment. They believed she had been there for at least a week. Her mother was later found in the back alley, a drug overdose.

  She held Alex’s hand tightly.

  “I’ll help,” Roman said, coming to Dana.

  Much to Alex’s surprise, he lifted her up onto his hip and carried her upstairs to bed. Dana wrapped her arms around Roman’s neck, holding him tightly.

  “Are you my new daddy?” Dana asked.

  Roman stopped, and Alex saw him tense.

  “It’s getting late,” Alex said.

  “Are you going to be my new mommy?” Dana asked.

  “We’ll talk about this later.” She forced a smile to her lips, even though her heart was breaking inside.

  They made it to Dana’s room, and saw Evie, the other girl, was fast asleep.

  Pulling the blankets back, Roman eased the little girl down onto the bed, and Alex tucked her in.

  “I want you as my mommy and you as my daddy. Everyone says we’re going to be a big family.” Dana wriggled in the bed, and Alex watched her, worried that her staying here was giving the kids the wrong impression. She would love nothing more than taking care of the kids, but her life and future were out of her control.

  Leaning forward, she kissed Dana on the head, and then stood, leaving the room.

  Roman was close behind her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She was the furthest thing from fine.

  “Everything is going to be okay. We’ll find the person responsible for hurting you. The one who gave the order.”

  “I don’t care about that. I love these kids, Roman, and you saw that. You heard her. I don’t want to be the one responsible for breaking their hearts, and I know deep down, I am going to be.” She shook her head. “I need to go to bed.”

  She had to sleep, to be alone to think.

  “You know, there’s nothing to say we can’t … be here for them,” Roman said.

  Alex had already started to walk away, but at his words, she turned toward him. “What?”

  He shrugged. “I like being here. They’re good kids.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t do that. Don’t give me hope like that and certainly don’t give it to these kids. They trust us, and I’m not ever going to let them down.” She tucked some hair behind her ears, needing to do something with her hands because, for the first time since her father had told her no, she felt hopeful. “You need to think about it, to be sure that you know and understand what you’re offering.”

  She looked at him one more time, and then she turned on her heel, escaping back to her bedroom to try to calm herself. Between the kiss and Roman’s potential promise, her mind was a riot of emotions. None of which she could make a whole lot of sense of. There was so much happening, and she was terrified she wasn’t going to be able to catch up.

  Chapter Ten

  “That’s a pretty good picture, kid,” Roman said. He hadn’t quite mastered the art of knowing who was called what. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure if he was any good with kids, but he had five of them around the table with him.

  It had been three days since he brought up adopting them completely with Alex. His dad had told him to find any means necessary to win Alex over, and this place seemed like a solid plan. There was also a tiny slim part of them that was starting to adore the kids and enjoy their company.

  He never thought he’d enjoy dealing with a bunch of screaming brats, but he did. They were a lot of fun to be around. Growing up, he never had the luxury of sitting there and coloring in pictures or drawing.

  However, at the ripe age of thirty-five, he was finally getting the chance to do that. What he wasn’t doing was drawing what he knew. The kids didn’t need to see death, blood, and destruction. All they needed to know was rainbows and houses, and well, he drew a big fuck-off rainbow with every single color he could get his hands on.

  The kids loved it, and he was rather impressed with it.

  Antonio, Marlo, and Cash took it in turns to escape, to return to the harsh reality of what was going on outside. To many, nothing had changed. Liam was on a warpath, and so far, he had tortured and killed many enemies.

  The Smirnov Bratva was a pointless lead. The only thing that had survived of them was their insignia, which could be inked anywhere. He knew in his gut his father wasn’t responsible.

  It just didn’t add up.

  And now, the family was starting to get suspicious as he and Alex had missed multiple events in the past few weeks, including an engagement party. Their presence was being missed.

  His dad had already talked to him, and in a couple of weeks, he and Alex were supposed to make a big entrance at another party. One to celebrate Lucas and Liam’s union. The plan was to use him and Alex as bait, but also to see if anyone showed any signs of wanting her dead.

  It was a risk.

  He didn’t like it.

  Hated it.

  But Liam had also agreed to it.

  The event would be heavily guarded. It was the party of the year, and they were supposed to show a united front. He’d told Antonio, Marlo, and Cash about it, but he had yet to speak to the woman herself.

  Not that he was afraid to tell her. He had no reason to be afraid.

  She couldn’t turn him down, and if she did, her father would get involved. Damn it, he didn’t want her father to get involved. This was already bad enough.

  “Ice cream,” Alex said, calling out to the kids.

  All coloring was forgotten as the kids ran toward the kitchen. All except one. Stuart, who approached him.

  “What’s up, buddy?” Roman asked.

  Stuart stared at him and then, much to Roman’s surprise, he crawled up into his lap. For the longest time, they just stared at each other.

  “I like you,” Stuart said. “You make Alex smile.”

  Roman didn’t know what was happening.

  “I like you too.”

  “Do you like Alex?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “She’s an angel,” Stuart said.

  The little boy startled him further by throwing his arms around him and hugging him tight before climbing off and leaving.

  Roman wasn’t sure he’d lived it until he looked up to see Alex approaching. She held an ice cream cone. “I thought I’d save you one,” she said.

  He took the ice cream from her as Alex lowered herself into the chair that had been occupied by one of the boys minutes before.

  “Thanks.”

  He looked at the ice cream.

  “Stuart likes you.”

  “He does?”

  “That’s his little … acceptance. You got a hug. He likes you.”

  “I think he was looking out for you. Making sure I treat you right.” He watched as Alex flicked her tongue across the soft ice cream. She gave him a smile. “He’s a great kid.”

  “How come … no one adopts these kids?” Roman asked.

  “Adoption is quite hard. Some people don’t pass the required tests. Then, of course, you have parents who are looking for a specific kid. If they don’t meet what they want, they don’t get picked. It’s a brutal process. I hate that the kids have to go through with it.”

  “They’re amazing,” Roman said, and he meant it.

  “They are. I hate having to leave them.”

  For now, she didn’t have to worry.

  “Is this yours?” Alex asked, picking up his picture of a multi-colored rainbow.

  “It sure is.”

  “I like it. This should go on the fridge with all of these pictures.” She put the picture down and went back to licking her ice cream. He could think of many other things she could be doing with her tongue.

  Did she even realize what she was doing?


  He doubted it.

  “I’ve got to talk to you about something,” he said.

  She stared at him and continued to suck on her ice cream, and he wanted to feel those lips wrapped around his dick.

  “There is an … event,” he said. “A party. Our presence has been missed, and well, our fathers would like us to attend in a couple of weeks, but what they want is for us to appear … close.”

  “Close?”

  “In love. Like the last few weeks we’ve been together.”

  “Don’t they know I’ve been hurt? Injured?”

  “No, they have been able to keep it under wraps,” Roman said. “No one knows.” It was a miracle they’d been able to keep it quiet for this long.

  Locking Alex away had helped though. The men who had been placed at the hospital were the most trusted. They were known for getting the job done without saying a fucking word.

  “Isn’t that dangerous?” Alex asked.

  “They’re hoping to either draw out a suspect or rule out everyone associated with the Greco family.”

  “That does make sense. So I’m bait.”

  “No, we’re bait. I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “The only problem,” Roman said.

  “What?”

  “The in-love part. Liam and my dad said that it has to be real. It has to be … authentic.”

  “Roman, I don’t think I need to tell you that it’s going to be impossible to do that. You don’t believe in love and we’re not an in-love couple.”

  “Which is why I figured we’ve got two weeks to at least act it. We can’t be indifferent to each other. We act like a normal couple, and to help, Marlo, Cash, and Antonio have agreed to help us. We will be training with them.”

  “Training? Are you kidding me? Training to be … in love. Don’t you think that sounds crazy?”

  “The main training will start when the kids are in bed. We’ll be using the basement to practice.”

  “That’s just great. Using the basement where it’s the main port of horror in all scary movies.”

  “Which you don’t watch to help your dad?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

  She chuckled. “Yeah, he doesn’t like me watching them, so I don’t.”

  “And not because you’re afraid.”

  “No, I’m not afraid. Don’t you think this is a bit ridiculous?”

  “It sounds it, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even if it means undergoing training from three men.”

  Alex held a finger up. “Wait, how can they be our teachers in this? Are they in love? Have they ever been in love?”

  “They’re the closest ones that have been. I don’t trust anyone else, Alex. They’re the only ones who can help us.”

  “Then I fear we are doomed.”

  He agreed.

  The plan was to try to help his cause in making Alex fall in love with him. The guys knew they had to keep them close, force them to look at each other, and there were going to be a lot of parts Roman didn’t know, but the guys promised him that they’d help him.

  With how important it was for Alex to fall in love with him, he’d put an end to his plan for his friends to try to get her into bed. He didn’t like how it made him feel anymore. The thought of any of them touching Alex, kissing her, stroking her body, feeling how curvy and perfect she was, it filled him with rage. He just couldn’t handle anyone else touching her or wanting her.

  She was his.

  The kids began to make their return, and Alex stood to make room for them back at the table. She rounded the table and stood behind his.

  The only sounds to be heard were the licks and the hums of approval. Who knew that an ice cream cone could silence children?

  It was nice. Sweet music to his ears. The only time the kids were this silent was in the middle of the night.

  He often found himself lying awake, trying to hear a sound of anyone threatening his woman. The moment they found the person responsible, Roman was going to deal with him. Liam was under the impression that he was going to get the chance to deal with him, but not on his watch.

  This man had fucked with the wrong woman.

  “What are you guys drawing now?” Alex asked. She placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned over.

  He didn’t want her to move away. The simplest touch felt like so much more. What was happening to him? Why did he care so much about Alex?

  He had hated her for the longest time. No, not hate, just not liked.

  Damn it, she was messing with his head, and he needed to get his shit back into the game.

  “Doggies!” Stuart said.

  Alex sighed. “I wish we could get a dog for you guys, but I’ve been told time and time again, the answer is no.”

  Roman filed that piece of information for later. The kids started to draw a dog, and Alex attempted to step away, but he captured her wrist and pressed a kiss to her inner wrist. He didn’t want her to leave.

  What was wrong with him?

  He wasn’t dependent on a woman. He never felt this way, but when it came to Alex, she was fucking with his head.

  ****

  The basement wasn’t so bad.

  Several years ago, Liam had donated the money to get it decorated and to turn it into a hangout room for the kids. Just another room for them to enjoy.

  Sitting on the sofa in front of Marlo, Cash, and Antonio, Alex started to feel like it was more of a horror movie as they kept looking at her, and she felt so out of place. She didn’t know what to say or do.

  They just stared at her and Roman as they sat on either end of the sofa. A nice large gap between them.

  “This won’t do,” Antonio said. “You need to sit closer together.”

  “Noted,” Roman said.

  “So do it now.” Marlo held his hands out and waved them in front of him, pointing for them both to get closer together.

  “I don’t think we need guidance for this. How hard can it be?” Alex asked.

  “When you both came down here, you took the furthest space possible together. If you need to convince a roomful of people staring at you like you’re under a microscope, every single little detail of your actions is going to be watched,” Cash said. “From the way you both look at each other. So, Alex, you need to get out of eye rolling. That is a serious mark against you.”

  “Thank you,” Roman said. “I told you, you do it all the time.”

  She rolled her eyes. She just couldn’t help it. “He did that on purpose to see me fail.”

  “And he did it so easily.”

  “Roman, you’re not free from error either. You glare, way too much. A man who glares shows disapproval.”

  Alex couldn’t resist sticking her tongue out at him, and of course, Roman glared. This time, she burst out laughing. “I’m so sorry, but there was a time you looked scary but now, I think you’re super cute.”

  “It’s the rainbow,” Roman, Antonio, Marlo, and Cash all said at the same time.

  To Alex, Roman had lost that scary edge, which wasn’t a bad thing. At least, she didn’t think so. He was cute and adorable, sexy, manly, and she was so going to stop there. She had never thought of Roman as sexy and manly. Cruel and mean at times, but never sexy.

  She had to get her head back on straight. “Let’s take this seriously,” Alex said.

  This was a job for them. They had to be tutored in the art of appearing to like and love each other. It wasn’t something she should be turning into a joke, no matter how funny it seemed.

  Hands clasped together, she stared at the three men who were watching them.

  “This is good,” Antonio said. “Being able to laugh at each other and with each other, it is a good sign.”

  “Think of our audience,” Roman said. “Half of the people there hate each other.”

  “We know that,” Marlo said. “But you’re not trying to sell an arranged marriage anymore. With your disappearanc
e, you’re adding a whole different spin. You’re the rare couple who fell in love after an arranged marriage.”

  “Hold Alex’s hand,” Cash said.

  Roman took her hand, holding it as if they were strangers.

  Cash tutted and approached, arranging their hands so that their fingers were locked together.

  “To sell this, you’ve got to look comfortable touching each other. Alex, stop tensing. Roman, don’t glare. You’re holding your wife. The woman you’re supposed to love. The one you’re protecting and showing the world you want,” Cash said.

  Alex stared off into the corner.

  Antonio clicked his fingers. “Stare at each other.”

  She glared at him and then turned to Roman. “Do you feel this is stupid?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Keep on staring at each other,” Marlo said.

  She looked into Roman’s eyes, which were so pretty. Her mouth suddenly felt dry.

  “What are your plans for tomorrow?” Roman asked.

  “I was going to do a game of baseball, but you have banned me from any physical activity.”

  “You’re not doing anything strenuous yet,” Roman said.

  “You know I feel fine.”

  “I see you’re sometimes in pain, Alex.”

  “Now kiss her,” Cash said.

  They both jerked away and turned to their teachers.

  “What?” they said at the same time.

  “And that is our problem right now,” Cash said. “You can randomly talk to each other, and forget you’re holding hands, but what you both need to do is to get over this barrier. Regardless of what you both think, I bet you’re attracted to each other.”

  Alex wanted to deny it.

  “Roman, your dick is a perfect indicator if you’re liking her or not, and Alex, your tits harden. There, I said it,” Antonio said. “I’ve seen the way you both look at each other, and there is an attraction between you. If you would only put aside all of this other bullshit that is going on, you’d be able to work on that.”

  “We need to give them homework,” Marlo said.

  “You’ll be sharing a room and a bed from tonight onward,” Antonio said.