Undressed By The Mafia God

"God, you are unbelievable." Val said.

"Look how well marrying Luca and staying loyal to him worked for her. She is secure."

Valentina stopped arguing. She was done bantering words with him. "What deal did you have with Luca?" she asked.

"None of your business."

She pulled the gun from her jeans. "You tell me what your deal with Luca was or I swear to God, you will die tonight."

"You finally grew some backbone, I see," Vito said. He smiled as if the sight of his daughter holding a gun to his head amused him. "Fine," he said, lifting his free hand slightly. "You want to know? I brought you girls into this world. I raised you. You grew up under my roof, with my money."

Valentina laughed. "Your money?"

"My money," he snapped. "You ate, didn’t you? You slept in this house, didn’t you? You wore clothes, went to school, grew up and found good lives."

Her grip tightened around the gun. "You mean lives we survived into despite you?"

His face twisted. "And then you cut me off from it. Both of you. Living in mansions, driving cars, married to powerful men, while I get pushed aside like rubbish."

"You are rubbish."

His eyes flashed. "All I want is what is due me. Sue me."

"You asked Luca for money," she said.

"Thirty million dollars."

Hearing him say it without remorse, without even the decency to look ashamed, split something open inside her.

"You son of a bitch!" Valentina yelled.

Vito swung the bottle in his hand towards the gun, trying to knock it loose from her grip. But he underestimated Valentina.

She was not the girl he remembered. She was not the child hiding behind Vee’s skirts. She had been trained by her husband, Marco Montgomery, capo to one of the most formidable and resilient men either of them knew. Marco had taught her how to hold a weapon, how to plant her feet, how to keep her wrist locked.

So when the bottle struck her hand, pain shot up her arm, but the gun stayed steady. The bottle shattered instead.

Glass exploded between them. Beer splashed across the floor. Vito cursed and lunged for the gun.

Valentina gasped as his hand closed around her wrist. They struggled. His fingers dug into her skin. She twisted, trying to keep the barrel away from both of them. He was stronger than she expected. His breath hit her face, sour with beer, his eyes wide now.

"Give it to me," he snarled.

"No!"

"Stupid girl."

Valentina shoved against him with everything she had. Her earring tore loose in the struggle and fell somewhere to the floor. The floor beneath them was wet now, slick with spilled beer, and his feet slid as he tried to overpower her.

His inebriation betrayed him. So did the floor. Valentina shoved him again. Vito stumbled backwards. His heel slipped. his body windmilled, arms grabbing at empty air. His face changed from fury to surprise.

Then he fell. His head struck the edge of the table on the way down. Vito’s body hit the floor. Then went limp.

Valentina froze. The gun remained in her hand, pointed uselessly at nothing now. Her breath came hard. She stared down at him, waiting for him to curse.

He did not move.

"Dad?" she called and bent over him.

That was when she saw the blood. It came from the back of his head, spreading beneath him and colouring the floor.

"Oh my God," Valentina whispered. She stumbled backwards. Her back hit the wall. "Oh my God." Her breathing came in short bursts, each inhale sharp, each exhale shaking apart before it fully left her. Her chest tightened. The gun in her hand suddenly felt monstrous, though she had not fired it.

This was not supposed to happen. Nothing was supposed to happen like this. She had not meant to kill him.

Had she?

The question horrified her.

"No, no, no," she whispered. "Oh... oh, oh, oh..." Her free hand flew to her mouth. Valentina shook her head violently.

Not knowing what to do, she turned to leave when an idea popped into her head.

*****

Luca had just returned from Commissioned. As usual, his wife lit up the moment she set eyes on him.

It did something to him every time. Vee’s face when he entered a room remained one of his favourite thing in the world. She looked at him as if he was simply hers.

God help him, that was exactly who he wanted to be.

"Hey, babe," he said, stepping into the bedroom.

Vee was sitting on the bed, pillows arranged behind her. "Hey..." Her mouth curved. "Daddy."

He crossed the room. "How are my babies doing?"

"Bored out of our minds."

He leaned over and kissed her hair first, breathing her in. Then he lowered himself and pressed a kiss to her stomach.

Vee’s fingers slipped into his hair.

"I know," he murmured against her belly. "I know. Just a bit more, love."

"Hey," she said. "Have you heard from Marco? I haven’t been able to reach him."

Luca kept his face calm. The lying had become the worst part of his day. "Uh..." He moved towards the wardrobe. "He went to Singapore urgently. Mum needed him."

Vee frowned. "Really?"

"Yes."

"I called Carol today. She didn’t mention Marco was there."

Luca pulled off his watch and set it on the dresser. "Maybe it escaped her mind." He started taking off his clothes. "He’ll be back soon,"

"Hmmm." She pushed herself carefully to her feet. "Hurry up and let’s go down for dinner."

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Yeah." She glanced away. "I didn’t want to eat alone again. You were late last night."

"I’m sorry," he said. "I’ll try to be home earlier from now on." He stepped close, cupped her face, and kissed her once more. He pulled away and headed into the walk-in bathroom.

She sighed and turned towards the dresser. His clothes were already discarded. His shirt lay over the chair, his belt near the floor, his watch on the dresser, his phone beside it.

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