“This is my wedding night, Dom. I don’t want to watch movies with your mom.”
And I didn’t want to go defend my decision to my father. I closed the distance between us and kissed her, tugging her into the hall with me. “You think I want you to?”
When she still refused to move, I picked her up and carried her into our room. Setting her on the bed, I checked the room to reassure myself it was empty. It was dangerous to keep my old man waiting, and I was already in enough trouble, so I kissed her one last time before hurrying out to see what he wanted.
Father didn’t say one word as we piled into his Cadillac. He drove northeast on Highway 147 until we were outside the city, turned down a dirt road, and killed the engine. We all got out of the car and Father handed us each a cigar.
“In celebration of your child,” he said.
Wondering if I’d somehow managed to dodge a bullet, I smoked a cigar with my old man and brother as we discussed the recent Dodgers game. My old man had always been a baseball fan, but this shit felt surreal. It was like Father wanted me to think he and I were cool, when I knew we weren’t.
When we stomped out our cigars, everything changed. Father gestured at me, and said, “Michael, your brother’s stepped out of line. Set him straight.”
Knowing better than to block him or to fight back, I stood there as Michael punched me in the stomach until I folded over. Then he kneed me in the face. Stars danced in my vision. He backed up and punched me in the side, and then swiped my legs out from under me with a kick. When I hit the ground, he rolled me onto my back and started working over my stomach again.
I knew my brother didn’t want to hurt me, but he’d learned long ago not to pull his punches. The old man could always tell. By the time Father told him to stop, I could barely get off the ground. The two of them returned to Father’s car and drove off, leaving me alone in the dark.
It hurt to even breathe, but I managed to pull myself up and start limping back the way we’d come. After all, I had a bride to get to, and at least the bastards had left me alive.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Dominico
ANNETTA HAD BEEN spitting mad when I finally showed up, beaten and bloody, the morning after we got married. She’d spent most of the night on the phone with Mamma, and the moment I limped through the door, she made sure I was okay and then demanded an explanation. Since I didn’t have the energy to dissuade her, I redirected her, requesting a medical kit and some pain killers.
“Okay, but this isn’t over,” she said, heading out of the hotel room.
I laid on the bed and promptly passed out.
I must have slept through the day and night, because the next time I awoke it was morning again. Bruised and sore, but able to move again, I checked us out of the hotel and we drove to the newly-built four-bedroom house I’d closed on the day before.
Every inch of my body hurt, but it didn’t stop me from carrying my beautiful bride over the threshold, despite her many and loud objections. Finally, she stopped trying to wiggle free and just relaxed against me.
“This doesn’t mean I forgive you,” she said.
“For getting beat up?”
“Yes. Next time, you kick their ass.”
Chuckling, I kissed her forehead and set her down in the stone entryway.
“Welcome home, Net.”
She gasped, her eyes wide as she spun around. “We’re living here?”
Before I could answer, she tugged me behind her to check the place out.
It was a nice house. Two stories, thick carpet for the baby to crawl on, a fireplace we could make love in front of, big bedrooms with walk-in-closets, a master suite with a jetted tub, a swimming pool in the back yard, clean and bright, but nothing too lavish. It was also completely empty.
“We bought it,” I said, handing her a key. “It’s ours, Net.”
Her eyes were still wide. “Doesn’t it take like a month to buy a house? How did you pull this off?”
Cash could close a loan unbelievably quick. “Mamma warned you about the dangers, but didn’t fully detail the perks.” I tried to smile but ended up wincing at the pain in my cheek.
“She definitely forgot to mention the beating you’d get on our wedding night.”
I’d told Annetta that I got jumped while on a job. I was pretty sure she didn’t buy it, but luckily, I’d talked her out of trying to hunt down my attackers, at least for now. We need a topic change before she started asking questions again.
