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

29. Adriano

CHAPTER 29

Adriano

An obnoxiously loud beeping sound wakes me up. My eyes fly open, and I blink around me in confusion.

“Don’t move.” A familiar voice makes me look to my right.

Chiara is sitting in a chair next to my bed. I recognize the view through the window behind her. Matteo shot me, and Chiara brought me here.

I open my mouth, but the words that come out are too hoarse and my throat feels as dry as a desert. Chiara hops to her feet and grabs the water bottle next to the bed. She opens it and brings it to my lips. I stare at her for a long moment as I take a few sips.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

Am I dead? Because there’s no way Chiara is here with me. Why would she be? She’s free. Free to go wherever the fuck she wants. No one in their right mind would stay with me.

No one ever does. I’m always on my own. Maybe I’m actually in a coma, and this is my mind trying to trick me into believing things are fine when they aren’t. It wants to make me think someone gives a fuck about me.

“Do you want me to leave?” Chiara’s brow furrows in confusion. “I can call the doctor—”

“No.” I keep my gaze on her.

She’s still so fucking beautiful, but she’s no longer wearing the dress. She’s in a plain white shirt and pants.

“Are you okay?” I ask, and I don’t care if none of this is real.

I’ll pretend it is, just to have her with me a moment longer, before reality comes right back for me. I’ll bask in her light before the darkness swallows me forever.

“Yeah, thanks to you. You saved my life,” she says.

“It was the least I could do. My conflict with Matteo has nothing to do with you.”

“But you could’ve let me die anyway, and you didn’t.”

I study her face. If only things could be different between us. I want her to stay with me. Forever. She’s the goodness I need in my life. Someone that can make me forget everything bad that’s happening. Someone who’ll smile at me and tell me everything’s going to be okay. Someone capable of truly caring even for someone like me.

“Wow, pathetic!” Gennaro’s voice fills my head, but I push it away.

Saving Chiara wasn’t just pure instinct. It was more. If anything had happened to her, I would’ve gone after Matteo and torn him limb by limb. Actually, anyone who even thinks about hurting Chiara needs to die.

The biggest problem now is that Matteo knows I have a weakness. Chiara. She’s not just my fake wife now. She’s someone I absolutely refuse to let anyone harm.

He knows I have a deal with this clinic, and if he doesn’t, he’ll figure it out quickly enough. He’ll come for me, and when he does, Chiara will be his target too. We need to get out of here.

I try to push myself up, but the pain is strong enough to make me groan, even with all the meds that must be in my system. Fuck. I’m useless.

“No! The doctor said you shouldn’t move.” Chiara places her hand on my arm, her eyes wide with worry.

How can she be concerned about someone like me? After everything I’ve done?

“Is Rocco here?”

“Yeah, he’s right outside, but you were in surgery and lost a lot of blood. You should rest.”

“I need to talk to him.” I should tell Chiara to get as far away from here as possible, but I can’t.

I don’t want her gone, and I want to be able to keep an eye on her. Even like this, the thought of letting her out of my sight unnerves me. If Matteo comes for me, fuck it. But if he comes for her... I’ll use the last atom of my energy to stop him.

Chiara will be safe even if it’s the last thing I do. I don’t give a fuck if Gennaro or Matteo judge me for that. I don’t give a fuck if they think I’m an idiot and a loser who would risk his life for a woman.

Is this love? The warmth inside me when I see her face and her smile? The fierce need to protect her no matter what? I don’t know, but there’s no going back now.

Chiara watches me with her brow furrowed, but she goes to the door anyway and calls for Rocco. He enters the room a moment later, relief evident on his face when he sees me.

“I’ll give you some privacy,” Chiara says.

“No! Stay here.”

If she’s out there in the hallway, who knows what can happen to her?

Her lips part in surprise, but she sits down.

“How are you feeling?” Rocco asks, but I can see his eyes are troubled.

“What’s going on? Did you catch Matteo?”

“No. He’s still out there, and... we have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“Our systems got compromised, and Matteo knows about most of our hideouts, if not all of them. He knows about this place too, and his men might be here anytime. I set up everything to defend the clinic, but the cops might show up too, and you’re in no condition to fight and—”

“We need to get out of here.” We’re sitting ducks, and I don’t want to confront Matteo now when I can’t even get out of this fucking bed.

“I know, but it’s not easy to find a place where you’ll be safe on such short notice. Matteo’s spies could be anywhere, and we’re scattered. There have been other attacks.”

“Fuck.” I glance at Chiara.

Can I send Rocco with her somewhere safe? Maybe Matteo wouldn’t find them, but I don’t want to take that risk.

“What about my house?” Chiara asks.

Rocco and I both look at her.

“You picked my neighborhood because it’s easy to defend, right? Will anyone even think you might be there? Because we can get there without anyone seeing us. Even if my neighbors see me, I don’t think they’ll tell anyone. I mean, they’re regular people.”

“You would want me in your home?” Does she regret not having left me to die?

But it’s Chiara. She’s not going to kill me in her own home. She’s one of the rare people I can lower my guard around right now and be sure nothing will happen to me. Her only attempt at killing me was out of pure fear.

“Yeah, until the danger passes.” There’s a strange glow in her eyes, as if she knows something that I don’t, but I don’t have time to dwell on it.

“That might actually work.” Rocco scratches his chin. “If Chiara stays there too, it won’t be suspicious to her neighbors.”

“But what about your parents?” I ask.

“They can stay with my uncle. I spoke to them earlier, and they’re a little shaken, but after they see I’m fine, I’m sure I can convince them everything’s okay. But... I have some conditions.”

“You want to keep your home and your restaurant,” I say with a smile because I’m sure I’m right.

It’s a smart move, and that explains why she’s still here. If she had left me for dead, someone could’ve saved me and she wouldn’t be in the position she is in now.

She gives me a nod. “And my family and I walk free and stay alive.”

The corners of my mouth lift up. She must’ve watched enough movies where walking free actually means dying.

Rocco raises his eyebrows as his gaze meets mine. “I could—”

“No. Chiara and I have a deal.” Right now, all I care about is making sure Chiara is safe and with me, even if it’s for all the wrong reasons.

Now’s not the time to be reckless and go after Matteo. I need to recover my strength first.

Even Gennaro always talked about recovery time and being at your best when you confront your enemies. I need to be at my best to defeat Matteo and Gennaro. Later, I can rethink my project and see what happens.

“Okay, I’ll prepare everything,” Rocco says.

“We need to be very, very careful. Don’t tell anyone about where I’m going, and set up our defense so it looks like I could be anywhere. Just make sure that Matteo’s people can’t get into the neighborhood anymore, not even to spy.”

“I studied how they got there before, so I think I know exactly what to do.” A smile spreads across Rocco’s face.

“Good. Then do it. Also, Chiara and I will need doubles.” I need to confuse Matteo as much as possible.

He might consider Chiara’s house, but he’ll think that would be too obvious or not safe enough. But we can set everything up. We just need to be careful. It’s a risk, like anything else, but it’s also a peaceful neighborhood where Matteo’s men will stick out like a sore thumb.

“And we’ll have to set up some security measures in the house and the restaurant,” I say. “Cameras, alarms...”

“Okay.” Chiara seems determined.

I wish I could read her mind and know exactly what she’s thinking. Is she just very grateful I saved her life or does she only care about keeping her home?

Maybe both. It doesn’t matter. I’ll keep her with me until all the threats are gone, and then... I don’t know what will happen. She’ll probably ask me for a divorce too, but that’s not my concern at the moment. I’ll enjoy my time with her by my side for as long as it lasts.