Married To The Mafia...?

I didn’t dare move, my head resting against Ethan’s chest as his fingers mindlessly wound through the waves of my hair, his other arm wrapped around my waist keeping me close. The smell of his cologne from the shirt I’d pulled over my head, mixed with the strong constant sound of his heart beating gently lulled me into a sleepy state.

This is what I’d pined for while I thought he was dead, this is what I should have held onto as soon as I realised it had been a lie rather than the ache of his betrayal. I should have run to him, pulled him cloe and crashed my lips against his, I should have never let him go.

“Amelia.” His voice was groggy and the sound catching in his throat made me smile into the flesh of his shoulder. “We should probably get off the floor.”

I was about to protest, I was about to beg to stay where we were for just a minute longer, to savour the moment. That was until the noises echoed down the hallway.

Ethan sat bolt upright bringing me with him, his arm securely around my shoulders as his ears strained for the sounds I too could hear like glass breaking in a silent hallway. He said nothing as he tossed clothes in my direction, quickly pulling on his jeans in the process as tiptoeing toward the hall doorway. I dressed in record time, but as I made to creep across the room his hand shot up signalling for me to pause exactly where I was.

“I’m going to check it out, just stay here.” I hadn’t noticed him picking up his black hand gun, but the weapon was more the obvious as he trailed slowly down the hallway.

I bit into my lip so hard I thought I would draw blood for sure, my hands scrambled for the silver hand gun as I waiting in nervous anticipation for Ethan to appear down the other end of the hallway, laughing off the noise as nothing more than a feral cat.

When he didn’t return fifteen minutes later I began to panic, my nerves were shot and I was exhausted from the copious amounts of stress this world had managed to inflict upon me time after time again. I couldn’t do it anymore, any of it. I couldn’t handle being lied to, being scared for my life daily. This wasn’t a life as much as it was a prison sentence.

“Ethan?” I whispered hoarsely into the dark hallway, my eyes and ears straining to pick up anything in the black shadows. “Ethan?”

“Amelia go back to the living room.” By the urgent demand of his voice I knew something was the matter, he only spoke to me like a child when his plans hadn’t quite gone the way they were meant to.

Naturally I didn’t bide by his demands. I crept closer the corner of the hallway, closer to where his voice had travelled. The second I stepped around the corner I wished I hadn’t, I wished I could reverse the previous two minutes and listen to the wisdom of my husband because there standing with arms raised and guns aimed were Mason and his men, their fire line Ethan and myself.

“Drop the gun Amelia.” Mason’s voice was haunting, his eyes glimmering in the cold as he stepped closer inside.

“I told you to go back.” Ethan groaned and shot me a menacing glance, I knew he wasn’t impressed but I knew he was expecting a dumb move on my behalf.

“It looks like your prince charming wasn’t dead after all dear sister.”

“It looks like you’re a bit sore dear brother.” I smiled menacingly as Mason hobbled slightly from the doorway.

“I wouldn’t test my patience tonight Amelia, I’m not in the mood to spare your pathetic life again.”

I went to open my mouth, to let another well-rounded sentence roll through the air and deflate his ego just that little but more but Ethan’s hand touched my arm gently. “Just stop before you get yourself shot.”

“Wise words from your darling little hubby.” Mason scowled, staring at us while I reached Ethan’s side, his hand capturing my own. “So you didn’t die after all harm?”

“Neither did you by the look of it.” Ethan sighed in frustration as I spoke again, but I didn’t care. If Mason was going to kill us, he would have shot us the second he could, he wouldn’t be toying with us so casually. “Shame really.”

“Amelia, stop.” Ethan tugged on my hand, but I ignored him simply pulling it from his grasp.

“I didn’t come here to bicker with you Amelia. I came here to warn you. You try and take out these new groups and I will end this happy little family Ethan.”

“I should have realise you were all behind this. You would have done anything to get me out of the picture. The second I was gone you all pounced on her, if Emmanuel hadn’t been around she would have been ripped to shreds.” Ethan’s eyes were harsh, glaring daggers toward my estranged brother. “Don’t worry about your little groups, we won’t touch them. We’re out Mason.”

For a moment I didn’t comprehend what exactly he was saying, it didn’t register with my brain.

“You’re out ?” Mason’s voice raised slightly and he paused from the limped pacing. “You can’t just decide you’re out Ethan, not after everything you’ve done.”

“We’re out Mason. I don’t want a part in this anymore. The hotels as far as we’re going, the rest is history. We’re out.”

“You can’t just say you’re out!” raged flickered through Mason’s eyes, his face glowing red. “It doesn’t work like that and you know it! This isn’t how this world works, once you’re in, you’re in until you’re dead. I’m meant to be the one to kill you. You aren’t out while you’re still breathing Ethan!!”
In a flash I watched as Mason buckled with rage, his breathing grew jagged and fingers twitched toward the gun he held facing downward. It was if I watched everything from a far, my crazy estranged brother raised his left hand slowly, the silver pistol catching the dull foyer lights but before he was able to pull the trigger a crack of fire filled the room and a bullet flew threw the thin flesh of his forearm.

Ethan pushed me backward immediately and I stumbled slightly until my back, hi the wall, my eyes focused on Mason withering in sheer agony on the ceramic tiled floor. Confusion filled every nerve cell as I scanned the room; Mason’s sidekicks were nowhere to be seen leaving him alone and bleeding over my father’s floor. Ethan’s hands were completely empty of a weapon. But the second Marcus and Antonio Radev stepped into the foyer everything became clear.

“You’re out?” I turned to Ethan, ignoring the cries of Mason lying across the floor.

“I’m out.” Ethan nodded slowly, smiling slightly as my eyes burned through his. “I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want the risk, I don’t want you in danger.”

I said nothing but pulled him flush against my lips, holding his face against my own. My heart beat with total elation, my head drowning, drunk with happiness. But the moment couldn’t last forever; they never could and especially not with a gunshot wound lying at our feet.