Marrying the Mafia

Missing

Derek's POV:

        Guns fire left and right. Men drop one by one, some mine, some Ryder's. I'm tired. So tired. My knees want to give out, but I can't. I have to save her.

One week ago...

Things between me and Aria have been amazing. She has been attached to me by the hip and even took me to meet her father formally. He asked some questions about our whereabouts, but Aria, being the brilliant woman she is, deterred the conversation. She knows as well as I that anyone knowing her whereabouts is dangerous.

She has many bounties on her head and I'm not about to let a hunter catch his prey.

Aria rests her head on my shoulder, her eyes starting to open and close as we sit together on the couch. The movie we watch is rather loud. I have no idea how she can sleep during this.

I position her so that my back is against the couch, and she can lay between my legs.

"Much better," Aria approves. I smile and give her a kiss on the side of her head.

"Are you sure that you don't just want to go to bed?" I ask. Aria shakes her head.

"You like this movie, and I don't want to move," She replies. Aria stares blankly at the TV, blinking slowly as her eyes threaten to give out. I don't know what I did to deserve this woman. She is everything I could ever ask for. 

I from other perspective it looks so wrong. Getting with your brother's ex-fiancé is frowned upon, but nobody knows how we operate. We hate each other. He saw her first, but he was also the first to hurt her. When I found out he decided to use her as a punching bag, that's when I declared us no longer brothers, or even acquaintances. Once Ryder was out of the way, I knew she was going to be mine. I was going to do whatever I could to get her, but fortunately for me, she fell right into me.

        A few days later, the doorbell rings and echoes through the house. Aria answers the front door before immediately slamming it on the person's face. 

"What's wrong, angel?" I ask her. Her face says it all, an unwanted visitor. I walk past her and open the door to get rid of the person. 

"Oh, may God bless your soul that I don't shoot you before you're off the property," I sigh, face to face with Ryder. 

"Good to see you too, Derek," Ryder replies, a smirk on his lips. 

"My wife doesn't want you here. You have to go," I instruct firmly. Ryder doesn't budge; he just leans against the doorframe. 

"Your wife is actually why I'm here," Ryder says. I look behind me at Aria who shrugs. 

"She doesn't want you here," I press. He still doesn't move. 

"It doesn't matter. I have a contract from Delina that we are to be married, and the family fortune is to be transferred to me," Ryder pulls a paper out from his back pocket. 

"This shit cannot be legit," Aria bursts out from behind me. She skims the official paper, her mouth agape. Delina must have pulled a fuck ton of strings to pull this shit off. I cannot believe she's still after Aria's father's money. Doesn't she have enough?

"I'm already married. She can't force us to get divorced, can she?" Aria asks, looking at me with desperate eyes. 

"I truly don't know, but I'm not giving you up without a fight," I tell her. Aria tears the contract in half, problem solved!

"You think I was dumb enough to give you the real thing?" Ryder chuckles. Or not. 

"My lawyer will be in touch," Aria states firmly. That's my girl. 

"You have five days, mi flor," Ryder says. Aria's face twists in disgust at the nickname. She looks down at the ground, her face red with anger. 

Ryder stalks off back to his car before pulling off. Aria slams the door before marching to the kitchen. I silently follow and watch her pull out a bottle of whiskey. She loves her raspberry Smirnoff. 

"This is bullshit. He's bluffing," Aria says. 

"It's not. Your mother is a piece of shit," I reply. Aria mixes herself a drink without measuring her shots. 

"Yeah, I know that better than anyone, Derek, she's tormented me since I could speak!"

I approach Aria and mix myself a drink, not because I'm stressed, but because I can feel her stress. I hate when she's upset like this. 

"Okay, why don't you get in touch with your lawyer and see what we can do about this," I try to soothe her. 

"I'm in my fucking twenties! How the hell can she have such a grasp on me?!" Aria exclaims. 

"Because you're not a normal family, preziosa, you are part of an empire," I explain. Aria scoffs before taking another drink. I set my cup on the counter and walk towards Aria, gently wrapping my arms around her waist. 

"It'll all be okay, just relax. There's nothing we can do."

        My arms are empty. Aria's gone. The sun beats on my face as I scan my entire room, searching for her. She's probably in the kitchen. 

I go about my business before heading to the kitchen, the coffee's already on and steaming. I pour myself a cup and read the note next to the coffee pot.

Time's up, Derek. Catch me if you can.

Ryder's signature makes my blood boil. I drop my cup, and it shatters all over the floor. This son of a bitch. This is not happening. Aria told me her lawyer took care of it yesterday! He found a loophole! What the fuck?!

I send out a mass message and round up men to hunt down Aria. This fucker is dead. The second I find Ryder, he's fucking dead. 

I bolt out of the house and speed off, headed for Ryder's primary warehouse. I know she's not here, but she must have left a clue. My Aria's smart, she'd know to leave clues. 

Tears cloud my vision as my heart pounds out of chest. I need to get her back. These greedy cunts can't win. Torturing my wife for fucking money?! Fuck no. They're all dead. Every last one of them will die a brutal and agonizing death.