Arranged Mafia Daddy

Chapter 12Sage

12

Sage

T he strength in his words is undeniable, and the implications are as clear as day. He’s going to kill whoever told my dad about the wedding plans, but that’s only after he gets the information out of my dad.

Fortunately for him, that shouldn’t be difficult. My dad won’t suffer long before running his mouth. I wonder how many times being a complete pushover is going to save his life. He’s already done this twice, and my sympathy for him is at an all-time low.

Still, I can’t stand the idea of Viktor killing him over something like this. After all, he wasn’t the threat. Whoever leaked the information was, and I don’t have much empathy for Viktor’s crew. From what I’ve experienced, they’re all a bunch of crooks.

“You’re leaving?” I ask, chasing after Viktor as he walks toward the door.

He looks over his shoulder at me, hand on the doorknob. “I won’t be long.”

“Take me with you,” I blurt.

He shakes his head. “You don’t want to see this, darling. It would spoil the mood.”

A bitter laugh escapes my mouth. “The mood has been spoiled, darling . If I’m going to be part of your world, I want to experience it first-hand. I’m not waiting on the sidelines for you to come back.”

“I’m going to hurt him,” he warns. “You won’t like it.”

I shrug. “What’s me being there going to change?”

“Nothing.”

“Exactly,” I say, pulling the ends of my wedding dress up and walking toward him. “I’d like to come with you.”

He narrows his eyes at me, but ultimately relents. “Alright, but you need to change. I don’t want to get blood on your dress.”

I know he’s trying to get me to second-guess myself, but it’s not going to work. Either I’m in this, or I’m not, and after letting him wrap his hands around my neck yesterday and own my body entirely, I’m going to have to be in it. What other choice do I have?

“What about your suit?” I ask as I strip down in front of him.

His eyes immediately fall to my breasts, taking in the sight of me in my bridal lingerie before I can throw on a t-shirt and jeans. His hunger is palpable, lighting a fuse in me that’s going to explode before the night is over.

“Hello? Suit?” I ask, covering my torso with a baggy grey t-shirt.

He blinks a few times before looking up at my face again. “Oh, um, yeah. Don’t worry about that.”

I laugh as I jump into a pair of blue jeans. “You’re going to interrogate him naked or something? Seems a little odd, but I wouldn’t put it past you, considering how kinky you’ve turned out to be so far.”

He rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile on his face. This is the type of banter he enjoys. He secretly needs someone to tease and defy him, maybe just so he can put them in their place later.

My heart hammers in my chest at the thought of him doing that to me again. The casino closet was incredible, but how much further is he willing to go? How much more extreme can things get?

“Let’s go,” Viktor says, opening the door and nodding. “Our guests still think we’re coming out to the reception. We need to be quick.”

“You think you can get an answer out of my dad that quickly?”

“I don’t have to think. I know,” he mutters as we leave.

He leads me down the hallway, taking sharp turns and not slowing down for a moment. He has incredible stamina, which I learned about last night when he hammered me into a state of pure euphoria. The problem is, I’m struggling to keep up with him, especially as he flies down a set of slippery marble stairs.

“Can we slow down, maybe,” I gasp as we reach the bottom.

“Almost there,” he replies without looking back at me.

I groan, which turns into a cough as my lungs start to burn. I should be in better shape, but I’ve always been more of a sit- in-bed-and-vegetate kind of girl instead of a gym rat. Viktor has enough muscle for the both of us, but he hasn’t offered to carry me yet.

It’d be cute, but he’s not exactly the cute type. He wants to be the big bad monster, and for now, I’m just going to have to let him. I’m sure he’ll warm up eventually.

It’s wishful thinking, of course, but it’s the only thing that gives me any hope for our future. I don’t want to have children with a man who can’t be soft when he need to be. Kids don’t need to be yelled at and ordered around all the time. They need compassion.

Is Viktor capable of compassion? It doesn’t seem that way as he barrels down a darkening hallway to where my father is being kept as a prisoner.

And yet, something about his energy is intoxicating. It’s wrong, but I really do feel attracted to him. The smell of his sweat, the anger on his tongue, and the way he fucks me like it’s his last day on earth.

Viktor flings open a door at the end of the hallway, snapping his fingers as I slink in after him. His assistant, Ivan, hands him a plastic hazmat suit, and he steps into it.

It’s terribly bright in the room, almost to the point where I can’t see at all. I lean against the wall, blinking until I can see what’s hanging in the center of it, bound in rope and dangling a foot off the floor.

I try not to make eye contact with my father. He doesn’t even look like he did when I left the house. His eyes are sunken, and there’s something wild about them, like he’s a hungry animal instead of a human being.

He looks dangerous, but I suppose anyone would be if they were so critically compromised.

“Time to get some answers,” Viktor says, turning to me with a crinkly plastic sound. It’d be funny if it weren’t so demented. “I hope you’re ready for this. You can go back to the room if you want.”

“No,” I say a little too quickly. “I want to be here.”

He shrugs, grabbing a baseball bat from Ivan’s meaty hands. “Suit yourself, darling.”

My father lets out a guttural scream as Viktor charges up to him, winding the bat back and letting it go with so much speed that it blurs in the air. The wood hits him in the stomach with a crunchy thud, probably breaking a few lower ribs and knocking the breath out of him.

“That one was just for fun,” Viktor says, looking over his shoulder at me. “You understand the game now, I hope. We’re all crazy here.”

I grit my teeth. He’s putting on a show for me, trying to convince me that he’s unhinged and dangerous. I know he is, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be like that to me. I won’t allow him to, but all bets are off when it comes to my father.

Mr. Thompson, as Viktor calls him. I think I’d prefer to call him that to, since no good father would sell his daughter to a mafia boss.

I swallow hard as Viktor pulls the bat back again, aiming for Mr. Thompson’s face. My stomach drops, but the swing doesn’t come yet.

“Tell me who you got the wedding information from,” Viktor growls. “One chance, or your face is going to be turned into pudding.”

“Wait,” Mr. Thompson croaks. “Just… give me a second. Is that Sage over there?”

I turn away from him, crossing my arms and hiding my face. I’m not ashamed of being on Viktor’s side, but I don’t want to be emotionally manipulated by that man again. I’m done with him. He’s not my father anymore. I don’t know who he is, but he’s not someone I want to empathize with.

“Don’t worry about her,” Viktor says, and I hear a hint of anger in his voice. He hates Mr. Thompson so much, even more now that he tried to crash our wedding.

I find myself feeling the same.

“Tell me who leaked the wedding plans, or you’re dead. I won’t give you another chance.”

“Okay, okay! You’re nuts, but I get it. I just wanted to be a better man, you know?” Mr. Thompson blurts. “I just.. okay, I’ll tell you. It was Johnny from the casino. He knew about the wedding, and he told me.”

“Not possible,” Viktor says, tapping the bat against his forehead. “Do you think I’m stupid? Johnny is a nobody. He wasn’t invited, and he wouldn’t even know it was happening.”

“But he told me!”

“Tell the truth, motherfucker,” Viktor growls, winding the bat back again.

“I swear, he told me last night when I was there. He said that–”

Mr. Thompson’s words are cut off by a sickening crack, and I know what has happened without even having to look. There’s heat in my face and a tingle of electricity in my feet, but I don’t feel sympathy. I don’t really feel any emotion other than shock.

“I hate a liar,” Viktor grumbles as his bat clatters to the ground. “Ivan, have the guys clean this mess up. The reception is canceled. This party is no longer safe.”

Ivan grunts, and I hear Viktor unzip his hazmat suit. His warm hand find my shoulder, the same hand that swung the bat into a man’s face at full force.

I shiver despite the heat of his touch, pulling my arms tighter around myself as I’m led out of the room. My breathing is short and shallow, but there’s a weird calm feeling inside of me. The end of my previous life, and the beginning of an entirely new one.

It feels like this had to happen, despite how horrible it was.

And I don’t know what it makes me now. A monster like Viktor? I just stood there and dissociated instead of stepping in to prevent this violence. Maybe I’m just as messed up as my husband is, and I’m only just now discovering it.

“Sage, darling,” Viktor says, pulling me close to him as we walk back down the hallway. “I’m sorry it had to be this way. I really am.”

His warmth is fake, but it still feels good when I have nothing left. I hug him, finding comfort in the steady beat of his heart and the heat of his body as we continue walking.