His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)
His Tesoro: Chapter 45

“This has gone on too fucking long,” I said, tossing back the whiskey Romeo had poured for me. “We need to replace the traitor.”

Franco still hadn’t been able to track down Arben. We’d been out all night chasing down leads after a report that he had been spotted in Brooklyn, but had come up empty. And then I’d spent all morning in the office, sorting through encrypted emails.

I breathed through the rage burning under my skin. Someone in the Family was betraying me and making me look like a fool in the process.

“Fuck, I know, fratello,” Romeo said, resting his face in his hands.

“Someone has to be helping him hide. There’s no way that idiot is doing all of this on his own.”

“You still suspect the Irish?”

“Franco’s been watching Finnegan, but hasn’t found anything. I was thinking about arranging a call with him, or even a meeting. Try to feel him out.”

Romeo looked skeptical. “Could be dangerous if they are in an alliance with the Albanians.”

I nodded and poured myself another drink. “I won’t do it until we’re out of other ideas. But it might come to it.”

“You know Lombardi is throwing an engagement party for his daughter tomorrow. All the capos will be there.”

“Fuck, I forgot about that.”

“I think you should go. See if anyone is acting suspiciously. With enough alcohol, someone might slip and give something away. It’s also a good chance for you and Sofiya to appear together, to show you have a strong marriage.”

I groaned. I’d kept Sofiya hidden from the Family for too long. I wanted to show her off, wanted everyone to know how goddamn lucky I was to have her as my wife, but I also wanted to keep her to myself. It was the only way to protect her, and to keep men from looking at her. But Romeo was right.

“Organize it,” I said. “I want extra guards.”

Noodle padded into the kitchen, tail wagging, and Sofiya rounded the corner behind him in her wheelchair, looking deliciously rumpled. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. Her face was free of makeup and her hair was a little messy, but she looked well rested. I’d been forced to leave her yesterday evening to chase down leads all around the city and had only seen her for a minute when I returned this morning. She’d been so exhausted I’d made her stay in bed instead of coming to the office with me. She hadn’t been happy about it, and I hadn’t either. Being apart from her was painful, but I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize her health.

“Good afternoon, tesoro. How’re you feeling?”

She was wearing leggings and a sweater, and I had the urge to buy a sweatshirt for myself just so she could steal it. The possessive beast in my chest wanted her in my clothes.

“Better,” she said with a soft smile as she entered the kitchen. “I don’t know why I’m so tired lately. Hey Romeo, how’re you doing?”

“Good, besides starving. Matteo said you hadn’t baked anything lately.”

A smile played on her lips. “Huh, he must have forgotten the strawberry shortcake I made yesterday. It’s in the fridge.”

“Oh, really?” Romeo said, turning to me. “You should really have your memory problems checked out. Probably all those knocks to the head.”

“I’ll give you a knock to the head,” I muttered.

Sofiya rolled towards me and grabbed my hand. “Be nice. You have to learn to share.”

I lifted her out of her wheelchair and onto the kitchen island. “I don’t have to do anything, tesoro. I’m the Don.” I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a gentle kiss. She was so soft and warm against me.

“No, you’re my husband. Which means you have to be nice to me.” She ran her hand through my hair. She did it every chance she could.

I chuckled against her skin, kissing a line down her neck. “I can think of plenty of ways I can be nice to you.”

“Umm hello, I’m still here,” Romeo said, waving a fork at us as he ate a mouthful of strawberry shortcake.

Sofiya slapped her hand over my mouth before I could snap at him. “Be nice,” she hissed, scowling. I nipped her hand and she pulled it away, lips fighting a smile.

“Do you like it?” she asked Romeo, nodding at the dessert.

“Fucking delicious. I think the chocolate cake is still my favorite, though. You know I have a birthday coming up soon. You might have to make me another one.”

“When’s your birthday?”

I snorted. “It’s in July. Three months away.”

Sofiya grinned. “I’ll make you another one before then. As long as you’re nice to me.”

“I’m always nice to you,” Romeo said in something that sounded suspiciously like a whine.

I tucked a piece of Sofiya’s hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. “What did you get up to last night, tesoro?”

“I played poker with Angelo and his friends.”

My grip on her hips tightened. “You did what?”

She cupped my face. “Are you about to be grumpy?”

“I am never grumpy.”

“Ahh, sorry. I should have said, are you about to get all murderous and threaten to kill Angelo and his friends?”

I crossed my arms and she laughed. “I had fun. Angelo’s been teaching me how to play.”

Romeo snorted. “I would pay to see that. You have the most expressive face in the world. I’m not sure it’s your game.”

“No, I’m getting pretty good,” she insisted. “I can even remember which cards are best to have now.”

Something dawned on me. “What did you play with?”

She cocked her head. “What do you mean? We played with chips.”

I met Romeo’s gaze over her head, and he covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Angelo’s poker nights had a two grand buy-in, and the winning pot often reached ten grand. My innocent little wife obviously didn’t realize the chips represented real money.

I needed to ask Angelo how much she owed after I pummeled him for bringing her to poker night. I wouldn’t ruin her fun by telling her about her debt, even if I didn’t like the idea of her being around other men without me there. A muscle in my jaw ticked, and I tightened my hold on her.

“They were all gentlemen,” she said, reading me like a book.

I just grunted.

“I’m taking the rest of this,” Romeo said, holding up the pan of strawberry shortcake.

“I will fucking kill you,” I said. Except I would have to remove one of my hands from Sofiya to reach my gun.

“Enjoy it, Romeo,” she said, blowing him a kiss.

The bastard caught it and winked at her. “See you tomorrow night.” He ran out the door, dessert in hand, and Sofiya turned to me.

“What’s tomorrow night?”

I groaned, pressing my forehead to hers. “Just another thing that’s going to keep me from tying you up in bed and having my way with you every hour of every day.”

She nipped my lip. “Remember when you insisted we were just roommates?”

“I have no memory of that.”

She bit my lip harder. “Romeo was right. You really do need to have your memory checked. What’s happening tomorrow?”

“One of my capos is throwing an engagement party for his daughter.” I hesitated, unsure if I should tell her what I suspected about a traitor. Sofiya was trustworthy, I knew that, but something held me back. I’d made the mistake of trusting before, and it had cost me everything.

Her hand tightened on my jacket. “You want me to go with you?” She sounded shocked, a little line appearing between her brows.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well… I just wasn’t sure if you’d want to be seen in public with me.”

Something squeezed my chest. “And why wouldn’t I want that?” My voice was low, an edge of warning in it. My wife squirmed and avoided eye contact. I gripped her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze.

“Sofiya.”

“My father never wanted to be seen with me after I got my rollator. And now I’m in a wheelchair.”

“I’m not your fucking father,” I bit out.

She jolted, startled, and blinked quickly. “I know. I’m sorry.” Her lower lip started to tremble, and I felt like the biggest asshole in the world.

“Tesoro mio.” I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her in my arms and carrying her to the couch. “I hate that you could think for even a second that I would be ashamed of you. You are the most beautiful”—I kissed her forehead—“sweet”—I kissed her nose—“perfect wife.” I kissed her lips. “The only reason I wouldn’t want you with me is because it means other men will look at what’s mine.”

Her cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of pink. “You’re ridiculous.”

I pulled her in for a kiss, licking into her mouth and groaning at her sweetness. She could think me ridiculous all she liked, but I wouldn’t hesitate to remove the eyes of any man whose gaze lingered on my wife.