Arranged Mafia Daddy

Chapter 11Viktor

11

Viktor

I feel anger before anything else. I rarely do when things get ugly, but to have Sage’s wretched excuse for a father crashing through the window and ruining my wedding day is something I can’t move past so easily.

I release Sage’s hand, pushing her back into the arms of my security guard before going for my gun. I didn’t want to have to kill Mr. Thompson, but I will if he’s going to crash my wedding and cause a scene.

He’s made his choices. It’s about time I make mine.

“Don’t shoot him!” I hear Sage’s voice behind me, but I ignore her. I’m blinded by my rage, unable to exercise what little empathy I have left. I charge toward Mr. Thompson as two guards grab him, yanking his hands behind his back to leave him vulnerable to my fists.

He isn’t armed, which is both a mistake and a blessing for him. He won’t be able to defend himself, but he also isn’t a threat to anyone here, so he doesn’t necessarily need to be shot on the spot.

I start with a fist to his stomach. I’d love to scramble his face, but I have a habit of breaking people’s skulls when I hit them. He could die from a single fist, and I’m certain Sage would throw a fit about it.

She married me to save him, after all. If I kill him, she will feel betrayed.

But he’s the one betraying her right now, showing up to the wedding to play hero. I could’ve sworn I had managed to keep anyone from knowing where the venue was, but somehow he found us. I want answers before I end his miserable life.

There’s a rat among us, and he’s going to tell me who.

I realize as I pull my first back again that everyone is staring at me. Beating a man senseless in front of my guests is far worse than what Mr. Thompson just did, so I drop my hand. I’m not trying to embarrass myself at my own wedding.

“Bring him downstairs,” I grunt to my guards as he wheezes in their arms. He’s limp, but obviously still alive. A blow that big gut of his isn’t going to kill him.

I spin around on my heels, ignoring the rolling murmurs from the crowd as I pass through it again to reach Sage. She’s already in tears, her mascara running down her flushed cheeks like polluted rivers.

Even though her father is the one responsible for this mess, I’m hit by a pang of guilt. This is her wedding too, usually one of the most special days in a woman’s life, and I’ve made a scene out of it.

“Come,” I mutter, grabbing her by the arm to lead her out. “Let’s put this behind us.”

She continues crying, not saying a word until we’re out of the hall and behind closed doors, where our honeymoon suit has turns into a battleground.

Less than five minutes after our vows, and I’m already heading for divorce. Lovely.

“How could you do that!” she shouts at me, throwing her fists down to her sides the moment the door closes.

I sigh, the weight of the moment pulling the confidence out of my shoulders. I slump forward a bit as I sit down on the edge of the bed, thinking of a response. “What can I say but I’m sorry? I didn’t know that he’d be at the wedding. I specifically took precautions against it,” I say.

She shakes her head. “Not enough, obviously. And then you went and pulled a gun on him. Were you going to kill him in front of everyone?”

I laugh through my nose. “No, that would’ve been a bit extreme.”

“You almost did it. Everyone saw you pull that gun,” she says, using a napkin from the table to dab the tears from her eyes. It’s a bit late for that now, but I wouldn’t dare tell her. The last thing you want to do is nitpick an angry woman.

“I didn’t shoot him, but I do think he deserved the punch to the gut. He tried to ruin our wedding,” I say.

She crosses her arms. “You didn’t have to do that either.”

“What should I have done?”

She shrugs. “Escorted him out. Your guards already had him.”

I shake my head. “How do I know he wouldn’t come back with a gun? The man has lost everything.”

“Correction… You took everything from him. He didn’t lose it on his own.”

I suppress a groan. I’m trying not to make her angry because I was hoping to have a nice time after the wedding, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult not to. Having her try to defend her father is frustrating. She should realize he doesn’t deserve her sympathy.

While I’m massaging the wrinkles out of my forehead, Sage comes over and sits beside me. I’m surprised by this, seeing as she was furious at me just moments ago.

She puts her hand on my arm and lowers her voice. “I know this isn’t how you wanted things to be, and I appreciate that you tried to keep him out of this. I don’t know how to feel about him, honestly, but you have to understand that he’s still my dad. I could hate him and still not want anything bad to happen to him.”

“I guess I’m too heartless to understand,” I grumble as my hands drop into my lap.

“You’re not heartless, Viktor. You just pretend to be, but you should consider dropping the act around me. I’m your wife now, after all.”

I look at her, frowning as I try to understand her intentions. She wants me to be soft and weak, but I’m not willing to go that far for anyone, even my wife. She’s going to have to learn that about me. Weakness in my line of work can be fatal.

My teeth clench, and I turn my head toward my lap again. “What you saw today is as much heart as you’re ever going to get out of me. You’re lucky I didn’t kill him.”

She lets out a long sigh. “You’re the lucky one, Viktor. I only agreed to marry you on the premise that you’d leave him alone. I don’t know what your plans are now, but it had better not involve harming him.”

“That was an old agreement. He came in here and started a new one. It’s too complicated for you to understand, but he’s not leaving this house for a while,” I reply.

“Too complicated? I’m not an idiot, Viktor.”

“It’s Bratva business. That’s all. I wasn’t calling you an idiot, but you’re not informed about how things go here.”

She jumps up from the bed, her voice doubling in volume. “Then inform me! You can’t possibly think I’ll be fine with you keeping me in the dark my whole life. I’m part of your scheme, now, and I deserve to know what’s going on.”

She right, but I don’t like it. It means I’m the one who is wrong, and I can’t afford to be making mistakes. I’ll either have to deny it and put it to rest, or correct it quickly before she starts to doubt my leadership.

I rise from the bed, trying to placate her with kinder words. “Here’s how things go in the Bratva, darling. People try to kill you all the time. Money puts a bounty on your head, and crime attracts… well… criminals. It’s the perfect storm for a short life if you’re not careful.”

“You think my dad wanted to kill you?” she asks defensively. She’s already jumping to conclusions, but I’m not done explaining things.

“No, but he wanted to crash the wedding, and he managed to find out where it was. Do you understand my concern now? There are people out there that would love to kill me, kidnap you, and bring down my entire mafia empire. You think I’ve been cruel to you? You don’t even know what those people would put you through.”

She shrinks a little bit inside herself, her mind wandering across the possibilities. I give her a moment to consider them before continuing.

“So, your dad has connection to people in my organization. I’m sure he made them while gambling at my casino, or else the problem could be even bigger. The point is, we’re compromised, and I need to know who told him about where we would be today. That can’t happen again,” I explain.

“Okay, but he’s still not a threat,” she says quietly.

“No,” I reply, stepping up to her. “But whoever leaked information to him is, and they will pay dearly for their transgressions.”