Doormat By Sam Crescent NovelM80021 Doormat (Chapter 04)

Diego was proving to be a challenge to Liana. So far, it didn’t seem to matter what she did, he was not even close to approaching divorce. She had attempted to reason with her father, but he had told her these matters were out of his hands, and his only advice was that she should try to make it work. Make it work! Her husband had called her a doormat.

So, escaping her guards was all part of the fun. They didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves when they found her gone. They always called Diego. Sometimes he would find her, other times, she would just go home without a word spoken. She would find any excuse to be gone.

This was not just about the divorce. The truth was, she was gutted when she was alone with her thoughts, and what she heard in front of her friends. She felt like a damn fool, when moments before, telling her friends her marriage was going great, and that she truly felt like she might even be able to fall in love with him. Then, she heard what he had to say. His three friends. Her three friends.

The horrible truth was that she thought their marriage was going strong, but it was actually fake.

“You know, I’m not sure about this,” Mia said.

“What’s not to be sure about?” Tatiana asked. “We’re not at an unknown club. We’re at one of Diego’s clubs. We’re all here together, so we have our group number, and we’re not doing anything wrong. We’re not going to find a male mistress to screw. No, it’s all good.”

Liana felt for Tatiana.

Emilio hadn’t come out and said that he was regularly fucking his mistress, he had only implied it. Even still, she knew Tatiana was hurt.

Liana would be hurt if Diego decided to go for someone else. It was insane, really. In their mafia world, they were all aware that faithfulness only fell to the woman. Her parents had been faithful. She knew there were other couples in the mafia who were also faithful, so it was there.

As for Tatiana, her friend hadn’t returned home and was currently back with her parents. From what she knew, Tatiana hadn’t even talked to Emilio.

“Wouldn’t that be something, though?” Tatiana asked.

“What?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“If we decided to act like the men and start flirting with random guys, maybe even taking them to a special location to screw?” Tatiana asked. Her brows were raised as if it was an innocent question.

Liana knew her friend was hurting.

“How about we just dance? o flirting, and doing something we might regret?” Liana asked.

She was all for causing trouble, but damaging her reputation by sleeping with a random guy was not part of the equation. She had a feeling Diego would divorce her, if not kill her, for the humiliation.

Grabbing Tatiana’s hands, she walked her onto the dance floor, pulled her into a bear hug, and simply refused to let go.

“It’s going to be all right,” she said.

She didn’t know if anyone had taken even a second to tell Tatiana that.

“Don’t,” Tatiana said. “I know you’re hurting because your husband said some bad stuff. At least he didn’t go around screwing other women. My man did. My husband smiled at me, brought me gifts, and made me think our marriage could be a success, but all the time it was just a lie.”

Liana held her friend tightly. She hadn’t even asked Diego if he had a mistress. The very thought of him being with another woman tightened her stomach and made her feel incredibly sick.

There was no way she was going to allow those feelings to overtake the night. This was supposed to be a night out for the four of them. They had no guards, nothing to keep them contained. They were not being forced into the VIP area, nor were they being kept from the dance floor, which is why she had evaded her guards. They had a little too much control, and she didn’t like it.

Letting the music flow over her, she danced with her friends and ignored a few of the men that tried to come and dance with them. She couldn’t help but point at her wedding finger, which held the engagement ring and wedding band she had gotten during her brief courtship with Diego and then marriage. She was not interested in sleeping with other men.

She wanted to be completely clear of Diego, and then she would find a way to get over him. Maybe she was wrong, and she didn’t have feelings for him at all. That had to be true. There was no way someone could fall in love in six months. That was just crazy.

Liana didn’t know what happened, but the air suddenly felt thick. The other women felt it too, but then she didn’t have a chance to question it as a hand banded around her waist and pulled her back. She was going to fight that grip, but there was no point. Her husband had wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him.

“Do you think it’s funny to go running off to party?” he asked.

Liana saw each of her friends’ husbands had arrived. Tatiana slapped Emilio around the face, then stormed off to the counter with him close behind.

Looking for someone in Lahore today
Willing to lie about how we met
She turned to look at her husband, putting her arms around his neck.

“Yes.”

“I don’t think this is fun, Liana. You are aware that all four of you are prizes to our enemies.”

“I’m not in the enemies’ bar, and besides, don’t they have to, like, watch for the same routine, which makes it easier for enemies to get people? In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t exactly followed protocol, and there are no guards.”

“Damn it, Liana, this is not funny.” He glared at her.

“Did I say it was?” And with that, she turned on her heel, determined to walk away and not talk to him.

She should have known he would have other ideas. This was Diego. He grabbed her arm, and there was no way for her friends to stop him as he marched her right off the dance floor. Before she knew what was happening, they were in his office.

“What the hell?” she asked.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“No, I’m not. I’m trying to get myself free of you. In case you didn’t notice, I was here with friends, and don’t even try to tell me I wasn’t safe. I saw my damn brother in the VIP section.” She pulled back and then laughed. “That little snitch. That’s why you knew where we were, didn’t you? He told you.”

“You shouldn’t be without your guards.”

“My brother was right there, and I was in one of your nightclubs.”

“Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? You could have been poisoned right here in this club. Roofied. Raped. Beaten. This may be my club, but our enemies are willing to do whatever it takes. Even to women and civilians. Anything to weaken us.”

He looked so … angry.

“Do you have a mistress?” Liana asked.

“What?”

“Do you have a mistress? You know, a woman you sleep with that is not your wife?”

He took a step toward her, then another. Liana tried to keep her distance, but his desk stopped her from running away and leaving.

“Do I look like a fucking idiot? No, I don’t have a mistress, and no, the only woman I have been fucking since we met is you.”

And then he grabbed the back of her neck, pulled her forward, and kissed her. This was not a gentle kiss. Diego usually gave her gentle, sweet, kisses. Something that made her toes curl but rarely left a mark. This was filled with passion, possibly a bit of anger, and a lot of heat. She moaned and pressed her body against him, not wanting to stop.

He ran his hands all over her body, going from the back of her neck, down toward her ass, gripping her flesh. She moaned his name, and then it was like a flash of cold water, as she pulled away from him.

“I want to go home.”

She didn’t like how easy it was to succumb to him, with just a single kiss. She wanted a divorce, and she was not going to stop until she got it.

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Liana wouldn’t stop running away from her guards.

Diego was growing tired of his men’s incompetence. Her father had informed him that his wife was very much a wild one. Of course, he was not made aware of this before his wedding day. She had always been so agreeable. This was new. So, he had no choice but to take her to work with him. At first, she was constantly trying to get away and evade him. In the end, to prove he was the one and only man in charge, he grabbed some cuffs, placed one around her wrist, and the other around his.

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“What the hell?” she asked, trying to pull on the cuffs that now bound her to him.

“Now, you will sit your ass right here,” he said, pointing to his knee.

She growled and still attempted to pull free, but he wouldn’t let her go. She had to understand that he was the one in charge, not her. What he said, went. He raised a brow as she let out the cutest little growl.

Still, she kept trying to find an escape, and then she did sit her ass on his knee. Of course, Liana attempted to make it hurt just a little by pretty much falling onto his knee with a thud, but that didn’t work.

With their cuffed hands, he placed his on her thigh, then got to work making the necessary calls he needed to make and going over the figures. At first, Liana was tense and kept looking in the opposite direction. She was so adorable. The truth was, he was loving her attitude. He relished the fight and fire she had going on. Waking up in the morning to find her already making breakfast, not sure of what the day was going to bring, actually excited him.

His wife, by being naughty and acting out, was intriguing him even more. He was not going to allow her a divorce. Now, if she started to act differently, giving up, not doing anything and not showing this kind of fire, he might have considered it. Liana was proving to be a firecracker, and he loved to see just how far she was willing to push. He knew she was not going to cheat on him.

Even Enzo Sr. and Jr. said there would be limits to what she was willing to do. He had seen that at the dance club the other night. There were always limits, and he was happy to see her push.

“That’s wrong,” Liana said.

“What?” He had been so distracted by her behavior and how much he was loving this side of his wife, that he hadn’t really been paying attention to the paperwork in front of him.

Yet, Liana had, and she saw something wrong. This was not good. He needed to stay focused and not be distracted by his young wife.

Staring at the figures on the sheet, he had to read it three times to actually see the error, which he didn’t fucking like. He knew this meant he should leave Liana at home, but he liked that even less. The details on the accounts he was given didn’t match. Pulling up his calculator on the computer, he typed in the details and saw there were nearly ten thousand dollars missing. He sat back.

“This is not good, is it?” she asked.

“No, it’s not.”

“What does it mean?”

Diego looked at her and was tempted to tell her it wasn’t her place to know, but he had a feeling he would pay in the long term for that.

“It depends. This has either been an error, or between the first initial count and the actual transferal account, money has been taken,” Diego said.

“Neither is good. You either have a thief at the main point, during transit, or at the latest drop,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Let me guess, do you need to go and do your job?” she asked.

“Yep, it does, but seeing as I can’t rely on you keeping your ass in line…” He lifted her up out of the seat and sat her on the desk.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer her. Instead, he kissed her. He loved her lips, and it had felt too damn long since he had kissed her.

“You’re coming with me.”

“You think that is a wise idea?”

“It is the only idea that will work. You’re not going to do as you’re told, so I am going to have no choice but to make you do as you are told.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “So, you’re coming with me.”

He grabbed the key from his pocket and removed the cuff, but he didn’t leave it at his office. He pocketed the cuffs and then lifted her right up and over his shoulder, giving her delightful ass a slap as he did so. She let out a yelp.

“This is not funny. I can walk, you know.” She hit his ass, but he didn’t care.

Carrying her down to the car, his men knew to look the other way. His wife was wearing a pair of jeans today, but her ass looked amazing, full and ripe, and spankable.

Once at the car, he made sure to put the child lock on the main door so she couldn’t try to escape. He knew how slippery his wife was. Also, it helped that his men had informed him many times how she escaped.

Sliding into the driver’s side, his men got into their own cars, with one pulling out in front of him, and the other to the rear, watching his front and back.

The first port of call was to go to the casino where the money was counted, before it was distributed.

“You know, if you asked nicely, I would have happily just come with you.”

“Don’t lie, Liana,” he said.

“So, what is going to happen?” she asked. “Do you have to go in with your men and play like good cop, bad cop? Or, is it like ‘I’m the mafia man,’ and you will tell me what to do?”

He couldn’t help but smirk as she started to deepen her voice, attempting to imitate him.

“Cute,” he said.

“Come on. I’m serious. How does this work?”

“You’re going to stay in the car, and I am going to talk to them.”

“I get to stay in the car. Diego, that is so boring. Come on. I can help. I can be threatening.”

He glanced over at her just as she was sending out one of the most adorable glares he had seen.

“Sure, I am quaking in my boots.”

“You’re not fair.”

“I am keeping you safe. This is what I’ve got to do.”

During the journey over to the casino, she kept trying to convince him to take her, but he was not budging. When it came to her safety, he was not going to even attempt to reason with her.

Parking the car, he took out the keys, so she wasn’t tempted to drive away, then he slammed the doors closed and locked them. Liana was already out of her seat, and she hit her palm flat against the window.

“Come on, this is not funny!”

“I’m not laughing.”

“Why do I have to stay here!”

“This is not your place.” He turned his back on her and made his way inside. He did demand one of his men stay by the car, just in case Liana was able to somehow break free and get the car going.

He was starting to realize he didn’t quite know his wife as well as he thought he should. On arriving at the casino, he went straight down to the basement, where his head manager was sitting in a single chair, sweating profusely. His name was Henry, and he had been working for him ever since he opened the casino.

Diego liked Henry. He was a good man, a father, a husband. Diego pulled out his gun and placed it against Henry’s head. The man was already sweating and now his hands were up in the air.

“Tell me where the missing money is?” he asked.

Missing money within the mafia was not good. A traitor, a thief, anyone could have that money. Everything had to be accounted for, and anyone who turned their back on the Colombo Mafia faced the consequences. Francesco wouldn’t demand anything less.

“I swear all the money was there when I got it loaded on the truck. Check the security cameras. Everything is in place. I know there is always a risk, so I record every step, and once all is in place, I then delete the whole footage. I swear.”

It would be easier to shoot him in the head, but then he would have to find another person he could trust. That was even fucking rarer.