His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)
His Tesoro: Chapter 73

The back door slammed open and a dozen guns raised to point at… my husband.

My heart skipped a beat.

He’s here. He’s here.

The last time I’d seen him, he’d been unconscious and drenched in blood. Seeing him now, standing tall even though his skin was ashy with pain, filled me with relief.

I hadn’t forgiven him yet—I couldn’t even be sure he was here to help me—but my heart didn’t care. The part of my soul that belonged to him longed to run into his arms.

He looked between the Pakhan’s prone, bleeding body and the gun in my hand. He cocked his head, and I knew he was asking if I had shot my father. I nodded, and softness filled his eyes. “Proud of you,” he mouthed, and that’s what did it.

I stumbled towards him. The moment I was close enough, he pulled me into his arms. I clung to him and I swore our hearts were beating in sync, as if to declare how much they had missed each other.

“The Albanians are dead,” he said, his voice loud and clear. “We’ve captured Arben.”

“Rustik Ivanov is dead.” Dimitri’s voice rang out, strong and authoritative. He stepped over our father’s body onto the church altar.

“Sofiya, Mila, come.” Dimitri’s command echoed around the hall.

Matteo’s arms tightened around me, but I gently pushed them away until he reluctantly released me. I moved towards Mila, my sister, my heart. Blood dripped from a shallow cut on her throat, but she was alive. We threw our arms around each other, trembling with relief.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

“No,” she said, voice breaking. “I’m okay.”

I pulled back and cupped her face with my hands. My vision darkened when I saw the shadow of a bruise on her cheek, peeking through her makeup.

“He hurt you, too, didn’t he?” she whispered. “I didn’t know.”

I swallowed hard. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“It will always matter to me.”

My face crumpled, and I took a slow breath in and out.

She tightened her arms around my waist. “Can you manage?” Her chin jutted at the three stairs leading up to the altar where Dimi waited for us.

I nodded. There was so much adrenaline running through my body I didn’t feel any pain.

She took as much of my weight as she could as we made our way to the new Pakhan. Dimi’s second-in-command, Maxim, joined us. Facing the sanctuary, he shouted, “Everyone kneel for the new Pakhan, Dimitri Ivanov.”

The Bratva soldiers knelt down, followed by my mother and Maxim. Mila and I locked eyes, unsure if we should kneel. In the end, I stayed standing, as did Matteo and his men, and Ronan and Leona, while my sister bent the knee. Mila was still part of the Bratva, but I was now a Mafia queen.

The room filled with shouts of the men my brother had somehow won over. “To the Brotherhood! To the Pakhan!”

“I vow to be worthy of the loyalty you have shown me,” Dimitri shouted in Russian. “To the Brotherhood!”

The men stood and cheered, and I was sure the vodka would flow tonight.

Dimi pulled Mila and me into his arms, holding us tight. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier. So fucking sorry.”

I choked back a sob. Now wasn’t the time to fall apart. “What have you been doing? How did you do all of this?” I asked.

He pulled away from us and shook his head. “I can’t talk about it yet.”

I let out a sound of frustration. I was so fucking exhausted with the secrets and being kept in the dark. But maybe that was just the inevitability of life in organized crime.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw my mama sway as she went to stand. I jolted towards her, but a Bratva soldier named Anatoly, an older man with silver hair, grabbed her arm before she passed out and guided her into a pew. I shot Dimi a look, and he nodded. There was no love between him and my mother, but I knew he would make sure she was taken care of.

“You can both stay here with me,” he said. “I’ll keep you safe.”

I felt a presence behind me and turned to see Matteo at the bottom of the altar steps with Romeo at his side. “If you ever try to convince my wife to leave me, I will end you,” he said, ice in his voice.

Dimi inclined his head. “And if you ever do anything to hurt my sister, I will end you.”

They faced off, expressions blank, eyes locked, until a slow smile spread across my brother’s face. “I look forward to forming a new alliance with you, Don Rossi. A real one.”

Matteo’s expression remained stoic, and then he nodded.

“And with you,” Dimi said, inclining his head at Ronan, who was standing halfway down the aisle with Leona.

“Oh, wonderful. Someone finally realized I was here,” he muttered.

Mila and I both snorted a laugh. Now that the male posturing was over, there were more important things to tend to.

I made my way back down the steps and took Matteo’s hand. His face was gray with the strain of standing. “You need to sit down. Ronan, can you get the chair out of the car?”

Matteo didn’t move, and I gave him a little shove towards a pew. “Sit down.” He gave me an incredulous look, but I stood my ground. “Or stay there and pass out. Not sure it’s very suitable for a big scary Mafia Don to faint, but I guess it’s your choice.”

He growled and then sat.

Mila joined me, leaning her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her. “You don’t have to stay here.” I couldn’t imagine Mila would ever want to set foot in the Pakhan’s home again. “Come home with me.”

She shook her head and pulled away. “I love you, Sofiya. More than anything. But I need a break from all of this… from the violence and politics and control.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she shook her head. “If I lived with you, all my movements would be controlled. I need space to breathe, to experience freedom.”

I wanted to argue with her, tell her it wouldn’t be like that, but we both knew better. I had come to terms with the restrictions of my new life as Mafia queen, but Mila had always been a free spirit. I refused to be the one to cage her, even though I wasn’t sure my heart could withstand the pain of saying goodbye.

She blinked like she was chasing away tears and pulled me back into her arms. “It’s not like it’s forever.”

“It better not be,” I whispered in her ear. “My baby needs their aunt.”

She sniffed. “You couldn’t keep me away if you tried. I just need some time to complete the items on my list first.”

I groaned. Mila’s items were a lot more adventurous than mine.

I caught Nikolai’s dark stare over her shoulder. But he wasn’t looking at me—he only had eyes for my sister. “And Nikolai will let you go alone?” I asked, eyebrows arching as we separated.

For the first time in my life, I saw Mila blush. “He’s coming with me.”

Okaaay.

“You will tell me more,” I said, my tone reminiscent of my husband.

A smile curled her lips. “I will.”

“You need to check in every day.”

“And wear a tracker,” Matteo said.

Mila frowned. “I don’t⁠—”

“Already done,” Nikolai said, coming to Mila’s side. She looked up at him with outrage.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Kolya?”

Nikolai smirked. “Don’t worry about it.”

Mila faced him, arms crossed, but before she could cuss him out, which was what I was sure she was on the verge of doing, Dimi interrupted.

“We need to get out of here and allow my crew to clean up.”

Pain gripped my heart. Dimi, Mila, and I had spent years having only each other as allies. Now, Dimitri stood strong as Pakhan with hundreds of men loyal to him, and as Nikolai put his arm around Mila, I realized she wasn’t alone anymore, either.

“Come on, tesoro,” Matteo murmured, brushing his hand down my arm. He looked as unsure as I’d ever seen him. There were so many words unspoken between us, so much hurt and fear. But he had come for me. I ran my finger down the locket he’d gifted me. I’d chosen to keep it on, knowing he would be able to track me, because deep down, I had hoped he would come. I’d hoped he would care enough about me to chase me.

I rested my hand on his shoulder, taller than him for the first time. “Let’s go home.”

His eyes softened, and I thought I caught a glimpse of a tear.

Ronan returned with the wheelchair we’d stolen from the hospital, and he and Romeo helped Matteo get in.

My husband grabbed my hand, and we headed back down the aisle for the second time.

Together.