Before the door swings shut in their wake, my wife throws a frantic look over her shoulder in our direction. Countless worries shine bright in her amber eyes, and I feel each one like a blow to my gut. Does she believe I would hurt her mother?
Serafina leans against the back of the sofa, her hawk-like gaze once more on me. She scrutinizes me for nearly a full minute before she speaks.
“I don’t like you, Mr. Ruffo.”
“Adriano, please.”
“I don’t like you one bit, Adriano.”
“I noticed,” I say cordially and incline my head in acceptance. “And, given the refreshing honesty of this exchange, I will put it plainly. I don’t give a fuck.”
Surprise flashes in my mother-in-law’s eyes. “I see. Alright. Since we’re speaking openly, let me ask you again. What do you actually do forla Famiglia?”
I smile. The woman may look frail, but she is shrewd. “I control the means, the modes, and the routes of transporting narcotics, and do so not only for Boston Cosa Nostra, but on behalf of the majority of the syndicates operating across the Eastern Seaboard and throughout the Midwest.”
If my answer surprised her further, she doesn’t let me see.
“Is that why you have minions following my daughter wherever she goes?”
“I have them because I do not take chances with what is mine.”
The look she gives me is pure venom. “Donotrefer to my child as if she’s an object that you own. She is light and kindness. A sweet, selfless soul who should be cherished. Treasured. Adored. I know damn well that she’d sacrifice everything in her life for the people she loves. So I want to know… What did you promise my daughter to get her to marry you?”
I raise an eyebrow.
“I might be getting on in years, but I’m not stupid. And I know my girl much better than she thinks. Was it my surgery, the medical bills? You paid for it all, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my silly, silly girl. I knew that story about the charity choosing me as their grand recipient was nothing but baloney.” She shakes her head. “And you! What kind of man blackmails a woman into marrying him?”
“One without scruples, I assure you.”
“Unscrupulous and vile, no doubt. My daughter deserves better than the likes of you.”
“I couldn’t agree more. But sheismine, and if anyone tries to take her from me, they will suffer swift and extremely unpleasant consequences.”
Serafina cocks her head to the side. “Anyone?”
“Even you.”
Silence fills the tiny apartment as my mother-in-law stares into my eyes. Hers remain fixed as if she’s searching for evidence of whether I’m being serious or not. And I let her. Lay open myabsolute conviction about this. If she thinks she could keep my Little Iris from me, I’ll end her life with my bare hands.
“You’re a monster,” she finally says.
“Aren’t we all? To some extent or another? Wouldn’t you kill to protect Iris from harm? Put down whatever putz threatened her?”
“Without blinking an eye. Would you?”
“Mark my words, and mark them well.” Fury consumes me at the fact that this woman thinks I would let my Little Iris get hurt on my watch. “I. Will. Destroy. The world. To keep. Her. Safe. And I will die before I fail. That’s not a promise but a guarantee.” I lean back, throwing my arm over the back of the sofa, then steady myself to make my tone sound more normal. “But for the sake of argument—yes. If anyone does try, he will die. Eventually.”
“Eventually?” she sneers.
“Yes, eventually. Because the miserable shit would first learn what it’s like to exist as a useless lump of flesh and bodily fluids. I’d break every goddamned bone in their body. Slowly, taking my time. Days. I’ll turn their limbs into string confetti, their organs into a perforated mess. The fucker will die choking on their own blood.” I take a sip of coffee. “But before I’d let them slip away into oblivion, they’d understand one irrevocable fact. And that’s precisely where they went wrong in life.Breathing the same air as my wife.And then, I’d do it all again. But this time, with their family. Their friends. Even their fucking tailor, if they’ve got one. The point is, theywilldie. But it won’t be quick or painless.” Leaning forward, I pin my mother-in-law with my gaze. “You don’t have to like me. You can think of me as a monster. But know this… Anyone who comes for my wife, anyone who so much as thinks of harming even a single hair onher head… They won’t simply be tortured and eliminated.They will be erased.”
“I see.” She leans back into the couch cushions, an odd, satisfied smile playing on her lips. “You should drop by more often.”
My eyebrows rise. “Changed your mind about me already?”
