Keeping his bride

Luca

I

‘M SITTING IN my office the next morning when there is a knock on the door. I hit a button for the door to unlock and raise my voice to tell my employee on the other side to come in.

Aldo Allaband enters. He’s tall and skinny with brown hair and brown eyes. His skin is pale because he spends most of his time indoors on a computer.

He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he takes a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of my desk.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes, Aldo. How did your training go?”

“Very well, sir. I excelled in all of the programming and hacking tests they gave me.”

I smile. I already knew how well Aldo did, but I just wanted to hear it come out of his mouth. Aldo is one of the smartest, brightest young men I know, so I had all the faith in the world that he wouldn’t disappoint me.

I first met Aldo when he was a college student majoring in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, struggling with paying his tuition. His mom had just died in a car accident, and his father was never part of his life. Before his mother died, she had been working three jobs to support her son’s dream of going to a good college.

When I learned of his situation, I presented him with a proposition. I wanted him to come work for me. But first, I wanted the college student to graduate and then go study with a team of underground anonymous hackers. The hackers are the best in the world, and I wanted Aldo to be part of the elite group.

I paid for the rest of Aldo’s college tuition and all of his bills and expenses, past and present. Hell, I even paid for his mother’s funeral since the kid was desperately trying to make payments on it with no end in sight.

I saw something in him when I first met him – ambition. I knew right then and there that he would be a great asset to our team. And now he’s ready for whatever I throw his way just when I need him the most.

“Constantine Carbone,” I say. And just speaking that name out loud has my blood pressure rising.

“Yes, sir.” Aldo quickly grabs his smartphone out of his pocket and begins typing in a note.

“I want you to monitor his activities. I want to know what he’s doing, where he is at all times. And if you can dig up any more dirt on him, do it.”

Aldo nods as his thumbs type frantically on the phone.

“And I want you to move here to the compound full time. Tell Benito to get you whatever you need. We will supply whatever you ask for.”

“Yes, sir,” Aldo says.

“And one other thing.”

“Sir?” he asks, looking up from his phone.

“I want to book a trip for me and my wife.”

Aldo’s brows raise over the top of his glasses. “A honeymoon, sir?”

“Yes, precisely,” I agree. “But she doesn’t like water, so it can’t be anywhere tropical,” I quickly add.

Aldo thinks for several seconds. “I can research some places and send my list of ideas to you, sir.”

“That would be great,” I tell him. “And I want somewhere private. I don’t want to have to worry about her any more than I already do now. I want us to have…fun.”

The concept is foreign on my tongue and in my mind. I don’t think I’ve had fun since I was a child, but Verona does something to me that makes me want to feel relaxed and less weighed down by life and work when I’m around her. And, more importantly, I want her to have a good time. I love the way she smiles, and her laugh makes me feel like everything is right in the world just by hearing it.

“I’ll get working on this right away, and I’ll send you what I find.” The young man stands and tucks away his phone. “I’ll move my stuff in this afternoon. I don’t have much to pack.”

“Thank you, Aldo. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I watch Aldo leave, and then I send a text to Benito about what just transpired so that he is in the loop. I want him to get whatever Aldo needs, because the boy is our greatest asset at the moment.

I promised Verona I wouldn’t go after Constantine Carbone. But I don’t see anything wrong with keeping tabs on him. That certainly wouldn’t be breaking my promise.

And if Constantine is going to attack, I will know where and when. And if he thinks he’s coming for my wife, well, he’s got another thing coming. He’ll soon find out who really rules this city.

Verona

A

FEW DAYS later, I wake up to Luca waving a gift in front of my face. Over the past couple of days he’s seemed happier, having almost completely gotten over the whole Constantine fiasco that happened at the art gallery, and I’m glad for that.

“What is it?” I ask, sitting up in bed.

“Open it and find out,” he says before setting the present down on the mattress in front of me.

The only gift I’ve ever received from Luca was our wedding photo album, and I don’t think anything could top that. Still, I’m curious to see what he’s done, so I carefully untie the silver ribbon from the white box and open it.

Inside is a small flip style cell phone. I carefully pull the phone out to study it.

“I had Aldo, my IT guy, modify it a bit. There is a tracker programmed into it that works independently whether the phone is on or off. The battery lasts for years instead of days. And my number is programmed into the speed dial.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

You can call me anytime by just pressing and holding the number one key down.”

After I absorb all of that new information, I furrow my brows in confusion. “What’s going on? Am I in danger?”

“No, of course not. This is just a precaution. Call it peace of mind for me, if you will.” His fingertips graze my jaw, and he turns my head so that my eyes meet his. “I want you to keep this on you at all times, Verona. Can I count on you to do that?”

“Yes.”

He smiles at my answer. “Okay, good.” Then, he releases me and nods to the box. “There’s more inside.”

Turning my attention back to the gift, I lift a piece of tissue paper to reveal two plane tickets. I pick them up and read the destination – Aspen, Colorado.

“What’s in Colorado?” I ask, confused.

“Our honeymoon,” he says before placing a kiss on my temple and standing up. “Our plane leaves in a few hours. Pack only the essentials. We’ll buy warmer clothes when we get there.”

A smile forms on my lips as I realize Luca planned this trip for us. Just us. No bodyguards. No first or second or third in command. Only us.

I’m overcome with happiness, so much so that I jump off the bed and tackle my husband. I catch him off-guard, but he still manages to fall with me in his arms to the floor gracefully.

“I take it that you’re happy?” he asks with a chuckle.

I lean down and place a kiss on his lips. “So happy,” I agree.

“Good. That’s all I want.”

I give him another kiss before I quickly climb off of him and run to the closet. “I need to pack!” I say, my voice highpitched and weird with excitement.

Luca simply shakes his head in amusement before he leaves the room.

AFTER WE LAND IN ASPEN, Colorado, we have a rental car waiting for us at the airport. It’s a big Chevy Suburban with huge winter tires. I wonder out loud if it’s overkill, but Luca informs me we’ll need it for where we’re going.

Excitement is dripping out of every pore in my body on the car ride to our destination, and I’m so nervous that I can barely sit still.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this anxious before,” Luca remarks, reaching over to hold my hand. “Well, maybe on our wedding day.”

“I thought I was going to pass out just from my nerves,” I confess.

He gives my hand a light squeeze. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. Although I do recall you saying ‘I do’ in the form of a question like we were on an episode of Jeopardy.”

I laugh hard at that. Our wedding day was so hectic and nerve-wracking. I didn’t know which way was up or if I was coming or going. But I’m glad we got through it. And even though we had a rough start to our marriage, we got through all of that too. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be married to anyone else.

“I love that sound,” he remarks.

“What sound?”

“Your laugh. I love making you laugh.”

“Well, I love you making me laugh,” I tell him with a grin.

The GPS announces that our destination is coming up, so I look out the window, searching for the place we’re going to be staying at. All I can see is snow and trees, however.

Luca navigates the SUV up a plowed driveway to a gated entrance. He hits a button inside the car, and the gate opens a second later. Luca drives on through, and the driveway seems endless. But all the waiting is worth it when I see the house.

The two-story black and brown house looks inviting and straight out of a painting surrounded by all the tall pine trees and snowy mountains.

“I’ll get our luggage later,” Luca tells me when we get out of the SUV. “Let’s explore the house first.” “Okay,” I say, giddy with excitement.

Luca unlocks the front door, and we walk into the grand entrance. The floor plan is open with exposed wooden beams everywhere. The first floor consists of a formal living room, a dining room next to a huge, modern kitchen, a recreation room, a den with a huge flat screen tv on the wall hung over a fireplace, and the master bedroom with a ginormous walk-in shower in its spacious bathroom.

I glance up the spiral staircase wrapped around a huge tree trunk leading upstairs. “How many bedrooms are there?”

“Seven,” he says before pulling me into his arms. He plants kisses along my neck and up to my ear before he whispers, “And I’d like to fuck you in every single one of them before we leave.”

“Promise?” I ask, my voice thick with desire.

“Promise,” he says before grabbing my ass and pulling me flush against him so that I can feel his arousal.

I don’t know if there’s ever a time when Luca doesn’t want me. And, god, it feels so good to be wanted.

“Let’s start with the master bedroom,” I suggest.

“That sounds like a great idea,” he says before hoisting me up over his shoulder and carrying me fireman-style down the hall towards the room.

“You’re such a caveman!” I tell him.

“Only when it comes to you,” he confesses.