Even though our marriage would never be one of love, I was satisfied.I had to be.
“Thank you… I love you, Mia… Even when you held a gun to me.”
I laughed, that seeming like a distant memory to me now.
“I love you too.”
“I got to go but tell Elias thanks for his help with Alexsei. I don’t know what happened but …just tell him thanks. I couldn’t bury any more men.”
“I’ll let him know. Be safe Michael.”
“Always,” he said and ended the call leaving me to get lost in my thoughts once more before my husband showed his face again.
***
As usual, Elias came home when the moon lit the sky and I was tucked in bed.
When he finally nestled himself behind me, he wrapped his arm around me.
“You smell like me,” he said lowly, the sleepiness evident in his voice.
“I like to feel you throughout the day" is what I wanted to say but in the end, I just hummed.
He was hardly here most days so it was my way to comfort myself without bothering him. Lathering with his shower gel, left my pores filled with his scent and sometimes, even his touch.
He kissed the side of my neck, causing me to shiver silently, “I like it.”
“Did the meeting go fine today with Jericho and the others?” I shyly asked.
“How do you know about that?”
“You were shouting... loud,” I said in an obvious tone and felt the corner of his mouth lift slightly.
“It went fine, sweetheart.”
“What happened?”
Elias shushed me, putting a finger to my lips. “Go to sleep, Mia.”
“Okay.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
ELIAS
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me what happened?” Eli shouted.
“Because of this, you dumb fuck,” Silas said referring to Eli's outburst while sipping a glass of scotch, .
Liam sat to the side, reviewing numbers in our legitimate business, ignoring my brothers.
Eli huffed and plopped next to Silas who offered him his glass.
“I can kill Alexsei for you, Elias. I never liked him anyway… you can call it me paying off my debt,” Eli said and gulped the scotch.
The kid was a hothead but he was skilled, especially with a knife. Something he didn’t get from my father or us.
I believed Eli could become something great if he took control of his temper. That was the difference between a coffin and an empire.