Bride by Initiation: Secret Society Mafia Marriage Pact (The Underworld Book 1)
Bride by Initiation: Chapter 23

‘Zara,’ I call out as I enter the apartment.

She hasn’t returned my text messages, and it’s irritating me. I know she’s upset. I shouldn’t have texted her what I did earlier, but now she’s just being immature.

‘Zara,’ I call out again, but it’s dead silent. My heart races faster. I dial her number, and it rings several times.

Her voice chirps, ‘You’ve reached Zara Marino. Please leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!’ A beep follows the message.

‘Zara, call me,’ I say, then hang up. Then I pull up my texts.

I wait with my heart slamming against my chest. Nothing comes across my phone.

I text my sister.

A minute goes by, then I get a response.

I call her driver. ‘Where’s Zara?’

Calogero answers, ‘Sean, what can I do for you?’

‘Where’s my wife?’

‘Your wife?’ he asks.

‘Where’s Zara?’ I say, forgetting that not everybody knows but surprised Luca hasn’t updated him.

He replies, ‘I dropped her off at Fiona’s. She hasn’t come out yet.’

‘You dropped her off hours ago,’ I bark, fear overtaking me.

‘Is something wrong?’ he questions.

‘Yeah. Find my fucking wife,’ I yell and then hang up. I pace the apartment.

Where the fuck is she?

I call Fiona.

‘Sean, leave me alone,’ she says instead of a greeting.

‘This isn’t funny. Where’s Zara?’

She lowers her voice. ‘Sean, I told you she left hours ago.‘

‘Her driver is still waiting downstairs. She hasn’t left the building, so where is she?’

My sister frets, ‘I don’t know. She was here and left. Maybe we should call Luca.’

‘No, do not call her father. I’ll handle this.’

‘But you don’t even know where she’s at,’ Fiona points out.

‘I’ll figure it out. She couldn’t have gone far if she hasn’t left the building.’ I hang up and fling open my front door, then freeze.

Byrne asks, ‘Want to figure out where your wife’s at?’

‘Where is she?’ I ask in alarm.

‘I’ll take you to her.’

‘If anyone laid a hand on her⁠—’

He holds his hands up. ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. The Underworld doesn’t hurt its members. You should know this. Or did you not read the rules?’ He arches his eyebrows.

My panic starts to recede, but it doesn’t completely go away. I snarl, ‘I mean it, Byrne, if anybody touched her…’

‘Nobody’s touching your wife. Now, come on.’ He takes several steps down the hall.

I follow.

We get in the elevator, and he hits the rooftop button.

I question, ‘Why are we going to the roof?’

‘There’s a helicopter up there.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Aye,’ he replies.

Within minutes, we’re flying over Chicago and then landing at a private airport. We board a plane, and once again, the window shades are locked so I can’t see out.

I ask him, ‘When will all the secrecy go away?’

‘When you have your seat at the table,’ he replies.

‘But you know what’s happening since you have your seat, right?’

‘Aye, son, I know. But I don’t have a seat at the table,’ he declares.

Shock fills me. I gape at him.

He asks, ‘Why do you look so surprised?’

‘You claim you were my father’s best friend. Why don’t you have a seat at the table?’

‘I don’t want one.’

I jerk my head backward.

He chuckles, then states, ‘Not everybody decides to take their seat.’

‘Why wouldn’t you take your seat?’ I press.

‘Not all of us are cut out for it. I like my role. It’s better this way. For me at least. But you…’ He points at me. ‘You are meant to take your seat.’

I stare at him.

He sits back and takes his tattered beret off. He runs his hands through his messy, orange hair, then says, ‘If you don’t mind, I’m a bit tired. I’m going to take a quick snooze.’

‘Yeah, no problem,’ I murmur.

He puts his seat back and closes his eyes. He’s soon snoring.

I stare in front of me, tapping my thigh, wondering what Zara is involved in, and vowing that if anyone has touched her, I’ll kill them.

We finally land and get off the plane. It’s a similar hallway to the one from initiation night.

We get to a door, and Byrne stops me from turning the knob. ‘Hold on a minute, son.’

I glance at him, arching my eyebrows.

He pulls out a pocket knife and says, ‘You might want this.’

Anxiety flares within me. ‘Why? What are they doing to my wife?’

He shakes his head. ‘Nothing. But take this. Your father gave it to me. It’s time you have it.’

Emotions choke my throat. I stare at the knife, putting my fingers over the Celtic knots, and then look closer. O’Malley is engraved on it.

Byrne says, ‘It’s yours now.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Now, before you go in there, you need to know something.’

‘What’s that?’ I ask.

‘There’s a ceremony going on.’

‘If my wife⁠—’

‘Enough!’ he barks, his cheeks flaring maroon.

I shut my mouth.

‘The ceremony is not for your wife. She’s merely watching it. If you go in there, you cannot get involved in the ceremony. Do you understand?’

I nod. ‘Yes, of course.’

‘Okay, now you may move freely about and do what you want, but do not interrupt the Ceremony of the Binding of Flesh.’

‘Binding of flesh?‘

‘Yes. You’ll soon understand.’

‘Are they burning everybody?’ I question.

He chuckles. ‘Not quite, but it’s probably going to be pretty hot in there.’ He winks.

Confusion fills me. All I know is I want to get inside and make sure my wife is safe.

He pats me on the shoulder. ‘All right, lad, have a good evening. Anytime you’re ready to leave, just come right back through this door. The plane will take you home.’

‘Okay, thank you.’ I open the door and step through it.

Byrne shuts it quickly. It takes me a minute to realize what I’m seeing.

Erotic sounds fill the air. Men grunt, and a woman cries out incoherent sounds.

The hairs on my neck rise.

Jesus, it’s an orgy.

No, it’s a gang bang.

One, two, three, four, five, six…fucking hell, there’s seven of them.

The woman looks exhausted, yet not in a bad way. Her flushed face burns bright. The bed’s soaked, and she’s currently cuffed to a headboard with her ass in the air.

Two men push inside her. One’s underneath her, and the other is behind her. A third stands next to her, holding her head to the side and thrusting his cock in her mouth.

Four other men stand beside them, rubbing themselves and waiting their turn.

I panic, looking around until I see Zara.

She’s sitting in a movie theater chair, leaning forward and intently watching the scene. Her face is slightly flushed, and her chest is rising and falling in short bursts.

I rush over to her and kneel beside the chair, putting my hand on hers.

She slowly tears her gaze off them, and her eyes widen when she sees it’s me. She murmurs, ‘Sean, what are you doing here?’

‘What are you doing here?’ I question.

‘Shh.’

The woman begins screaming, and Zara and I snap our heads toward the scene.

The man behind the woman is tugging her hair, her head tilted so far back, she’s staring at the ceiling. He’s ramming his cock into her ass. Another man’s continuing to thrust inside her pussy. The third man sprays his cum on her cheek.

My first instinct is that they’re hurting her, but then I realize they’re not.

She cries out, ‘More! I need more!’

Two men approach, one on each side of her, and start tugging her nipples.

She shrieks, ‘Yes! Yes! Oh God!’

I glance over at my wife and lean toward her ear. ‘Is this turning you on?’

She holds her breath and then turns toward me, and I see the arousal in her eyes.

I keep my voice level but fear what she’ll reply, asking, ‘Is that what you want? A bunch of men doing that to you?’

She whispers, ‘No, but I like watching it. Is that weird?‘

A wave of relief hits me. I stroke her hair, tucking it behind her ear, and answer, ‘No.’

She turns. ‘Is it strange I’m turned on?’

‘Oh God, fuck me harder!’ the woman cries out.

My lips twitch. ‘No.’

Zara doesn’t flinch, ordering, ‘Then fuck me now, Sean.’

My dick hardens. ‘Here?’

She nods. ‘Yes, here.’

‘You’re serious?’ I murmur.

Her lips twitch, and she nods.

I rise, shed my clothes, and motion for her to stand.

She obeys.

I slowly tug her shirt off over her head, unbutton her jeans, and slide them to the floor. I push her back onto the seat and then slowly pull the denim off her legs.

She holds her breath in anticipation.

I run my hands from her ankles, over her shins, and up the insides of her thighs, then softly stroke her slit.

She closes her eyes and whimpers.

I move my mouth to her leg, kissing her until I get to her pussy.

The grunts from the men turn louder.

The woman cries out, ‘Two! I need two of you in my ass!’

Jesus fucking Christ.

Zara’s eyes fly open. I slide my hand up her torso, playing with her breasts, and then suck on her clit.

‘Oh,’ she moans.

I flick my tongue across her, then circle it, lazily lapping up her arousal and inhaling her scent, wondering why I waited all these years to take what was always due to be mine.

She slides her hand over my head, playing with my hair, and I increase the speed of my tongue lashing against her.

‘Oh God,’ she quietly murmurs.

The woman screams, ‘Yes! Oh, fuck yes!’

I suck on Zara’s clit until it swells, then shove two fingers inside her, and she moans loudly.

I mumble against her pussy, ‘So wet without me here, my little brat.’

‘I’ve been naughty,’ she whispers.

My cock hardens further. I take my time licking and sucking, flicking her at a torturous speed, enjoying every moment. Before I know it, even though I’m going slow, she’s coming, gripping my hair, shaking against me.

‘Oh my God, Sean! Oh my God!’ she cries out.

I chuckle, then suck her harder.

She arches her back, and I lunge up, pushing her thighs to her chest, and enter her.

She moans.

I thrust in and out of her until she’s convulsing against me, and I’m about to come.

But then a man steps next to us, his dick practically in my face.

I jump back. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’

He acts like nothing’s wrong. ‘I came to join in. I’ve been thinking about your wife since your initiation,’ he declares, as if it’s a compliment I’ll appreciate.

I take my fist, pull it back, and hit him so hard in the nose, I break it. Blood spurts everywhere.

‘Sean,’ Zara cries out.

I bark, ‘Put your clothes on.’

She doesn’t argue, grabbing her clothes off the floor.

Another man approaches, asking, ‘What’s going on?’

I pick my jeans up off the floor and take the pocket knife out, whipping it open. I warn, ‘If anyone touches my wife, you’re not leaving here alive. Is it understood?’

The scene on stage doesn’t stop, the fucking continuing, the woman screaming and moaning her pleasure.

The second man puts his hands in the air. ‘Noted.’

The one with the bloody nose rises, holding his face. ‘What the fuck did you do that for?’

I point my knife at him with the blade an inch from his chest. ‘If you ever touch my wife again or come near her, I’ll fucking kill you.’

‘Easy, man. I was just in the moment,’ he claims.

”In the moment’? You’re supposed to be part of that ceremony, right?’

He looks back. ‘Yeah.’

‘You know what? Fuck you,’ I say, and slice my knife down his arm.

‘What the fuck, man?’ he shrieks, backing up.

I step closer, holding the knife out, and threaten, ‘Don’t you ever even think about my wife again. Zara, let’s go.’ I spin and grab her arm, leading her toward the door. I open it, move her through, then shut it. I lock the knob and then spin her against the wall, fretting, ‘Are you all right?’

She nods. ‘Yeah. But, Sean, I don’t think you should have done that.’

‘I didn’t mess up the ceremony. They did,’ I claim.

Her expression turns more worrisome. ‘Sean.’

‘No one’s touching you, Zara. No one’s coming near you, and especially not with their dick near your face. They better not even think about it. Do you understand me?’

She nods.

I add, ‘Unless that’s what you wanted?’

‘Of course that’s not what I wanted. I told you I wanted you, not any of them.’

Relief hits me. ‘Good.’ I step back and grab my shirt from her, ordering, ‘Put your shirt on. Thanks for bringing my clothes.’ I kiss her on the lips.

She returns my affection.

I retreat, tug my shirt over my head, then slide into my jeans.

I lead her out and back onto the plane. We don’t speak until we’re in the air and I’ve calmed a bit. My heart finally stops racing, and I pull her into me. I kiss her head, adding, ‘I’m sorry if I scared you.’

She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. She blurts out, ‘I killed somebody else.’

My insides quiver. ‘What are you talking about?’

She starts to sob.

I tug her closer. ‘My pulse, what’s wrong? Tell me what happened.’

She wails, babbling, ‘I killed her. I had to choose who was the traitor, and I killed her. And Valentina is my cousin, but I killed the Marino lady without thinking twice. Sean, I’m a horrible person!’ She sobs, her tears drenching my shirt.

‘Shh. No, you’re not. Why were you with Valentina?’

‘She just showed up.’

‘What do you mean she’s your cousin?’

Zara pushes away, sniffling. ‘My dad had a sister. It was her mom, and she married an Abruzzo, but… Well, supposedly he wasn’t a bad one, and my dad wouldn’t believe it. He joined The Underworld. He believed in your dad’s vision. He wanted peace.’

I stay silent.

Her face falls further. ‘Sean, haven’t you told me everything you know about The Underworld?’

I shrug. ‘We haven’t had a lot of time to talk about things. But why haven’t you told me what you know?’

She hesitates, then winces. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Well, now that we’re married, I think we don’t have to worry about the secrecy.’

‘No more secrets, Sean,’ she states.

‘Okay.’ I tug her back into me. ‘I’m sorry. Really.’

‘Why is it so easy for me to kill people?’ she questions.

I lean down to look into her eyes, cupping her cheeks and brushing her tears with my thumbs. ‘It’s in our blood. It just is. It doesn’t make you a bad person.’

‘How can it not make me a bad person? I took two people’s lives,’ she claims.

‘You said Valentina said the woman was a traitor, correct? And you saw it in her?‘

Zara bites her lip, and more tears fall. She nods.

‘Okay then. She was a traitor. Traitors deserve to die, so don’t worry about this any further.’

She starts to sob again, and I hold her, wishing there was something better I could say to make her pain go away. But I’m unsure how, and I’m realizing that I need to get better.

I’m her husband. I need to protect her from this stuff.

If anyone’s going to be killing anyone, it should be me, not her.