The church was outside city limits. I wanted the celebration to take place in a renovated barn in the countryside, surrounded by forest, not in the city.
I nodded then checked my reflection once more before I took his outstretched hand. With linked arms we walked out of the suite and down into the hotel lobby. People kept glancing my way, and I had to admit I enjoyed their attention. The dress had cost a small fortune. It was only fair, since as many people as possible would see me in it. This wedding was the biggest social event in the Outfit in years.
Samuel opened the door of the black Bentley for me, and I slipped onto the backseat, trying to gather the skirt of my dress around me. Samuel closed the door and got in the front beside the driver, my bodyguard.
We pulled away and my stomach burst with butterflies. In less than one hour I’d be Danilo’s wife. It still seemed impossible. Soon, the tall buildings gave way to the occasional field and trees.
Samuel shifted in the front seat, pulling his gun.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
We sped up. Samuel glanced over his shoulder but not at me. I turned as well and saw a car close behind us with two men. Samuel took his phone out and lifted it to his ear. Before he could say anything, another car came from the side and collided with our trunk. We spun around. I cried out, gripping the seat as the belt bit into my skin.
“Down!” Samuel shouted. I unbuckled and threw myself forward, my arms over my head. We collided with something else then came to a stop. What was going on?
Samuel shoved open the door and began firing. My bodyguard followed him. The windows burst, and I screamed as shards of glass rained down on my skin. A man cried out, and my head flew up. “Samuel?” I screamed.
“Run, Fina!”
I pushed through the gap between the front seats and found Samuel leaning against the side of the car, blood spilling out over the hand he pressed to his side. I struggled out of the door and sank to the ground beside him, touching him. “Sam?”
He gave me a strained smile. “I’ll be fine. Run, Fina. They want you. Run.”
“Who wants me?” I blinked at him, uncomprehending. He fired at our attackers again. “Run!”
I bolted to my feet. If they wanted me, they’d follow me if I ran and leave Samuel alone. “Call reinforcement.”
I kicked off my heels and gripped my dress and began running as fast as I could. White petals from the destroyed flower arrangement stuck to my toes. Nobody shot at me. That meant they wanted me alive, and I knew that couldn’t be a good thing. I turned to the right, where a forest spread out in front of me. It was my only chance to lose them. My breath came in short gasps. I was fit and a good runner, but the heavy fabric of my dress slowed me down. Twigs tugged at the dress, tearing it, making me stumble.
Heavier steps sounded behind me. I didn’t dare look over my shoulder to see who was chasing me. The steps closed in on me. Oh God. This dress was making me too slow.
Had Samuel called reinforcement yet?
And then a worse thought banished my last. What if Samuel didn’t make it? I turned to the right, deciding to run back to the car. Another set of steps joined the first. Two pursuers.
Fear pounded in my veins, but I didn’t slow. A shadow appeared in the corner of my eye, and suddenly a tall shape came from my side. I screamed out a second before an arm slung around my waist. The force of it made me lose my balance, and I fell to the ground. A heavy body crushed mine. The air rushed out of my lungs and my vision turned black from the impact of landing hard on the forest floor.
I started kicking, thrashing, clawing and screamed at the top of my lungs. But a few layers of tulle covered my face and made movement difficult. If Dad and Dante had arrived with reinforcement, they needed to hear me to be able to find me.
A hand clamped down on my mouth, and I bit down.
“Fuck!”
The hand pulled back and the voice was distantly familiar, but I couldn’t place it in my panic. The tulle still obstructed my view. I made out two shapes above me. Tall. One dark, one blond.
“We need to hurry,” someone snarled. I shivered at the stark brutality of the voice.
A heavy weight settled on my hips, and two strong hands gripped my wrists, shoving them down on the ground. I tried bucking away, but a hand came toward my face. I tried to bite again, but I didn’t reach it. My range of motion was limited with my arms above my head. The tulle was removed from my face, and finally I could see my assailants. The man sitting on my hips had black hair and black eyes and a scar on his face. The look he gave me sent a wave of terror through my body.
I’d seen him before but wasn’t sure where. My eyes darted to the other man holding my hands down, and I froze. I knew the blond man and those blue eyes. Fabiano Scuderi, the boy I’d played with when I was younger. The boy who had run off and joined the Camorra.
Finally, it clicked. My gaze darted back to the black-haired man. Remo Falcone, Capo of the Camorra. I jerked violently, a new wave of panic giving me strength. I arched up but Remo didn’t budge.
“Calm down,” Fabiano said. One of his hands bled from where I’d bitten him. Calm down? Calm down? The Camorra was trying to kidnap me!
Opening my mouth, I tried to scream again. This time Remo covered my mouth before I got the chance to hurt him. “Give her the tranquilizer,” he ordered.
I shook my head frantically but something pricked the inside of my elbow and pierced my skin. My muscles became heavy, but I didn’t black out completely. I was released and Remo Falcone slid his hands under me, straightening up with me in his arms. My limbs hung limply down at my sides, but my eyes remained open and on my captor. His dark eyes settled on me briefly before he started running. Trees and sky rushed by as I peered up.
“Fina!” I heard Samuel in the distance.
“Sam,” I wheezed, barely a sound.
Then Dad. “Fina? Fina, where are you?”
More male voices rang out, coming to save me.
“Faster!” Fabiano shouted. “To the right!” Twigs snapped under foot. Remo breathed heavier, but his grip on me remained firm. We burst out of the forest and onto a street.
Suddenly, tires screeched and hope filled me, but it crashed when I was put inside a vehicle in the backseat, and Remo slipped in beside me.
“Drive!”
I stared up at the gray ceiling of the car, my breathing ragged.
“My, what a beautiful bride you are,” Remo said. I raised my eyes and met his, wishing I hadn’t because the twisted smile on his face burned through me like a thunderstorm of terror. Then I passed out.
REMO
Serafina passed out beside me. I regarded her closely. Now that she wasn’t thrashing or screaming, I could admire her like a bride deserved. Dots of blood splattered her dress like rubies and marred the creamy skin of her neckline. Pure perfection.
“We seem to have shaken them off,” Fabiano muttered.
My eyes were drawn to the back window, but nobody was following us for the moment. We had injured, not killed Serafina’s two companions, so part of the forces would waste time tending to their injuries.
“She is a nice piece of ass,” Simeone commented from behind the steering wheel.
I leaned forward. “And you will never look at her again unless you want me to rip your eyeballs out and shove them up your ass. One more fucking disrespectful word from you and your tongue will keep your eyeballs company, understood?”
Simeone gave a jerky nod.
Fabiano caught my gaze with a curious expression. I leaned back and returned my gaze to the woman curled up beside me on the seat. Her hair was pinned tightly to her head as if even that part of her needed to be tamed and under control, but one wayward strand had freed itself and curled wildly over her temple. I wrapped it around my finger. I couldn’t wait to find out how tame Serafina really was.
I carried a limp Serafina into the motel room and set her down on one of the two beds. Reaching for a twig that had tangled itself in her hair, I removed it before undoing her updo, letting her hair spill out on the pillow. I straightened.
Fabiano sighed. “Cavallaro will seek retribution.”
“He won’t attack us as long as we have her. She’s vulnerable and he knows he can’t get her out of Vegas alive.”
Fabiano nodded, his eyes moving to Serafina who lay limply on the bed, her face tilted to the side, her long elegant neck on display. My gaze lowered to the fine lace above the soft swell of her breast. A high-collared dress. Modest and elegant, nothing vulgar or overly sexy about Dante’s niece, and yet she would have brought many men to their knees. She looked like a fucking angel with her blond hair and pale skin, and the white dress only emphasized that impression. The epitome of innocence and purity. I had to bite back a laugh.
“What are you thinking?” Fabiano asked warily as he followed my gaze toward the bride.
“That they couldn’t have emphasized her innocence more if they’d tried.” I moved closer, my gaze trailing over her narrow hips. “I prefer the blood stains on her dress.”
“It was her wedding. Of course they would emphasize her purity. You know how it is. Girls in our circles are kept protected until they enter marriage. They must lose their innocence on their wedding night. Cavallaro and her fiancé will probably do anything to make sure she returns to them untouched. Danilo is Underboss. Her father is Underboss. Dante fucking Cavallaro is her uncle. No matter what you ask of them, they will deliver. If you ask them to hand over my father now, they will do it and we will be rid of her.”