Page 17 of Married to the Mafia Monster

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. You get to just enjoy yourself without having to think too hard about anything. Plus, he won’t be around long, right? So there’s no awkward talk about breaking up. You do it until he disappears, then get on with your life.”

“Hold on, someone’s knocking on my door. I’ll call you back.”

I get to my feet and look out through the spy-hole, expecting to see Alex. It’s not him. It’s a stranger in his early forties. “Who is it?” I shout through the door.

“Letter for Bella Bennett,” he replies.

I pull the door open. “It’s gone midnight.”

He shrugs. “Got orders to get it here as fast as I could. Told to make sure you got it in person.”

I take it from him, looking down at it. I recognize the handwriting on the envelope. Dad wrote this “Thanks,” I say, ripping open the envelope at once.

EIGHT

Bella

“What does it say?” I look up in time to see the guy who brought the letter coming toward me, a knife in his right hand. I freeze, thinking back to the self defense class, to the moves Alex just taught me.

“What’s the letter say?” he demands, his voice low and menacing. “Answer me, bitch.”

I shake my head, my heart pounding. “I—I don’t know. I can’t read it.” I hold it up to him so he can see the random letters spread across the page.

His eyes narrow, and he takes a step closer, the knife flashing in the light. “Don’t lie to me. You think I’m stupid? Tell me what the code is, or you’ll regret it.”

“I’m telling the truth,” I insist, my voice trembling. “I don’t know what it means. It’s nonsense.”

He sneers, his hand shooting out to grab my arm. “You expect me to believe that? Let’s see if a little persuasion helps you remember the code.”

He twists my arm painfully, and I cry out, fear surging through me. I yank my arm back, trying to send him off balance. It works but only briefly. I scramble back through the room toward the window.

“Where you running to?” he asks. “It’s the eleventh floor. No help out that way.”

“Who are you?” I ask. “What do you want?”

“Same thing as your new boyfriend. To find it.”

“What are you talking about? Find what?”

A shadow falls over him. I look up. Alex has slipped silently into the room, his face a mask of fury. He puts a finger to his lips.

I glance from him to my attacker who hasn’t noticed. “You might want to leave now,” I say.

A sneer forms on his lips. “Or what?”

“Or I do this,” Alex growls, grabbing the man from behind, tossing him across the room. The intruder crashes into the wall, scrambling to his feet, crying out in pain as Alex advances on him.

“Stay there,” Alex commands me, his voice leaving no room for argument. He picks up the struggling man and carries him out of the room.

A few moments later, Alex returns, his expression dark and intense. I expect him to ask about the man or the letter, but instead, he looks as if he’s about to kiss me. He stops just short, his breath warm against my skin.

“Lock your door and wedge it shut with a chair,” he says, his voice low and serious.

“Who was that? What did you do with him?”

“Do as you’re told. I can’t watch you all the damned time.” A noise from the corridor makes him tense up. “I’ll be back,” he says, before turning and leaving the room, slamming the door shut after him.

I move to the door, peeking out through the spy-hole. Alex is picking up the intruder, his movements swift and powerful.

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