Undressed By The Mafia God

Then she found the dress. It hung inside the closet, simple and breathtaking. No dramatic train. No ridiculous beads. No heavy fabric. Just a clean, elegant white dress that looked soft enough to breathe in, beautiful enough to make her chest ache.

Pinned to it was a tag.

Wear this. 9am tomorrow.

Vee smiled then laughed then sobbed. Then all at the same time. She had given up choosing one emotion. She lifted her hand, fingers trembling as she twisted the engagement ring on her finger.

Stupid, stupid Luca.

Of course he would decide that in the middle of whatever madness was currently circling them, the logical next step was marriage.

Typical idiot.

Her idiot.

Her terrifying, damaged, impossible man.

The tears gathered faster. She was happy. God help her, she was so happy. It didn’t matter that their life wasn’t perfect in any way. It didn’t matter that he currently thought himself less. It didn’t matter that there was a storm around them. This was what made them Luca and Veronica.

They always came out of everything stronger together. No matter how badly the world tried to split them open, no matter how much blood, fear, betrayal, or family drama got thrown at their feet, somehow she and Luca always found their way back to each other.

Always together.

Vee stared at the dress hanging in the closet and pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. She really couldn’t believe they were finally doing this.

Getting married.

Tomorrow.

She would become his wife tomorrow. Her fingers caressed the dress, tracing the soft fabric as tears dripped down her face. The gown was so simple, so beautiful, so painfully her that it made her chest ache. Luca had chosen this.

If she had known from the very first second that Luca was the man who would eventually own her heart, maybe she would have been easier. Maybe she would have been less difficult. Maybe she wouldn’t have fought him so hard, challenged him so much, pushed him to the edge every time he stepped too close.

Maybe everything wouldn’t have turned out so disastrous. Then again, knowing them, it probably still would have.

Luca could turn a peaceful breakfast into a power struggle. Together, they had the emotional calm of two storms. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Maybe disaster was not what happened to them. Maybe disaster was just how they loved.

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and turned away from the dress before she completely dissolved into the hotel carpet.

On the dresser, beside a small tray of gold-wrapped chocolates and a vase of white roses, sat a decorative notepad and pen.

Vee stepped closer. On the front of the notepad was a sticker.

You may want to write your vows, Bambola. – Luca

She sniffled out a chuckle. "You romantic psycho," she whispered. She reached for her phone in her bag, her heart suddenly too full to sit quietly in her chest. She needed to hear his voice. She placed the call.

He picked up immediately like he had been expecting her call.

"Is it safe to talk?" she asked as soon as he answered.

"Yeah. Its our wedding eve. We should be."

"You have the most disastrous timing," she sniffled, smiling through tears.

"Are you crying?"

Vee wiped at her face with the heel of her hand, which did absolutely nothing except smear tears across her cheek. "Yes, you idiot. I am crying."

"Are you crying happily?"

She rolled her eyes, but her smile widened. "What do you think?"

She could feel him smiling through the phone. That small, wicked curve of his mouth. Vee pressed the phone tighter to her ear. "Where are you?" she asked. "I need to see you. I need to know you are okay."

"It’s bad luck to see the groom before the wedding."

Vee laughed. "Aren’t you full of yourself?"

"I am the groom and devastatingly handsome too."

She closed her eyes. She loved him, loved him through storms, blood, mistakes, pride, fear, softness, danger, all of it.

"I’m fine, Bambola," Luca said. "I’ll see you tomorrow."

Vee inhaled shakily. Tomorrow was theirs. She could wait. "I love you so much," she whispered.

His answer came immediately. "I’m obsessed with you."

She smiled and hung up, looking to the dress once more. "Idiot," she muttered.

*****

"I have no idea where my husband is, Detective Voss," Valentina answered. She stood in the middle of her living room. The house was being searched by uniformed officers. She was tired, yes. Running on maybe twenty minutes of broken sleep. But she was not weak or helpless.

No matter what Vee thought.

"Mrs Montgomery..." Voss began.

"Please, call me Val. And please tell your men to be careful. The staff have been given the week off, and I really am not in the mood for cleaning while I have a baby to look after."

Voss glanced toward one officer. "Careful," Voss called.

Val gave Voss a polite smile.

"Val..." he said, softening his tone, "I need you to think of anyone who might have a problem with your husband. Or think of anything that stands out or doesn’t make sense."

"Nothing." She was determined to prove to Vee, she could handle herself. She could protect her son. She could stand in for her husband.

Marco would come back to her and until he did, she would not behave like a woman waiting to be saved.

Voss slipped his hands into his coat pockets. "Nothing at all?"

"No."

"No strange calls? No business disagreements? Nobody following him?"

"No," she said again.

Voss nodded slowly. His eyes moved over the room. The wedding photographs. The baby things. "I see you have not called your lawyer since I got here."

"I have nothing to hide," Val said. "Why do I need to call him? Am I under arrest?" she asked.

"No," Voss said.

"Then I don’t need a lawyer."

"Maybe not. But your husband is a suspect in the murder of Cassidy and the father of your child."

(Brought to you by Mar King 2/2)