The world may have seen Matthew Corvi as a criminal, but to the family he left behind, he had been their everything.
With Matthew gone, his wife, Amelia, would be left to raise their three children alone. Melina had been unable to hold back her tears as Matthew’s youngest son, Bryce, had touched the casket and cried. It was too much. Beside her, Mac had blinked his eyes in rapid succession, showing that he too was affected by the younger boy’s anguish.
The tears of a child could break down any man.
As they neared the cemetery where the underboss would take his final resting place, Melina glanced at her husband. He stared straight ahead, unseeing. She touched his thigh.
“Mac,” she whispered.
“Yeah, doll?”
He faced her and for the first time, Melina noticed the faint worry lines under his eyes. The uncertainty was taking a toll on him. She couldn’t believe she’d just now realized it.
“How many?” she asked.
“How many, what?”
“How many funerals have you been to?”
“One too many.”
“Oh.”
The honesty of his answer wasn’t unexpected. It was the way he’d said it that struck a nerve in her.
“His children … my heart just broke for them. Children that young shouldn’t have to lose a parent,” Melina said.
“No, they shouldn’t.”
Mac took her hand and held it tight.
“And his wife—it looked as if she’d lost another piece of herself.”
“Amelia has a strong support system around her. She won’t have to deal with all this alone.”
“A support system isn’t going to help when you lie awake at night and want your husband. It won’t help when you want to hear his voice or feel his touch. Some things a support system just can’t help.”
“Melina, what aren’t you saying?”
She swallowed hard. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you. I don’t know if I’d be strong enough to handle it.”
Mac’s eyes grew soft as he pulled her close. His mouth met hers in a kiss that was sweet and tender. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck as they continued to kiss. When he finally pulled away, she rested her forehead against his.
“Nothing in this life is guaranteed, doll, but I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that I come home to you always.”
Melina smiled. “I’d burn this city to the ground if you didn’t.”
Mac laughed as he drew away from her. “I’d expect nothing less from you.”
“Just so you know.”
Mac lifted her hand and held it up. Her wedding ring and engagement band sparkled. “For better or worse. Through thick and thin. We’re going to be all right.”
Melina nodded, momentarily at a loss for words as the car rolled to a stop. “Yeah, we are,” she finally said.
Mac gave her a fleeting smile. “When this is over we’ll have a quiet evening at home. I promise.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
The door was opened by their chauffeur and Mac exited first before turning to help her from the car. It was time to put her brave face back on. She had to put away her secret fears and stand stoically beside her husband once again.
Appearance was everything.
“Mac, where are we going? You know I don’t like surprises.”
It had been nearly a week since Matthew Corvi’s funeral and though Mac was starting to come home before dinner now, things were still tense.
So tense that they still hadn’t been able to go on a proper honeymoon.
Melina thought Luca was being a little paranoid by not wanting them to leave the country. But she knew Mac had no choice but to abide by his boss’s wishes. She still didn’t like it, but she understood the way things had to be. For now.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”
Mac smiled and patted her knee as he drove the Challenger through the evening traffic.
“That’s exactly my point.”
“Relax, doll. You trust me, don’t you?”
Melina rolled her eyes. “Why would you even ask me a stupid question like that? Of course I do. I married you, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. I seem to remember a lot of begging and pleading on my part.”
Melina thumped her husband on the forehead. “I see someone’s got jokes today.”
“Maybe just a few,” Mac said.
He turned off one of the main highways and Melina glanced at their surroundings. She had no idea where they were.
“I don’t recognize any of these landmarks.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
She waited for him to say more and when he didn’t she sighed.
“Okay. I’ll play along, but this had better be an awesome surprise for all the cloak and dagger you have going on.”
“I think it’s really going to be special to you. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Melina smiled at his soft tone. “Anything you do is special, Mac. It’s one of the main reasons I married you.”
“And what are the others?”
Melina tapped her finger on her chin, mischief already creeping into her mind.