Gabriella stopped. Her chest rose as she inhaled sharply.
There was no force strong enough to take my eyes off her. “My wife needs me.”
The men finally took the hint. They rose, shuffling their papers, and made an unhurried retreat out the other door.
“Igor?” I snapped.
The fucker looked back over his shoulder.
“If you ever speak that way to her again, it will be the last thing you do,” I promised. He would pay for his words. But that could wait. Everything would wait until Gabriella felt safe and I managed to calm her down.
The bratva captain’s eyes narrowed to slits. “I’d like to see you try, little boy.”
My molars clashed, and I forced my mouth to stay closed until they were all gone. The less said, the better. Igor was a problem for another day.
A ragged breath left my lips. “Come in.”
The look on my wife’s face was full of caution. Jaysus, would she quick fucking trembling? Didn’t she know I wasn’t going to hurt her? I shot from my seat, forcing myself to move away. Gabriella needed space.
I gave her a few bleeding yards, going to the bar cart to pour us both a drink.
Mine slid down my gullet like water. I didn’t taste the smokey tones or enjoy the fiery burn. The city beyond the window continued to blink at me, taunting me with the knowledge that it knew what happened while I’d been shut in this room instead of with her.
I forced myself to be quiet. Not to demand the story from her until she was ready. Only when I had a feeble control over myself did I turn and move into her space.
“Here.” I plopped the tumbler in her hand.
It was so small.
So easily crushed.
I stopped myself from touching it.
With jerky, halting movements, Gabriella lifted the beverage to her lips. She mechanically sipped the double pour.
“You don’t have to look so frightened,” I whispered before I could stop myself.
She choked.
Cursing myself, I took a long step back. And then another. Until my back hit the table, and I sank onto it, anchoring myself to the furniture to keep from invading her space.
Gabriella shuddered and wiped her lips with the back of that tender, soft paw.
The pain of waiting finally found relief.
My beautiful wife squared her shoulders and faced me. “My father beat and raped my mother tonight.”
It was a good thing I was sitting, or I would have stumbled. My mind scrambled to process that data. It wasn’t unheard of for brutal fucks to do horrendous things. Under the guise of marriage, it was a cheater’s way to justify the vile acts. Mobsters were no different than citizens when it came to evil.
“You were there? At their house?” I clarified.
Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph, what if he’d done it in front of her?
I had another mini heart attack, but Gabriella shook her head.
“My sister called.” She coughed and reached for the door, looking absently at the empty tumbler of whiskey as if wishing for more. “Ella didn’t know until recently what our father was capable of. She was going to stop him, so I had to go. He can’t start hitting her too.”
The next words out of my mouth were calm. Icy.Deadly. “Has he ever hit you?”
