Married to the Bad Boy(42)

I turn around in his arms and look at his strangely calm face. “Then why are you doing this?”

“Because I don’t care.”

He smirks, but I don’t feel any of the warmth. It’s like being doused in ice water.

I really did make a deal with the devil.





TONY



The cold liquid burns a line of fire down my throat. It’s raw. It hurts. It used to be that the pain was enough to drown out the gnawing ache in my chest. After years and years of fucking people up, and disposing bodies, the pain vanished. Just like everything else.

I slam down shots because I want to put on an act. I want to look like a man at the end of his rope.

Tommy’s bar is the perfect place to do this. There are wise guys everywhere, and news will spread fast.

I’m already attracting looks from the other guys for keeping to myself and not saying a damn word to anyone. My eyes stare straight ahead into the blackboard list of beers on tap, ignoring Genevieve, who whispers something into Tommy’s ear. I feel his stare, even if I can’t really see it.

Tommy’s not buying my act, but Francois and Johnny openly gawk at me from across the bar, giving me odd looks.

“Qu’est-ce qui se passe avec lui?” What’s wrong with him?

My captain, Francois, shrugs. I make a show of burying my face in my hands and rubbing my head. My shoulders slump and I bury my fingers in my hair, fighting to keep the laughter shaking in my chest inside me.

“I’ll go ask,” I hear him say.

I try not to smile as I hear his footsteps growing louder, and then a heavy hand drops on my shoulders and shakes me roughly.

“Tony, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I don’t want to fucking talk about it.”

I can almost see the surprise on his lined face. Nothing really ever gets me down, and seeing me like this must be unnerving.

Hopefully I’m not overdoing it.

“Jesus. What happened?”

Slowly I raise my head from my hands and look into his concerned face. “I got a girl pregnant.”

The words explode in the middle of the bar, and they pretend to have not heard what I just said even though everyone’s standing unnaturally still. There’s no excitement. No cheers. They all know it’s my worst nightmare. Men freeze with glasses in their hands as they stare at me with expressions of amusement and pity.

“Congratulations!” Francois pounds my back, laughter trembling in his voice.

I send him a heated look. “I don’t fucking see what there is to celebrate. My life is basically over and I barely know this broad.”

“Don’t be such an asshole,” Johnny snaps. “A child is a gift from God—a fuckin’ gift. You better do right by this girl, Tony. I’m serious.”

I straighten myself and peer into the depths of my glass. “Yeah, yeah. I guess we have to get married. Fuck.”

The bar explodes into cheers, and Francois flings an arm around my neck. “I can’t fucking believe this. You’re getting married? Holy shit—”

Johnny gives me an approving nod. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“Yeah, well—that doesn’t mean I’m going to fucking change for her.”

The young boss beams at me, and he bumps his glass against my empty one. “Salute, Tony. I’m happy for you.”

“That makes one of us.”

My stomach clenches as he wraps an arm around my shoulders and gives me a hug.

“I want to meet this girl. We should have an engagement party this weekend.”

I look into Johnny’s smiling face. “You already know her. She’s Jack Vittorio’s daughter.”

His face goes slack as the men scream with laughter.

“He knocked up a boss’s daughter!”

“Good thing Jack is dead, eh, buddy?”

I ignore the elbows digging into my side, the hands clapping down my shoulder, the insidious laughter erupting around me and gaze into Johnny’s furious face.

“You fucking moron, Tony. You fucking dumb piece of shit.” He slams his drink on the counter and grabs my lapels, shoving me against the bar. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

I have at least fifty pounds on Johnny, but I don’t lift a finger against him. To do so would be suicide, even though it would be satisfying—so fucking satisfying.

“No one was ever going to find out.”

His face contorts with rage and the laughter dissipates from the bar. “You realize, you stupid fuck, that her ex now has a legitimate beef with us? You fucked his girl.”

“A girl who didn’t want to be his in the first place.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“She’s carrying my kid,” I say in a cold voice. “That’s all that matters. We’re getting married, and that’s that. If that asshole has a problem with it, I shove a gun up his ass.”