My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

Unlike what others thought, Ashley didn’t return just because she needed to placate Lucian. If anything, she just sent him off, as he had some matters to attend to, and he had only come to check on her before leaving.

So, why, until now, had she not returned to the plantation?

Because...

"Hey! Where are you guys?" Ashley’s voice echoed on the other side of the territory, searching for Red and his crew. "I think I saw them just here earlier."

She tilted her head to the side, rubbing her chin.

"Was I mistaken?" she wondered again and shrugged, turning away to look for them elsewhere.

Meanwhile, when Ashley turned and skipped away, five heads slowly popped out from behind the bush. Seeing that she was leaving, they heaved a sigh of relief and slid back into the bush.

"What the heck does she want this time?" Red grumbled, slumped on the grass. In utter disbelief, they were hiding when they saw her coming.

The last time they came across her, they ended up taking a ride to hell. They weren’t ready for another ride, as they might ram through the gates of hell this time.

"That woman is just pure trouble," another of them remarked, clicking his tongue as he shook his head. "Anyway, can’t we just tell her no?"

When his question echoed, the other four turned their heads to look at him.

"You kidding me?" Red scoffed, and then another added, "Rum, you’re seriously asking that?"

Rum, the most talkative among them, laughed awkwardly as he thought about it.

"That’s stupid, but it was worth the shot!" he said with a shrug. "Besides, Gin, you’re a smart one. Why don’t you use that head of yours to find a loophole?"

Gin, the smallest among their group, but also the smartest, frowned deeply.

"If there’s a loophole, do you think Gin wouldn’t have exploited that?" another one, Vodka, remarked knowingly. "But the master’s orders are absolute, so even Gustav doesn’t have a say in it."

Hearing that, they all drew a deep breath and exhaled heavily.

The five of them used to be a part of Lucian’s main security team. Whenever there was a mission, they were one of the groups that were candidates to execute it. Considering how competitive the members of Dominion were, and how many others wanted to rise in the ranks, being first in line for consideration was an achievement in itself.

That was until Ashley came here.

Their faces soured as they remembered the very first time they were told that they would be stationed as Ashley’s bodyguards—and that their sole job was to protect her and serve her, even at the cost of their lives. It was Lucian who gave the orders, specifically giving those orders and others to close any loopholes.

"It feels like he summoned all of us and gave those orders specifically, as if he knew we were eventually going to find a loophole," Rum said, his face souring as it crumpled.

A moment of silence fell on them until another voice broke it.

"I see, so that’s his orders... I didn’t know that."

"Yeah, you wouldn’t know that since he told us not to tell a single soul..." Rum trailed off, only to freeze as he realized it was a woman’s voice.

Since when did they have a woman member in this group?

His shoulders jolted as he and everyone turned their heads to the voice. Much to their dismay, seated at the end, slumped right beside the ever-quiet member—the one who rarely spoke—of their crew, Tank, was none other than Ashley.

She was slumped on the grass just like them, looking very comfortable and relaxed, as if she had been part of this from the beginning.

"Hey, guys!" she tilted her head to the side, smiling. "I’ve looked for you everywhere! I didn’t know you guys were having a picnic."

Then, she paused and furrowed her eyebrows. "But why are you having a picnic behind this bush? You guys look so cramped here."

Their faces twitched as their legs were folded just to fit in there to hide from her. And yet, the very person they were hiding from was already there!

The other four, Red, Gin, Rum, and Vodka, turned to Tank, who, even at this point, hadn’t spoken a word! No matter how Tank preserved his voice, this was the moment when he should use that vocal cord of his!

Tank lowered his head to avoid the deadly glares from his crew.

"God damn it," Red hissed through clenched teeth before he turned to Ashley. "The heck? Since when have you been here?"

"Since like minutes ago?" Ashley pouted. "You guys were too distracted to notice, but I asked him if I could join!"

She pointed at Tank.

Their expressions deadpanned right then and there, shifting their gazes to Tank. But the latter looked away to avoid the guilt. She wasn’t lying. These guys were too distracted to notice her approach, but Tank did notice her sneaking in.

And she "asked" by just making confusing gestures and sat down beside him very quietly.

Even so, Tank’s gaze drifted to Ashley as she maintained her bright smile while looking at the guys.

I didn’t hear her until she was almost beside me, he thought, studying her discreetly. Are we truly lacking in training now since we’ve been basically doing nothing for the past half a year?

Tank frowned at the thought, thinking that must be it.

They couldn’t just assume otherwise, because... it just didn’t make sense to any of them.

Ashley might have survived the Di Carpios, but the rise of the Di Carpios to their golden years was because of their outside help from a notorious Ghost in the underground. In other words, the Di Carpios were just a group of violent people with no sophistication until this legendary Ghost became their backer.

So, even if Ashley survived the Di Carpios, there was no way she would ever reach the level of sophistication the members of Dominion had, which they learned through extensive training.

"Anyway, I’m looking for you guys because I need you to do something for me!" Ashley clapped after the men’s bickering and prolonged death glares at Tank.

Everyone looked at her with furrowed brows, their heads leaning back in unison, suspicion etched on their faces.

"If this is you driving somewhere else, forget it!" Red barked. "I’m not riding in a vehicle with you behind the wheel."

"It’s not like that. It’s simpler than that!" she winked at them. "It’s just that... I’m going on a hunt."

Her lips stretched into the sweetest smile she could—and if Lucian had seen such a smile directed at them, he would either tear that smile away and frame it, or poke their eyes and crack their skulls open to erase the memory.

"In other words, I need a gun. Can you lend me one?"

They blinked, looking at that piece of abomination smiling at them so sweetly.

For some reason, Red blurted out flatly, "Do you have a license to hold one?"

"Huh?" Ashley paused, confused. "Do I need one?"

But instead of answering her question, the four of them went back to this menace’s original request and exclaimed,

"Heck no!"

And so, Ashley didn’t make it back to the plantation... because she bothered them the entire day.