Bride by Initiation: Secret Society Mafia Marriage Pact (The Underworld Book 1)
Bride by Initiation: Chapter 19

Zara and I barely left the bedroom, only untangling ourselves from each other to order food and grab it at the door. Now, she’s sleeping peacefully in my arms, with her leg draped over me, exhausted.

I stare at the ceiling, wondering again how we got here. There isn’t a bone in my body that’s upset I’m married to Zara. It’s just ironic.

We fought for so many years not to cross the line, and now we’ve jumped so far over it, there’s no going back. And I always knew it would be good between us, but this is better than I anticipated.

I glance down at her again, unable to stop the grin forming on my face.

Her lips are slightly parted, her long lashes dark against her skin, and her cheeks are still slightly flushed.

I mutter, ‘Fuck, I’m in over my head,’ then freeze, reprimanding myself when I realize it came out of my mouth.

She doesn’t stir.

I carefully move her leg off me. She whimpers but doesn’t wake. Then I slide out from under her, get out of bed, and toss on a pair of sweatpants. I grab the tray of take-out food and go into the kitchen. I scrape our plates, toss the leftovers in the trash, and load the dishwasher.

The doorbell rings, and I freeze.

Who could be here?

I glance at the bedroom, then walk to the front door and open it.

Brax stands there in his workout clothes, and he looks pissed. He questions, ‘So what the fuck happened the other night, and where have you been?’

‘I can’t get into it, and you know it,’ I assert.

He scowls. ‘Really? We’re going to play this game again?’

One of my neighbors across the hall opens her door and steps outside.

I motion for him to come in.

He steps inside, shuts the door, and booms, ‘I need some answers. You can’t just leave me hanging like that.’

I shush him. ‘Keep your voice down.’

He stills, then his eyes turn to slits. He glances at the door leading into the main room. ‘Why? Who’s here?’

My heart races. I don’t know what to tell him. I’m not prepared for this.

He jerks his head backward. ‘You’re not going to tell me who’s in there? Why not?’

I sigh and scrub my face. ‘I guess you’re going to replace out at some point.’

‘Find out what?’ he asks.

I cross my arms and lean against the wall. ‘Zara’s sleeping in my room.’

His look of shock isn’t surprising. He explodes, ‘You fucked Zara?’

I step closer, warning, ‘Don’t talk about her in that regard.’

Confusion replaces the shock. ‘What else do you want me to call it?’

‘It’s more complicated than that,’ I say.

He studies me momentarily and then his eyes drop to my left hand. Horror fills his expression, then he meets my eye. ‘Why are you wearing a ring?’

I put my hand in my pocket. ‘Don’t, Brax. I need a good workout. Let’s go to the gym and then we can talk about this.’

‘No, Sean. Tell me right now what the fuck is going on. Stop playing games with me,’ he snarls.

My chest tightens. I take several deep breaths and finally admit, ‘Zara and I got married.’

His eyes widen. He gapes at me, but then his lips twitch. ‘You’re fucking around with me.’

‘I’m not.’

His face falls. ‘You’re serious? You got married?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Why would you do that? You two haven’t even dated before. Or have you been sneaking around behind all of our backs?’ he asks.

I shake my head. ‘No. It just happened.’

He scowls. ‘It just happened? You got called away to whatever secret place you went to and came home married, but it just happened?’

My stomach flips. ‘Yeah.‘

‘How do you even get into that situation?’ he asks, his voice raising.

‘Quiet,’ I reprimand.

He glances at my hand in my pocket, scolding, ‘Bro, I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, but this is crazy. You need to come clean with me. Who are these people, and what do they want?’

I ignore his statement and announce, ‘I’m going to change. I’ll be back in a minute, and we can go to the gym.’

‘Why is your hand wrapped up?’ he demands.

I close my eyes. I don’t want to lie to Brax. We’ve never done that. Since the moment we met, we’ve always been honest and had each other’s backs, but I don’t know what I’m allowed to tell him.

‘Don’t keep me in suspense,’ he hurls.

Everyone’s going to see it soon enough, I tell myself. I unwrap the plastic and hold my hand in front of his face.

‘Holy shit! That must have fucking hurt.’

I chuckle, admitting, ‘You should have seen Zara. She took it like a man. I took it like a pussy.’

He arches his eyebrows. ‘Zara has one on her hand as well?’

Shut up, I tell myself, but answer, ‘No, it’s on the back of her neck.’

‘Ouch!’ Brax cringes.

I nod. ‘Yeah, but she was…’ The memory of me lying on top of her while she barely complained, compared to my reaction, fills me. I grin.

‘Dude, you’re already soft on her, aren’t you?’ he taunts, pulling me out of my memory.

‘I’m going to get changed. I’ll be back out in a minute. Stay quiet.’

‘Aye, aye, whipped boy,’ he teases.

I groan, then go into the bedroom. I step into the closet and grab a T-shirt. I tug it over my head and then pull on a pair of socks and shoes.

I exit the closet and glance over at Zara. She’s still sleeping, so I quietly leave the bedroom and meet Brax at the front door.

He points at my hand. ‘That thing looks gross.’

‘Oh shit. Hold on.’ I go into the bathroom and open the jar of salve that was magically left on my counter along with a roll of plastic wrap. I layer salve over the skull, wrap it, then return to my closet.

I pick out a pair of weight-lifting gloves and pull one over my hand, wincing as it slides over the brand. But it’s a necessity. The last thing I want is for any of my uncles to see it. I know they will eventually, but I don’t want to deal with it today.

Brax and I leave the apartment and get into his car. He pulls out into traffic and then glances over at me. ‘Luca know you married his daughter?’

My gut dives. ‘Nope.’

Brax whistles. ‘He’s gonna kill you, bro.’

I grunt, but Brax is right. I put the seat back and close my eyes, not wanting to field any more questions. I order, ‘Wake me up when we get there.’

It doesn’t take long before Brax states, ‘Time to face the music.’

‘Keep your mouth shut,’ I warn.

He scoffs. ‘I’m not a rat.’

‘No shit.’

‘Then don’t insinuate I am,’ he threatens, and slides out of the car.

I get out, and we hoof it into the gym. As I expect, all my uncles are there.

Killian booms, ‘Sean, where have you been?’

‘I had shit to do,’ I tell him.

‘You snuck out of the party, then disappeared for a day,’ Declan accuses.

‘As I said, I had shit to do.’ I brush past them and go to the bench press. I order, ‘Spot me, Brax.’

He doesn’t argue and comes over. We get lost in our workout, and I’m relieved when I don’t hear any more questions about my whereabouts.

Killian holds up a pair of gloves. ‘Want to go for a round?’

‘Yeah, sure,’ I reply, setting the free weights down and walking over to him. I tug my lifting glove off and wince, forgetting about the brand.

Killian eyes my hand. ‘Why is your hand wrapped in plastic and all bloody?’

I glance down. The wrap is bunched up, barely covering the skull. It’s a bloody, nasty-looking wound.

Killian grabs my hand, wrinkles his nose, and belts out, ‘Jesus. That’s disgusting. What the fuck did you…’ His expression goes slack, and the color drains from his face. He pins me with an angry look, snarling, ‘What did you do, Sean?’

I pull my hand away. ‘None of your business.’

He grabs my shirt and pulls me toward him. ‘I asked you what you did.’

‘Whoa, what the fuck is going on here?’ Finn barks.

‘Nothing,’ I insist.

‘Sean did something stupid,’ Killian spouts.

Finn turns to me. ‘What did you do?‘

‘I didn’t do anything. Leave it,’ I state, but I know I’m fighting a losing battle.

‘We have to get going, or we’ll be late,’ Brax interjects, trying to get me out of this mess.

Finn warns, ‘Stay out of this, Brax. I mean it.’

Brax clenches his jaw and gives me his I’m-sorry-but-I-tried expression.

Killian seethes, ‘I’m only asking one more time. What the fuck have you done?’

There’s no getting out of this, so I reply, ‘I put my father’s mark on my hand. Why is it such a big deal?’

Killian and Finn exchange a worried glance.

Killian fumes, ‘Why would you do that to yourself?’

Anger fills me. ‘I just told you it was my dad’s design, and he had it on his hand. There’s no reason I can’t have it on mine.’

Killian closes his eyes and shakes his head, grinding his molars.

Finn adds, ‘You don’t know what you’ve done, Sean.’

‘Well, why don’t you fill me in?’ I question, my heart beating faster. I add, ‘I’m tired of all these secrets. If there’s a reason I shouldn’t have done it, then man up and tell me.’

Nolan joins us. ‘Your dad had that on his hand, but people stole it. Somebody… Well, one of the Rossis stole his design. A lot of them have that on their hands. So do the Baileys. You shouldn’t have branded yourself and especially not in the same place.’

I scoff. ‘How was I to know? You could have told me that when we talked about it.’

The three of them exchange another glance.

‘Stop looking at each other and give me answers!’ I demand.

They stay silent.

‘God damn it. All of you! I’ve had enough of this. If you know something about my father, and if this means something, I want to know.’

Killian declares, ‘We just told you that the Rossis and Baileys wear it. Hell, we even saw a few Petrovs with it. All we know is they had to have stolen it from your father. But you shouldn’t have branded it on your hand. Who knows what it represents to those fucking bastards.’

Finn asserts, ‘You’re going to have to cover that up. Turn it into something else.’

‘No way,’ I blurt out.

‘You need to. It could give our enemies the wrong impression,’ Nolan insists.

‘The wrong impression of what?’

Killian seethes, ‘That you’re a disgusting scum ball Rossi, for one.’

‘Or Bailey,’ Nolan adds.

Finn snarls, ‘Or fucking Petrov.’

I rise, standing taller. ‘I’m not covering up my father’s skull. He created it. He wore it. I have the right to wear it too.’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ Finn adds.

‘They stole it, so it’s on them, not me. And now I’m done with this conversation,’ I assert.

Killian orders, ‘You’re done when we say you’re done. You’re not going anywhere.’

‘Fuck, I’m not,’ I shout and stomp out of the gym with Brax on my heels.

We get into his car. He mutters, ‘Well, that went over good.‘

Still pissed, I spout, ‘Shut up, Brax. I don’t want to hear it.’

He turns on the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. ‘Okay, but you’re in over your head. We both are.’

I turn toward him. ‘What do you mean ‘we both are’?’

He presses his lips in a straight line, staring at the road in front of him.

My skin crawls. I ask, ‘What aren’t you telling me?’

‘Nothing,’ he answers.

I sit back and study him.

He doesn’t flinch, just continues to drive.

My stomach flips. ‘I see. So this is how it’s going to be, huh? We’ll both be part of The Underworld but never tell the other what’s going on?’

Guilt flashes across his face, but then his expression hardens. He glances at me. ‘You claim you’re not in a position to talk. Well, neither am I.’

I open my mouth, then shut it. I turn and stare out the window, wondering how we got so deep into this mess.

My phone buzzes.

I glance at it and groan.

My cell buzzes again.

Dante tries to call me. I send him to voicemail just as Liam calls. I send him there too.

Brax points out, ‘They’re not going to give up.’

I close my eyes and sit back, trying to think about how to get around this, knowing the shit show is just about to start.

Brax drops me off, asking, ‘Do you want me to come up?’

‘No, not right now.’ I reach for the door but my phone buzzes again. I glance at it, and my stomach drops.

A close-up of Zara and me kissing after our vows, with my hand on her cheek and wedding band on full display, fills the screen.

‘Fuck,’ I mutter.

Another text arrives.

‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’ I grit through my teeth.

‘What now?’ Brax asks.

I show him my phone.

‘Shit.’

‘Yeah. Shit is right.’

Brax’s tone turns serious. ‘I wouldn’t want to be on Luca’s bad side.’

‘Gee, thanks for your helpful comments.‘

‘Sorry.’

‘Whatever. He was going to replace out at some point,’ I say, starting to open the door, then pause. I turn back toward Brax, asserting, ‘We’re eventually going to need to figure out how to let each other know what’s going on. You know that, right?’

He nods. ‘Trust me, bro. I don’t like this either.’

I hold my fist out, and he bumps it. I exit the car, enter my building, ride up in the elevator, and go into my apartment.

Zara’s still asleep. I open the blinds and slap my hands together, booming, ‘Time to get up.’

She flutters her eyelids. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Time to get up,’ I repeat, and pull the blanket off her.

‘Jesus! What’s the emergency!’ She sits up in bed and glances over at the clock. ‘Sean, it’s seven o’clock on a Sunday morning.’

I step in front of her and cross my arms, looking down. ‘Yep. And shit’s hitting the fan.’

Her eyes widen and her face pales. ‘Did we do something to upset the Omni?’

‘No. It’s worse.’

‘Worse?’ she frets.

‘Yep. Our secret nuptials aren’t a secret anymore. Our parents are still in town and will probably be here soon.’

‘Oh shit!’

‘Yeah, oh shit is right. So get up, my pulse.’

‘When are they coming?’ she asks.

I shrug. ‘My guess is the next fifteen to twenty minutes.‘

She groans.

I add, ‘Oh, and my uncles saw my brand.’

She glances at my hand and then grabs it, horrified. ‘Sean, this looks disgusting. You’re going to get an infection.’

‘It’s fine,’ I say.

‘No, it’s not.’ She jumps out of bed and pulls me into the bathroom.

I stare at her backside.

My wife is hot as fuck.

She bends over and rifles through my cabinet.

I step up to her, put my hand on her hip, and suggest, ‘You can stay in this position if you want.’

She giggles, rising with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, then reprimands, ‘We don’t have time for that right now.’

‘Says who?’

‘Me. Now, give me your hand.’

‘That’s going to hurt,’ I admit.

She arches her eyebrows, stating, ‘I didn’t think the big, bad Sean was going to be such a baby.’

I scoff. ‘Let’s see how you react if I pour this on your brand.’

She doesn’t say anything, but her lips twitch. She grabs my hand, holds it over the sink, and pours the liquid over it.

I wince.

She stifles her laugh.

My wound bubbles with foam.

Zara grabs a wad of toilet paper, pats it dry, then gently coats it with salve. She wraps it tight with fresh plastic. Then she grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. ‘There you go. Much better.’

A warmth fills my chest. I stare at her.

She nervously questions, ‘Why are you studying me like I did something wrong?’

I blurt out, ‘Your dad’s going to kill me since I didn’t ask his permission to marry you.’

She nods. ‘Yep. And your mom will be upset that she wasn’t there.’

‘For sure,’ I state.

‘Well, I guess there’s only one thing to do.’ She turns on the shower.

‘What’s that?’ I question.

‘Shower.’ She smirks and then steps inside. She starts to close the door but then pauses. She pops her head out. ‘Are you coming in or staying out there?’

I chuckle, and my dick turns hard.

Fuck it. We have a few minutes.

‘Why not?’ I say, and step inside, pushing her against the tile wall while she shrieks.