Sniping Her Mafia King
Chapter 51

Arwen walked into her backyard and glared at the man standing in her henhouse. "You have nerve." "Should I not be here?"

"She waited for you at the hospital."

"I am here now," he said simply. He looked around the backyard, "you've made a beautiful home for her."

"How many cracks to the head did you take?" Arwen folded her arms over her chest as she took in the sight of him in a full suit, standing in chicken-shit, holding Henrietta in his arms. One eye was almost shut completely, his cheek black and blue and his lips swollen. His nose appeared straight again. Even battered he was a good looking man. "You set my alarms off. I had to turn them off remotely before one of the girls came and shot your a*s."

“I f****d up, Arwen,” he said simply. "I should have had a more experienced man on Deidre last night. Now Nico and Miley are dead, and she's battered and bruised."

"She's upset with you."

"She should be."

"You told her you would be there to see her."

"I was detained," he gently sat Henrietta down and came out of the cage, stopping to lock the door and then to wash his hands. "Is she inside?"

"She is but we stopped at Miley's parents house on the way home and she's a mess. She asked to be alone."

"How bad are her injuries?" he slowly mounted the steps as if every stair caused him discomfort.

"Minor concussion, internal bruising but nothing too sinister and a couple of broken ribs." She studied his face, "you look far worse than she does."

"This?" he touched his puffy cheek, "it's nothing."

"It looks sore," she lifted her hand up to him and he backed up, jerking his head violently away from her. "Sorry."

"We should talk," he motioned to the porch swing.

"Okay. Sounds ominous."

"Not ominous," he sighed and sat down on the bench and groaned. "Nico, the driver of the car which went off the road last night is the son of a man I've known a long time. He was very excited to be given the honor of taking care of Deidre. His father works in my casino in Atlantic City. It is where I was today. I had to tell my friend and his wife his twenty-six-year-old son was murdered by a lowlife of the bratva."

"f**k," Arwen looked away from him at his words.

"He was their only child. They are devastated. They wanted retribution and I told them it had been delivered. I spent the day with them. I'll be sending them along with his body back home to be buried in their family plot."

"I'm sorry, Addy. This must be so hard for you."

"What is hard is knowing this is my fault. I did this. I knew they were coming to see me. I knew they wanted the girl. I was cocky." He closed his good eye and inhaled, "it never dawned on me Mancuso would go so far to sell me out he would use you and Deidre to get to me. Any of my other enemies, it wouldn't have been a second thought but Mancuso Jr? He sat in the chair sobbing about how he was crossing me because his father had his wife and kid hidden from him. I felt bad for him. Even when I knew he betrayed me, I felt bad because it was for his wife and his kid, and I vowed to take care of them. Now, now I have to take care of the family of the man who sold me out to a low-level bratva. He told me all about how he gave them intel on my casino and my FBI agent and my problems with the shipping containers. Not once did he mention telling them about you." He opened his eye again, "I should have known he'd give them personal information."

"How would you know?"

"I went easy on him. I went easy because of the wife and kid. I felt a kinship," he waved in the direction of the upper floor where Dee's room was, "I knew if someone had her and you and were hurting you, there wasn't anything I wouldn't do. I mean, I wouldn't be a punk and sell out, but I got where he was coming from."

She almost snickered at his comment.

"Arwen, you did well last night. Your team did well. It was slick. I did not like," he shook a finger at her, "being knocked out with a tranquilizer."

"Asset not an agent," she quipped.

"So, I've been told," he rocked the chair back. "What has Deidre been told?"

"Deidre underwent an initial interview which resulted in the decision to give her a debrief."

He sat up straight at her words. "What the f**k for?"

"She remembered everything Addy. From the time she was taken from the car to the time I put her out. The dose they gave her was minimal at best. She was drowsy but awake. She heard you talk to her. She heard the way you taunted them. She heard the smackdown you took." "You couldn't pass it off as a dream?" his words were accusatory.

"When you look like that?" she flung her hand near his face. "You look like you went up against a meat pulveriser and lost." "I've had worse."

"I bet," she rolled her eyes, "all I'm saying is in these situations we usually administer a dosage of medication which impairs short term memory. Many times, with the administration of the medication we can implant memories or take away memories. I'm not remotely close to an expert in this field. It's why we have the best neuropsychiatrists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and neurologists in the world on our team. They consulted based on the information Clara gleaned from the interview and made an educated decision based on the replaceings. They presented the option to me this morning and I went with what the specialists recommend. The problem is, when a patient has had a catastrophic brain injury, the risks with memory wiping are higher."

"Higher than her remembering being kidnapped and dragged away?"

"Deidre's memories of her parents are already limited. I couldn't risk her losing all of them. Our team made a collective decision to give her a very minimal debrief. She knows I work for an organization which protects women in danger. She knows it's a relatively large collective. She knows she was taken because I was hiding a woman who was linked to you wanted by dangerous men. She knows it was the FBI who were tailing you and who outed her." "What?" his tone went icy. "I did not hear this part."

"The Russians were told if they wanted to replace dirt on you to follow your FBI tail. O'Malley was following Deidre and he called her name out on the street. Wanted to talk to her. Nico pulled up and put a stop to it, bustled the girls into the car and drove in the opposite direction. Our thoughts are he was so focused on looking for O'Malley's car, he didn't notice the Russians until it was too late."

Arwen watched as Addy's posture which had started to relax grew infinitely more rigid. He was channeling his anger and rage and she understood. She wanted to comfort him, to touch him, to make him feel better but his body language was screaming 'do not touch' and she clenched her fingers in her lap instead.

"Arwen, what happened last night was because you and Deidre are part of my life now. I wish I could say I am a selfless man, and I would do what is best for you and just walk away and let the two of your live your own lives safe and away from me, but I am neither selfless nor kind. I won't give you up, either of you."

His words removed the fear she'd had when he'd said he wanted to talk. She thought this was part of the program where he put them first and left, regardless of her ability to protect them. Somehow though, she was still on edge as if she knew he was going to give her information she wouldn't like.

"Addy, what happened last night was a maniac thought he had the right to purchase the life of another human being and behaved like a spoiled monster when he couldn't get what he wanted."

"Every man in any criminal organization is exactly as you describe present company included." He made a face. "I want you and Deidre to have constant protection."

"We do." She had a sinking feeling in her stomach at his words and she knew this was the ominous part.

"Arwen, this is a non-negotiable part for me. I cannot be worried twenty-four seven because someone is going to see us together and take you out. I want you both together."

"Who sees us together? We don't go anywhere. The only reason we were made was because one of your own gave out intel."

"Arwen, I want you in my life. It means we will be seen together. I want to take you dancing. I want to take you shopping and spoil you rotten. I want to take vacations together alone and with Deidre as a family. The more we are out and about, the more exposed you will be. I need to know you're safe. I want an assigned guard to Deidre and to you."

"I am her assigned guard."

"And when you're not here? When you're off on a mission, who is her assigned guard? Who will be following her every step of the way to make sure what happened last night never happens again?"

"We put new protocols in place."

"Not enough," he shook his head. "I walked up to your yard and was able to easily access your back yard."

"Addy," she pointed to a house within view, "the lady who lives there had a gun pointed at you until I told her to stand down."

"Really?" he looked to the direction curiously. "Not fast enough though. Had Dee been in the back yard, and I walked right up to it, pulled a gun, and shot her in the head she wouldn't have been able to stop me. Not from at this distance. I want a guard at her side all the time."

"You're not putting a guard in my f*****g house!"

"I don't want him in the house. I want him outside the house. I want him as her shadow."

"This isn't happening."

"I want you to have a shadow as well."

"That's a giant f**k no." she shook her head angrily.

"Arwen, you, and your friends, you call me the king. What do you think this makes you and Deidre? Your world calls us mafia. I'm fine with the name but if I'm a mafia king, you are my queen, and she is the princess. There is not an enemy of mine alive who will not try to use either of you against me now. Especially since I have seized control of interests, I had no business seizing."

"What do you mean?"

"It means Radomir had ships waiting to enter my port and I took them. His counterparts felt they should remain Russian. I disagree. Mikhail Andropov and his son Ivan have been most adamant I return them." "You're making enemies in New York."

"I had them long before this weekend, Arwen. The Andropovs and I go back a long way. We have always been cordial and respectful, but they are interfering in my business, and I will not tolerate it. I fear if I put them in their place, their retaliation might be towards you."

She chuckled at his words.

"You replace this amusing."

"Do you know he is close friends with Clara?"

He turned his head towards her curiously, "I knew they were acquainted but not close friends."

"He also has Cam Torres on his payroll. His wife is one of my closest friends. I have been to dinner with Deidre at Mikhail's restaurant with the Torres family and Raisa adores Deidre. You want to avoid going to war with the Russians, tell them you're taking the boats in payment for them taking my kid. He'll back off."

"Ships, not boats, and why am I just learning now of your connection to the Russians."

"Can't be worse than Jesse and Torben's connection to the Greeks."

"I knew of their connection to the Greeks, but I didn't know you were chummy with the Russians."

"I'm just saying, if you're thinking I'm just a liability to you, perhaps broaden your narrow mind. I can be an asset."

"I will keep this in mind, but it doesn't detract from the fact I want you protected. Especially Deidre. Where I'm confident you can defend yourself, she is not you."

"Addy, what if she's on a date?"

"Do you think Lafarge goes out without security? Who do you think drove him to the house? His security guards. His guys spent the night taking turns sleeping in the backseat of a car down the street."

She grinned, "I know. I thought it was kind of funny."

"My point is, Arwen, most people with money or any kind of fame need to have constant protection. Even if you can take care of yourself, backup never hurts."

"You're asking to let strangers be in our personal space, Addy." She waved in her backyard. "This is our home."

"Arwen, your home is a fortress if you're inside. Out here?" he waved to the gardens and the chickens, "she's a sitting duck and so are you. I don't want to ever feel what I felt last night again. When the motherfucker looked me in the face and said he had Deidre I was sick. She is an innocent. She is pure and sweet and does not deserve the chaos and violence her life has brought her. I never want to feel this way again. Call me selfish or whatever other word makes you feel better, but I have to insist."

"Addy."

"When she goes to school, goes to Portia's, goes to the library, I want her to have muscle with her. Every single time. If she leaves a class to go to the washroom, the man will check the bathroom before she goes in it." "She is not going to agree."

"Let's ask her." Addy insisted, "you may replace yourself wrong. She isn't like you Arwen with the confidence of trained killer. Even I have a man at my back all the time. I don't think it makes me less of a capable man. It makes me smarter and a survivor. Don't let pride be your downfall."

"Addy, we've already told her, already reassured her, we have her back. Our collective has put safeguards in place for her. The same ones are in place for any of our upper-level teams."

"But how many of your upper-level teams are dating the head of the Cavallaro family?" he questioned her. "How many will have double or triple the threat just because you are mine?" "This is ridiculous."

He took a deep breath, "I also want you to rethink your gift to Deidre. I do not like the thought of her gallivanting across the English countryside without an armed escort."

"I am the armed escort."

"You're going with her?"

"If she asks."

"And if she doesn't? If she decides this is some eat, love, pray situation where she needs to replace herself after the death of her best friend? Then what?"

"Then I have a girl in the background."

"You want me to tell her she can't go?"

"Not good enough. Arwen, my enemies are everywhere. Everywhere. I could walk into a monastery and get shot."

"I want you to ask her to postpone. Until this mess settles down."

"Is this all?"

"No."

"Oh my god, this day just gets better and better." She got off the swing and moved to lean forward over the porch railing. "I need to kick the f**k out of something."

"I'd suggest we spar but I have a cracked rib and my nose is quite painful. Maybe ask Jesse."

"Funny," she turned to face him. "What's your other request?"

"I want to move in."

The world stopped for Arwen as his words infiltrated her eardrums. A loud buzzing filled her head as if a swarm of gnats had entered her mind. She blinked, or at least she thought she had, in his direction and she tried to focus on him sitting in the swinging chair, battered, and bruised yet still cocky and smug as hell. "I'm sorry. I think I misheard you."

"I want to move in. I want to sleep next to you. I want to wake next to you. I want us to be together."

"It's been a month."

"A lifetime wouldn't be long enough and I'm not wanting to waste another second of it. I work a lot. You work a lot. It makes sense we both are based out of the same place."

She squatted down and put her hands flat to the porch to keep the world from spinning off its axis. She was off kilter, and this was a bigger loop than anything he'd thrown at her yet. "I don't live here alone. Its not a decision I can make without Deidre's input." "Then talk to her and make her see reason."

"Make her see reason?" Arwen looked up at him in disbelief from where she was crouched. "You have walked into our home, our space, after, I might add, disappointing and scaring her because you were too busy to even call her and let her know you were delayed, and you're dictating massive changes to the way we live our lives, and you want her to see reason? I'm asking again, how many punches to the head did you take?"

"You can think on it of course," he shrugged as if he was uncaring, he was throwing her entire existence into upheaval, "but we both know it's what you want as well. We should get a dog and a goat. Maybe two goats."

"Addy!"

"Arwen, I'm going to go into the house now and see Deidre. I want to see her for myself, and I am going to tell her she is going to have protection from this day moving forward. Whether she agrees or disagrees is irrelevant. Then, I will make introductions to her two new bodyguards who are waiting outside. They will be doing twelve-hour shifts from now until the end of time."

"f**k me, you have a lot of f*****g balls."

"You would know. You've examined them up close."

"Adrianu Cavallaro, you are one comment away from being shot in the a*s."

"I have a killer headache. Please don't make my a*s hurt as well. I have to fly to Sicily this evening with Nico and his parents. I will be gone a few days. This should give you enough time to wrap your head around the changes taking place." Before she could even respond to his words, he was off the porch swing, moving better than he should have been considering the abuse he'd taken less than a day before and he was through the door and in the house.

"This isn't happening," she whispered to herself as she finally lowered to sit completely on the floor. He was usurping her life, commandeering her home, and presenting everything to her as if she had no choice in the matter. What was wrong with him? His words were echoing in her head. "I want to move in."

She rubbed her forehead in stunned disbelief as she considered his words. Out of everything he'd spouted today from the bodyguards to the cancelling of Dee's trip, this was something else. He wanted to live in her space. Her heart was racing too quick for her to have misheard or misunderstood his words and intentions.

What was she going to do?