Married To The Mafia...?

Strangers milled around slot machines and green lined tables. Woman dressed in scantily clad fashions, sequins and glitter dazzling the eyes of every man who was lucky enough to glimpse their slender physiques. Tall cocktails were held in generously manicured hands and the loud cheers of happy punters echoed at every angle.

Ethan's hand tightened around my own, tugging on my arm gently to bring me closer to his side. My heart hadn't slowed a single beat, it still thundered inside my chest cavity, threatening to break through at any moment. The idea that Mason could have been so close scared me to death. Ethan had appeared with uncanny timing and immediately seeing the fear in my eyes had dragged me along beside him deeper into the gambling rooms of the casino.

"Emanuel." Ethan's voice startled me, I hadn't even realised we'd stopped just along the edge of an outdoor balcony. Emanuel moved quickly from a small circle of darkly suited men to right beside Ethan. "I need you to sweep the fifth floor, somebody was following Amelia."

"Following?" Emanuel's brows creased together in confusing and his eyes landed on my cowering figure. "Who?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Ethan's voice was dark and his eyes glared at the small cirlce of men Emanuel had come from. "Find out who was suppose to be on security and who was meant to be in surveillance. Send them both to me immediately."

Emanuel nodded swiftly, gulping slightly at the seriousness of the situation before signalling to a few of the men to follow him before they all disappeared beack inside the hotel.

"You alright?" Ethan's voice was soft and caring as he turned to face me, his perfectly green eyes staring down at me with a whole new concern. I could feel the onslaught of emotions building and the prickle of salty tears behind my eyes, I was more scared than I had ever been before and the realisation of how close I had come to being snatched up by Mason was beginning to dawn on me. Ethan's palm pressed gently to the side of neck and face, bringing my glassy eyes back to his as I nodded slowly. Swiftly he placed a kiss to my forehead and lingered there for a moment before he clasped his palm around my own and pulled back inside the hotel, our feet shuffling quickly over the carpet, down hallways and inside the office that was know as ours.

Ethan wasted no time in dragging both of us to the large wooden desk, his fingers typing across the keys of the computer quicker than anything I'd seen before and within seconds security surveillance had popped up across the wide screen. My breath caught in my throat and my chest beat even more violently as I watched a filmed image of myself running scared down hallways but what increased my heart rate even further was the darkly clad Mason running hot on my heels.

The office door swung open with an entirely new force and Emmanuel's dark eyes glared from behind two timid looking men, their hand thrust deep inside their pant pockets, their faces turning a shade of plump red. "Brian Hasting from security and Jack Fairnes from surveillance, they were the two on shift tonight."

I watched sightly nervous as my husband's eyes darkened and a murderous glare rose from within his glance. I knew first hand the severity of the situation and the thoughts running through Ethan's mind; if our own security network couldn't protect me from my very deranged brother than absolutely nowhere was safe. I knew all this and yet my I felt a symapthy to both young men as they stood timid and fragil in the office face to face with a fuming Ethan Radev.

"What the hell happend?!" Ethan's voice boomed from behind the desk and even I jumped slightly at the tone he has chose. "Where were either of you?"

"I-" Brian Hasting's voice was soft and his eyes remaind on the floor. "I didn't think leaving the floor was that much of a threat. I-"

"You didn't think it was a threat?" Ethan moved in front of the desk leaving me to stand alone at the back of the room. "You didn't think those orders were placed there for a reason?"

"I thought the surveillance team would pick any activity up..."

"You just thought you could rely on somebody else to do their job? Turns out you were wrong Brian."

"I only left for a short while... I didn't believe Mason would actually show his face. I thought Mrs. Radev would have been safe with you Sir."

As if in slow motion I watched as Ethan's arm lifted and sliced throught the air, I watched in frozen shock as his knuckles collided with Brian's right eye causing his head to sort of snap backward on impact. A startled squeal sob of shock emitted from my throat and I covered my mouth while my eyes only grew wider.

"Don't you dare, for one minute question how safe my wife is in my care! Did you think what would happen if we were seperated? If she chose to go up to our room alone? If I had business to attend to? You're stupidity almost cost my wife her life!"

"Ethan!" his name rolled from my lips with pleading, my hand gently touching his arm as it raised to hit Brian again. He snapped his attention in my direction quickly, his green pools saring at my wide-eyed expression before he lowered his arm ever so slowly.

"Emanuel. Take Amelia back to the penthouse, stay with her until I'm there."

Emanuel nodded softly and moved forward enough to touch my arm gently. I shook my head and made to argue but Ethan's strained expression had me reconsidering and silently following Emanuel out into the hallway.

As the office door clicke at our turned backs I felt a jolt rise through my insides, I had never been so fearful of my life in any day I'd ever lived before. I'd never felt so much sympathy for any other than a young Brian lying on the office floor with a bloodied nose. I'd never felt so safe in all my hours as the moment when Ethan declared me as his wife aloud and to the open.