Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss (Mob Boss’s Unexpected Twins Duet #1)

25. Adriano

CHAPTER 25

Adriano

Rage. There is so much rage coursing through my veins, like never before. My fists are tight. My teeth hurt from clenching them. I want to grab Filippo and slam my fist into his face until he’s a bloody pulp. Until every bone in his body is crushed.

I stop in the hallway, taking a deep breath. Images of Chiara in tears flash through my mind. How could anyone dare to hurt her? How could he even—

I close my eyes. It would be easy to just go in there and lunge at that disgusting piece of shit. But if I do that, he’ll get away with it. And I can’t let that happen.

He wanted to destroy something beautiful. Something precious. That asshole had the nerve to actually grin at her like some brain-dead creature.

I find my phone in the pocket of my suit jacket and dial Rocco’s number.

“What’s wrong?” Rocco immediately asks because he knows I wouldn’t be calling otherwise.

“I need you to get here, behind the building, but far enough away from the back door so no one sees you. With a yellow van.” Yellow is our code word for special cleanup supplies that I’m going to need. “I also need you to take a look inside.”

We might be on a secure line, but with Gennaro and Matteo messing with me, I don’t want to take any risks. Rocco knows I want him to handle the cameras in the building so they’ll stop working. If there’s ever an investigation into this, I’ll say it was all because of Chiara and I didn’t want any paparazzi taking photos of her because she wasn’t feeling well.

“Got it,” Rocco says.

I hang up, because there’s no time to waste. I have a date with human waste. As I enter the room and look around, I immediately spot him. He’s the center of everyone’s attention, or he’s trying to be.

It’s only my training that’s keeping me from exploding right now. There’s no room for mistakes. This has to be done perfectly. For Chiara.

I make my way to the bar and keep my gaze on him. He’ll come to me. I know it. I can tell from across the room that he’s glancing in my direction and wondering where Chiara is.

If he doesn’t approach me and tries going after her, I’ll bash his skull in. But I know guys like him. They’re idiots. They can’t sense danger because they think they’re oh-so important and powerful.

Filippo is riding some kind of high here. He’s basking in his own self-importance because he somehow managed to get invited here. And he’ll definitely want to come to me to make sure I know he was with Chiara.

I glance at him again. There he is, coming straight toward me. Good. I lean on the bar as if I don’t have a single care in the world. My face is expressionless. I need him to fall into my trap, and I even have a backup plan if the first one fails.

Maybe the second one would work better because Filippo would jump at the opportunity to work with someone as well-known as me. But first I want to see how much of a sick fuck he is, and if he is very, very sick, it’ll be easier and faster to deal with him.

“Hi,” he says as he leans on the bar next to me with the fakest smile ever.

His blue eyes are so dead inside that even Gennaro would be proud.

“I’m Filippo Fracassi.” He extends his hand to me. “Is your girlfriend all right?”

I squeeze his hand enough that he winces, and I let go before I crack his bones. “My wife, and she’s perfectly fine. Actually, she told me all about you.”

“Ah.” He eyes me with suspicion. “And what did she say?”

“I heard you knew how to handle her, so I was thinking—”

“Bitch giving you trouble, eh?” The corners of his lips quirk up.

A bomb goes off inside me. It’s like overwhelming heat filling my whole body with rage. I picture Chiara’s beautiful face and her smile. It’s for her. I’m doing this for her, so I can’t fuck it up.

I keep my smile, even though I want to strangle him right here in front of everyone, but then he’ll be the victim. I won’t be able to protect Chiara.

“Yeah. I’d like you to show me what you did to her. If you’re interested, come to the back entrance on the other side of the building. I’ll be there with her. I’ll pay you too.”

His eyes get a sick shine. It’s all Christmas lights in his tiny brain. The fucker is actually so happy he’s speechless.

“So you like to watch others with your wife?” he asks.

“I do, but you’ll have to sign an NDA first. You understand why, right?” I have to make it sound at least a bit like a normal, professional agreement that famous people strike, even though the idiot is so eager he wouldn’t even think about anything else.

It’s a good thing we’re out of everyone’s earshot. This way, they’ll think we’re discussing business or chitchatting like everyone else.

“I do. I’ll say goodbye to a few friends first, and I’ll see you there.” He winks.

I give him a nod. This has to be both the easiest and hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Easiest because this sick fuck fell right into my trap. Hardest because every second that he keeps breathing is like a heavy weight crushing me.

Once I see Filippo leave, I head toward the restrooms. If anyone notices I’m gone, they’ll think I’m tending to my wife, and I am, in a way. There’s a tiny chance Filippo will brag to someone about what we just agreed anyway because he technically hasn’t signed anything yet, but I hope he’s not that stupid.

He won’t want to put off his business partners and lose contracts. Many people here would be horrified if they knew the truth about him... or about me.

I lurk in the hallway until Rocco texts me, and then I look around. Once there’s no one to see me, I stride to the back exit. As soon as I open the door, Filippo turns toward me.

“So how are we—” he starts, but I don’t let him finish.

I throw myself at him and bring him to the ground. He cries out as I trap him under me so he can’t escape. I clamp my hand over his mouth.

With my other hand, I snatch the knife I always wear strapped to my leg. Beating up this asshole and tearing him limb by limb would be more satisfying, but I don’t have much time. His eyes are wide as he tries to get me off him.

“This is for Chiara.” It’s all I say as I slit his throat.

Blood spurts out as he chokes and splutters, and I get off him. Someone’s watching me. I lift my gaze. It’s Rocco. I wave him over.

He rushes to me, and I don’t even have to tell him what to do. We grab Filippo together and haul him into the van. Filippo’s empty eyes stare at me as I quickly change my clothes. Then I grab a water bottle and wash my face... I can’t risk anyone spotting Filippo’s blood on me.

Rocco looks me up and down. “All good.”

“Acid,” I say.

He nods.

There will be nothing left of Filippo after his body dissolves.

“But first clean all the blood on the ground.”

Once people start looking for Filippo, they’ll check the last place people saw him. It’s better if no one spots anything suspicious.

“Okay,” Rocco says.

I stride back inside. If anyone sees Rocco, they’ll think he’s just a regular cleanup guy, but I doubt people will go out through the back door, unless it’s to throw out the trash. The back of the restaurant is just walls and small vents. Nothing to see there. The alley stinks like piss and trash too.

Once I’m in front of the restroom door, I knock. Chiara could’ve run away by now, but not with her parents in danger. She’s too nice for that. Too good to only think about herself.

And I just made that asshole disappear because of her. Maybe I should be worried about that, but I’m not. He deserved to die, and worse. Too bad I didn’t have more time with him. I could’ve shown him what real pain is.

“It’s me,” I say.

The door unlocks. Chiara watches me, her eyes still slightly red and impossibly huge. I enter as she backs away and lock the door behind me again. Her makeup is all gone, but she’s prettier than ever, and I want to kiss her.

But I can’t. She doesn’t want me to, and fuck it all to hell, but I’m not like Filippo. I refuse to be.

“He’s gone,” I say.

“Gone?” She furrows her brow. “What did you do?”

“Scared him off. You won’t have to see him ever again.”

She lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

And then she wraps her arms around me. I don’t know if it’s because she’s really grateful Filippo is gone or because she’s just too shaken up to care, but I wind my arms around her too. And it’s so fucking nice. For once, I feel like I did the right thing. Now I’ll know Chiara will be safe from Filippo forever.

“But what about any others who she’ll meet?” a tiny voice at the back of my mind asks.

I ignore it because Chiara is still in my arms, and it feels like she fits there perfectly.

The door handle rattles.

“Okay, now seriously!” someone yells outside and bangs on the door. “How much longer are you gonna be in there?”

“We should get out of here. Are you feeling okay enough?” I ask, because if Chiara isn’t ready, I’m going to tell the woman outside that the toilets are fucking broken.

“I am.”

I offer her my hand and she takes it. The older woman outside goes quiet when she sees us. She shoots us a dirty glare and storms inside, slamming the door behind her.

Even better. Now she’ll think Chiara and I were fucking in the restroom. No one will ever assume I did anything unsavory.

I stop and place my hand on her cheek so she’ll look at me.

“Everything will be okay,” I say, because I feel like I have to.

She gives me a small smile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a movement. For a split second, I see Matteo at the end of the hallway. I keep staring, but I don’t see anything anymore. Maybe it wasn’t him. It could’ve been anyone, but he moved so damn fast.

Fuck! Matteo is the last person who should be here.

“We should say goodbye to everyone and go home. We can say you had an allergic reaction to your makeup.” Because I’m sure someone will ask.

People are nosy as fuck.

“Okay.” Chiara is still in shock, or she would’ve scowled at me the whole time and told me my apartment was not her home.

Filippo now only might be a ghost inside her mind, but I’ll make sure to chase him out of there too before I have to let her go.

There’s so much traffic that I lose sight of my guards. I can see a suspicious car in the rearview mirror, but no one is moving. Someone keeps honking like crazy. Chiara is just staring through the window next to me.

Maybe I should’ve had one of my men drive instead, but I didn’t expect there’d be a traffic jam at this time. Something must have happened, probably an accident. Since Rocco is dealing with Filippo’s body, I don’t want to bother him and ask him to find out. It doesn’t matter. I know a shortcut.

“Did Filippo tell you anything?” Chiara suddenly asks.

I meet her gaze. “Tell me what?”

“I don’t know. How did you get him to leave?” Her eyes search mine.

Does she suspect something? Is she hoping he’s dead? There’s no point in keeping it from her if she’s ready to hear it. She already knows I’m capable of a lot of things, and this is just one more of those.

I shouldn’t even be contemplating what she might think of me. I don’t give a fuck what people think about me, as long as their opinion doesn’t interfere with my business. Her opinion doesn’t matter either, except... it feels like it does, or I would’ve already told her everything.

I don’t want to mull over it. For now, I’ll tell myself it’s just because none of this is her fault, and I can’t have her fall apart and not stick to the story later.

You killed for her. What about that?

It’s all about the story. Her disgusting ex messing with her later could have become a problem. He could have asked about me.

What if Matteo gets her and asks about you?

Chiara is still staring at me.

“He’s dead. I killed him. You’ll never have to see him again.”

There.

I said it.

She gasps and covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes bulging. Maybe she didn’t expect me to say that, after all.

“What?” she whispers. “How?”

“I slit his throat, but don’t worry. No one will find his body.”

“Where?”

“Behind the restaurant. I baited him to come there.”

“How?” she breathes out.

“I offered him you.”

She blinks at me. “What did he do to you?”

Nothing, but he did it to you, Chiara. He did it to you.

The car in front of us finally moves, and I grip the wheel. Filippo is still Chiara’s ex, and I’m her husband. His disappearance will put me in the spotlight anyway. It was a stupid thing to do and a big risk, but I was too furious to think things through.

And I still would’ve killed him.

Because fuck that asshole. Chiara has a new monster now, and it’s me.