Indebted to the Mafia King

Chloe

It takes longer than I planned to have dinner served, but eventually I manage to get the food out of the pan and onto our plates. Tony and I eat together, talking about trivial things. I feel the elephant in the room, lurking in the shadows, but I don't bring the sensitive topics to the table.

I feel like we're both in such a nice place now, that I fear whatever and whenever I mention Mateo, the little bubble of happiness we are building might pop and my life will return to its usual nightmare. I'm dreading the idea of it. I don't know how to bring up the topic of Ellie being his daughter, either. He's probably still mad at me for keeping it a secret from him, and even though I know we will have to address it eventually, I want to postpone it for as long as I can. When we finish dinner, I tell Tony to go take a shower while I clean up the kitchen. He does as I ask, even though he tries to fight me on it for a while, saying he will stay and help me. Once I'm done with my chores, I get to my own room and put on a beautiful, pink lace nightgown that contrasts nicely with my skin, and brush my hair, letting it cascade down my shoulders and back.

I know how Tony loves my hair, and honestly, I hope he didn't invite me to just sleep with him tonight. After he claimed me in the kitchen earlier, somehow I still feel like that was just a sneak peek of what I might expect tonight. And I couldn't be more right.

As soon as I knock on his door, he opens it and pulls me inside, getting me to his bed in less than a second. We go for another round, and this time we both take our time with each other. By the time we finish, I'm exhausted, my eyes are heavy, and I have to fight sleep while we both catch our breaths.

My brain starts overthinking, trying to make sense of everything that's happening with us lately. The truth is, I'm not ready to face my real feelings for Tony. Let alone tell him about it.

But I also can't deny I am not ready to be away from him. Whatever's going on between us, I hope it lasts for a long time. We do have a lot to discuss-Ellie being the major topic-and it pains me not to know what to expect from whatever this is.

"Are you okay?" he asks me in a low voice, turning his head to face me.

I nod, staring into his beautiful eyes. "Yeah..." I answer.

"What's on your mind?" he insists, his brows creasing with concern.

I take a deep breath, thinking what's the best way to share my thoughts without revealing much. "I thought this was just business between us," I murmur softly.

His frown deepens. "Do you want it to be just business between us?"

"I..."

I can't force the words out of my mouth. I know damn well what I want, but I'm scared. There's so much on the table, so much at stake for the both of us. Being with Tony will only cause more trouble. Everything is moving so fast that I can't make sense of what our lives have become.

Before I manage to say something though, I hear Ellie crying from her room. I sigh, conveying my apology through my expression and starting to get up from his bed. But Tony gently holds my wrist and pulls me back to bed.

"I'll go," he offers, placing a gentle kiss on my lips before dressing up and disappearing from the room.

I'm left to myself and my unwelcome thoughts.

What should I do? Accepting my feelings for Tony will only make me more vulnerable than I already am. I have no idea what Mateo is planning, and we haven't heard from him in a while. I am officially married to Tony now, and for the outside world, we're in a love bubble. It would make no difference to our enemies if we're really together or not.

So, why can't I simply accept him? What am I so afraid of?

I know the answer for that, but I'm not willing to acknowledge it.

Opening my heart to him would hurt me more than Mateo ever did. I don't even know if Tony sees me the same way I see him. I don't know what goes on in his heart and I am scared as hell to find out.

If he ever tells me he doesn't feel the same about me, I don't know what I'd do. So, for now, it's better that I just keep my feelings to myself.

Before anything else, I need to make sure he is not still mad at me about Ellie. I could never live happily if I knew he resents me.

It takes Tony a long time to return and I begin to worry. If Ellie is taking this long to fall asleep again, he might need my help to put her to bed. So, I toss the sheets to the side and go to her room to check on them.

The door is slightly open and I push it slowly, finding Tony by the window with Ellie asleep in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. He is looking outside at the night-dark sky, too focused on whatever is going on in his mind. Even though he's physically here, I don't think his mind is present.

"Is everything all right?" I ask in a whisper, not wanting to scare him or wake Ellie.

He looks at me over his shoulder, not daring to move too much. He nods and puts Ellie in her crib, kissing her forehead before pulling the blanket over her.

My heart threatens to burst while I watch how he takes care of her so gently. It's everything I could have ever wished for.

After making sure Ellie hasn't woken up, he gently grabs my hand and guides me out of her room and back to his. The muscles in his back are tense and he's silent the entire way, which makes me anxious.

"Tony, what happened?" I ask softly as soon as he closes the door behind us.

He looks at me with creased brows, his jaw clenched.

"I need to tell you something, but you need to listen to me very carefully, okay?" he begins, and of course that doesn't help my anxiety.

I nod, unable to trust my own voice, and I struggle to keep my hands from shaking. Based on his tone and expression, I know something happened. That must be the same reason why he showed up so worried earlier.

I sit down on his bed, preparing myself for whatever he has to say. He sits by my side and grabs my hand, squeezing it lightly while looking into my eyes.

"Mateo's men are in the city, looking for Ellie," he tells me gloomily.

My blood freezes even though this is something I've been expecting to happen.

"You mean he's looking for us," I correct him.

But Tony shakes his head firmly, not breaking eye contact with me. "He wants Ellie. And he put a mark on your head."

"What do you mean he put a mark on my head?"

There is no way this means what I think it means. Mateo would never do that. Why would he want Ellie? Why would he not want me?

"He wants you dead," Tony clarifies. I appreciate him not lying to me, or keeping the truth from me, but I don't know how to take in this information. In all of my nightmares, Mateo does everything he can to get me. Not Ellie. Me. The idea of Ellie being his target now is sickening.

Why would he change his approach? Why would he change his mind all of a sudden?

"That can't be true," I manage, my voice shaking. "This is another one of his evil plans. He probably wants to use Ellie as bait to get to me."

"I don't think that's what he wants," Tony counters. "His men had orders to kill you on the spot, Chloe. You need to be more careful than ever now, hear me? I can't afford to lose you. And I won't let him get anywhere near Ellie. I promise you." I can tell he's nervous. He's trying his best not to scare me, but I can tell by the way his eyes are roaming all over my face, and the strength he is using to squeeze my hand, that he's just as terrified as I am.

Something doesn't feel right to me, though.

It makes no sense that Mateo would suddenly want me dead. Not that I think that highly of myself, or that I harbor any...jealous feelings over his decision to put a mark on my head over keeping me alive to torture me, but still, he is not the kind of man to accept defeat. If anything, he'd do anything he can to prove his point, to show me how he can get whatever he wants and that no one escapes him, especially me.

This must be a trap, something he is doing to get closer to me, to my family.

Then an idea occurs to me and I feel a shiver run down my spine as I realize he must be coming for Tony too. Now this is no longer about me or Ellie. I have somehow involved Tony deeper than ever in a problem I can't figure out how to fix. "Listen to me." Tony's voice pulls me back from my reverie. His hands are cupping my face, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "I promise you that motherfucker won't put a finger on you or Ellie. I just need you to be careful, that's all I'm asking."

I nod, unsure of what else to say or think. No matter how much I try to comprehend what he just told me, nothing makes sense. And more than ever, I have to accept that Mateo is getting closer and closer to us.

Tony pulls me back to bed, and I lay on his chest, feeling emotionally drained, but too utterly uneasy to fall asleep.

When will this nightmare end? Will it ever?