His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)
His Tesoro: Chapter 58

I blinked my eyes open, feeling drugged and hazy.

I went to touch my face and my arm felt like it was on fucking fire.

“Not a good move.”

I turned my head to the right, following Romeo’s voice. His face looked haggard, with dark shadows under his eyes.

“You look like shit,” I croaked.

Romeo snorted. “You’re lucky there isn’t a mirror in here because I look better than you.”

I believed him if I looked anything like how I felt. “What happened?”

Romeo handed me a cup of water from the side table by the bed. “Bullet to the arm. One of the Albanian soldiers on the ground wasn’t entirely dead, apparently.”

“Fuck.”

By the time we’d arrived at the warehouse, Arben was nowhere to be found. We’d overpowered the Albanian soldiers without much difficulty, freeing my trapped men. We’d been working to load up the soldiers we caught in vans when I’d gone down.

“What’s the damage?”

“You had surgery. They said you should have a full recovery, but you need to be careful for the next six weeks.”

I groaned. “I fucking hate being shot.”

Romeo snorted. “You do it often enough.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Since yesterday afternoon. It’s ten a.m. now.”

I looked around the room, my vision blurry, to see if Sofiya was here. My heart sank when the memories of the previous day came back to me. Fuck, how had everything gotten so twisted up? I needed to get back home to get to the bottom of things. It was hard to argue with the messages I’d seen, but it still felt impossible that she had betrayed me. She was a damn good actress if it was all true. I scrubbed my hand down my face. Or maybe she’d made me soft.

I was sure she’d be spitting mad when I returned to the apartment. I tried to replace the coldness that had been fostered inside me as Mafia Don, but I couldn’t erase the guilt I felt that she’d spent any time in the basement.

I pushed myself up to a seated position, cursing the weakness in my arm. “We need to get back home.”

I leaned against the elevator as it brought us to the top floor. All I wanted to do was drag Sofiya into the shower, kiss every inch of her body, and pull her against me in bed while I slept.

And then I’d wake up and fuck her a couple of times.

But too much stood between me and that fantasy.

I got off the elevator and found Angelo standing outside the apartment. His face was a mask of rage and he didn’t meet my gaze. I clenched my jaw at the insubordination, but he was Sofiya’s guard, and I understood why he was pissed at me. I would address him later.

“Do you want me to come in for backup?” Romeo asked.

He probably should, if only to prevent Sofiya from wrapping me around her finger. I needed to question her, to get to the bottom of whatever was going on. I nodded and swept past Angelo into the apartment.

Noodle greeted me at the door, bouncing with energy. I went to pat him on the head, but he ran away into the bedroom.

Fuck, even the dog didn’t like me right now.

“Sofiya?” I called out. She must be in our room.

My steps were heavy with exhaustion. Before I could get to the room, Noodle ran back out, throwing Sofiya’s medication bag at me. A jolt of panic went through my chest. Was Sofiya hurt?

I rushed into the bedroom, but it was empty. I called out for her again and checked the bathroom. I ran back to the living room.

“She’s not here,” I said to Romeo, who was pulling something out of the fridge.

He immediately put the container back, springing into action as my second-in-command. He beat me to the front door, throwing it open.

“Angelo, where is Sofiya?” he asked.

Angelo turned, looking at both of us with confusion. “She’s where you left her.” He looked straight at me as he spoke, his eyes filled with fury.

It took a moment for his words to sink in.

Where I left her?

“She’s still in the fucking basement?” I roared.

Romeo swore behind me. My hands shook as I pressed my finger to the elevator reader. It opened right away.

“Get in,” I said to Angelo. “And fucking explain what’s happened.”

“You said Mrs. Rossi should stay in the cell and that no one should let her out but you,” Angelo said.

I slammed my fist against the elevator wall. “And no one thought to do something when I didn’t return after a few hours?”

“When you didn’t return, I tried to get her out. Domenico said he called Romeo, who confirmed that she needed to stay there until you returned.”

I swung my head towards my brother, who held up his hands. “He didn’t call me. I never said that. I assumed she was back in the apartment, too.”

Domenico was a dead man.

My heart raced and I wanted to scream at how slow the elevator was. The second the doors opened, I sprinted through the basement to the cell Sofiya was in. No one was posted outside it, and the keys were nowhere to be found.

“Get the spare keys from my office,” I screamed at Romeo. I turned back to the door. “Sofiya, tesoro, can you hear me?” I knew she couldn’t. This was the room we used for torture. It was soundproof.

But that didn’t stop me from calling her name through the metal, letting her know I was here and she’d be out in a minute.

Romeo was out of breath when he returned with the keys.

I unlocked the door with shaking hands and then flung it open.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

Light trickled into the room, highlighting my wife crumpled on the floor and soaked in urine.

I fell to my knees and gently rolled her over onto her back. Her eyes were closed and her skin was cold.

“No, my love, please be okay,” I begged as I gathered her in my arms. “Romeo! Get Aria here immediately!”

I ran back to the elevator as fast as I could without jostling Sofiya. “Stay with me,” I begged her still-unconscious form.

Angelo tore off his jacket and wrapped it around her as we all piled into the elevator.

“Sofiya, can you hear me? Please, baby, please say something.”

She let out a whimper, and the sound was relief and torture at the same time.

The elevator doors opened on the top floor and I ran into the apartment.

“We’re going to get you warm.” I tried to keep my voice soothing, but it was a lost cause. Nothing could be calm or soothing while my wife lay almost-unconscious in my arms.

Her eyes fluttered open.

“There you are.” My voice shook with relief. “Let’s get you in the bath. The warm water will help you.”

A look of horror contorted her face. “No, please, no water. I promise I’ll be good. Please don’t do that.” She struggled in my embrace, but her movements were weak and lethargic. Still, I held her tighter to keep her from falling or hurting herself further.

“Sofiya, love, what’s the matter?” My heart raced as she continued to struggle and cry out, each sound she made another dagger twisted in my chest.

“Please don’t. Not the water. Please, I’ll be good, I promise.” Her words were slurred as her eyes drifted closed again.

Romeo ran into the room. “Aria’s on her way. She said we have to warm her core first. Get the wet clothes off and put blankets on her.”

Angelo ran into the room, his arms laden with blankets.

Releasing Sofiya onto the bed was one of the hardest things I’d had to do.

The other two left the room while I stripped her clothing. I ran a warm washcloth over her skin, cleaning her, before layering the blankets over her.

I jumped when the bedroom door opened. It was Aria. She moved quickly to Sofiya’s side, pulling a warm compress out of her medical bag. I wanted to shout at her to hurry as she silently took Sofiya’s vitals, but I held my tongue.

“Her vitals are strong,” she finally said. “And her body temperature is rising.”

I couldn’t stop staring at my wife.

“How did this happen, Matteo?” she asked.

Words weren’t sufficient to detail what I’d done. To expose my shame.

Her eyes darkened as Romeo explained everything.

Sofiya stirred on the bed and I moved closer, but Aria stopped me. “You need to leave.”

A red haze fell on my vision. “I’m not fucking leaving her. I have to take care of her.”

“You’re the one who did this,” she seethed. “Do you think Sofiya is going to stay calm with you in the room? She is my patient, and I’m saying you need to get out. You can come back in only if she asks for you.”

Angelo appeared in front of me, his broad body looming over me.

“Let’s go,” he said, looking down at me like I was dirt.

For the first time since I was a child, I felt small.

I let him push me out of the room and away from my love.