Page 22 of Bloody Union

She looks at me and I know in that instant what her answer is. "I do..."

"Christ," I curse, what the fuck?

"Well, we do now." She drops that bomb with a little laugh.

"What?" I can't take my eyes off her, she's smiling, huge.

"Dante, I run the entire east coast other than New York. You are my husband, did you really think I'd not tell you who I really am and have you sit on the side lines? My men know that we're getting married and they also know that together we'll rule. Unless you have a problem with that?" There's a tone I don't miss, she's daring me to argue with her.

"You're fucking kidding, right?"

She sighs, "About what? Tell me what you think I'm joking about. Please, I really want to know."

"You think you can drop a bomb like that and everything is going to be okay?"

She moves so she's sitting on the bed. "Dante, grow the hell up and welcome to the twenty-first century. I am a woman, one that is more than capable of looking after herself, along with running the entire country if I wish. So you have a choice, be an arsehole, or be the Boss.”

I curse her under my breath. I'm not fucking stupid. She'll fucking kill me, or I'll kill her. Damn, why the hell does the thought of her trying to kill me turn me on? Now I understand a hell of a lot more. Why she's been kept under wraps and it had nothing to do with her father. We're all her grandfather's puppets right now. He's the one that orchestrated this marriage, but what I need to know is why.

"Okay, so talk to me. What exactly do you do?"

She raises her brow, looking at me as though I'm a piece of shit and yeah, I probably am with the way I sarcastically asked her what she does.

"Do you mean how I own the drugs in the east? Or the fact that I have over sixty farms to grow that shit worldwide?"

I take my seat beside her on the bed, hoping she doesn't have a weapon on her. "Fuck, Kenna, this isn't how it's supposed to be."

She laughs, "Dante, do you honestly believe that if you had been given a docile woman you'd have been happy? Look at you, you're practically eye fucking me at every chance. Is it the fear of when I'm going to kill you that gets you off?"

I don't give into her bait, she's trying to get me off topic and that's not going to happen. "How many people have you killed?"

She shrugs, "More than I can count. I've been doing this a long time. When you met me the first time, my granda had told me that when I returned to Ireland I'd be put to work. The first man I killed personally was for Kinsley, but I've ordered more than my fair share. Does this really bother you?"

It's my turn to laugh, "Not in the slightest. It's good to know that you can take care of yourself. But I hate that I was kept in the dark."

She nods, "That's good, I can work with that. If you did have a problem then it would get awkward. I've been through hell and back, Dante. Kidnapped, tortured, shot, you name it, it's happened. But I've survived and I'm not a weak woman that needs to be smothered. Try it and I'll smother you while you sleep. I can fight better than most men, because I need to show my men that I'm capable of the job. I can out shoot even the best snipers in the world and I can orchestrate a perfectly well thought out attack on someone in a matter of minutes. I've got men that are loyal to me. So much so that they work for me and haven't divulged my name. Anyone even tries and they'll die."

My respect for my wife has skyrocketed. "Okay, what do you want from me? You have a life, I don't understand why you needed me."

She rolls her eyes once again and I want to spank the shit out of her. "Dante, it's not about needing you. It's about bringing the Irish and Italian's together. It's about having someone who we can trust and be a part of our lives forever. Do I trust you? No, but I have to. So here it is. I've given you one of my biggest secrets, the one that you wanted to know and in doing so I'm showing you that I'm trusting you. Break my trust and I'll break your legs. Burn me and, Dante, I don't give a fuck who your family is. I'll slaughter the lot of you."

"Kenna, the moment I saw you in that fucking bar I wanted to fuck you. Finding out that you were my fiancée made me go on a killing spree."

Her eyes widened, "It was you? You killed the Russians? I thought it was Ace."

"No, baby, that was me. He hurt you, so I ended him."

The smile she gives me now is softer than I've ever seen before. "Damn, Dante," she whispers as she wraps her arms around my neck.

"Fuck, baby, you don't do sweet do you?"

She shakes her head. "Nope, nobody's done anything like that for me."

"Get used to it. You're mine now, Kenna, and I'm not letting you go. That means, all of you is mine. All your secrets and all your dreams. Baby, I'm going to make sure you achieve whatever the hell it is you want."

"Fuck," she whispers, her voice raw and husky. "Dante, don't do this."

I slide my hand to her face, "Do what?" I ask, my mouth inches from hers.