Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Gideon
Mila was stunning. Her arm tucked close to her father, she walked down the aisle toward Alex.
Her dress, as Rita had explained to me, was a fit and flare with lace and sequins covering her arms. She looked like a beautiful winter day and when I glanced at Alex, there were tears in his eyes. He was enamored.
Olivia and Owen had done their duty and were now sitting between Penn and me. I saw Livy moving her fingers, likely thinking about her song she’d be playing in a couple of hours.
The ceremony was short, sweet, and utterly romantic. Dean did a wonderful job as the officiant, too. Once they were told they could kiss, Alex dipped Mila and kissed her like no one was watching. We cheered and threw petals, then spent the next hour in photography hell.
“I can’t see,” Penn whispered in my ear after we took what had to be our one hundredth picture. “All I see are flashes everywhere.”
I laughed. “Just don’t move—it’ll wear off eventually.”
“That’s good, everyone,” the photographer announced, and there was a collective hum of happiness.
It was a gorgeous venue, and I understood why Mila wanted it here.
The inside was decorated like a winter wonderland.
Crystal and pearl trees, fairy lights, white and silver linens, ice sculptures, even the flowers gave off the illusion of being frozen in their state of blues, whites, and silver. It was breathtaking.
Dancing, music, drinks, and laughter were in abundance.
“Daddy.”
I turned to Olivia. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“Jennifer said I need to go with her to get ready. Can I?”
I peered up at where Jennifer was standing. She wore a dark-blue dress, her hair was styled in an updo, and her makeup made her seem softer today.
“You look lovely, Jennifer.”
“Oh.” She giggled. “Thank you, same, you look very uh, handsome.”
I smiled. “Okay, baby, go with Jennifer. We’ll be here waiting. I’m excited.”
She squealed excitedly, and I watched as she and Jennifer moved toward the orchestra.
“Dance with me,” Rita ordered me… Let’s call it what it was. She held out her hand.
I chuckled but took it. Her silver floor-length dress glittered under the lights and she looked like a magical creature with diamond flecks in her hair, her makeup giving her a glowing effect.
“How could I say no to such a goddess?”
She cackled and smacked my chest as we reached the dance floor. I pulled her to me and beamed.
“You clean up nice, too.”
I snorted. “I’m always handsome.”
She rolled her eyes but rested her head against my chest. We swayed and enjoyed the moment.
My eyes scanned the room, taking in the festivities. Mila and Alex were going table to table thanking everyone, hugging them. Alex didn’t remove his hand from hers once.
Penn was at the bar talking to Dean, nodding at whatever my brother was telling him as he sipped what I’d bet was an iced tea.
Owen and Matteo were sitting at a table eating what I believed were mini hot dogs. I wasn’t sure, but they clearly were trying to see how many they could shove into their mouth.
Mila’s parents were dancing, as were mine, and I smiled as my dad caught my eye.
I spotted my men circling the venue. I was sure there were more, but this was a huge place, and they were likely spread out. My eyes roamed the large space trying to find three distinct people.
I couldn’t find them, so I asked Rita if she’d seen them.
“Hmm.” She looked over her shoulder. “I saw them at the ceremony and after pictures for a bit. They most likely went outside for air or to smoke or something.”
That was entirely possible. “Yeah, that’s likely.”
She stopped dancing and glanced up at me. “What’s going on?”
“What? Nothing.”
“Since when did you start thinking you could lie to me?”
I sighed. “It’s nothing. Benito has been too quiet, and then I saw them acting weird lately…I’m just paranoid.”
“I mean, you destroyed Benito’s reputation, hid his family away, he may begin hurting financially soon enough. I have no doubt he’ll retaliate at some point, but how could he right now?”
Again, she had a point. “I never underestimate desperate people.”
Her head swayed side to side. “I get it, and that’s probably a good…” Rita’s eyes widened at something behind me. “Carajo,” she whispered.
I turned in time to see four men standing by the huge set of double doors, AK-47s in hand.
My gaze swept the room. My men had taken notice and were drawing their weapons.
By the bar, the bartender lifted what appeared to be a Galil, and I knew he wasn’t one of my men.
All around us were guns…and we were in the middle. Like fish in a barrel.
“Rita,” was all I was able to get out before a spray of bullets rained down above us.
I pushed her to the ground, covering her with my body.
“Matteo!” she shouted. When I looked to where they’d been, I didn’t see them. I could only hope they were hiding.
“It’s okay. Stay low!”
The sounds were pure carnage. Screams, shattering glass, ice, and wood. Rita and I crawled off the dance floor to an upturned table.
“Stay here!” I ordered her.
“Where are you going?”
I took out my Colt 1911. “To find the kids.”
She lifted her dress and I saw her leg holster. She had a .380 Bodyguard. “Go, I’ll be fine.”
I peeked over the table, and it was a horrific sight. Bodies lay lifeless in puddles of blood, screams and cries mixed in with the gun fire. I surveyed the room trying to find the kids, my brother, and Penn, but there was no way to see through all the madness.
Fuck it. I stood, aimed at the first guy I knew wasn’t one of mine, and put a bullet through his skull. I ran toward the table where Matteo and Owen had been sitting, hoping they were under it. I lifted the linen, but no one was there.
“Shit!”
“Looking for something?”
I turned and came face-to-face with Lev, Mila’s brother. He had a .50 caliber Desert Eagle pointed right at me.
“What are you doing?”
“What I have to,” he shouted, slightly deranged.
“And what’s that?” Pure violence reigned throughout the room, but no one was shooting at me…it was odd.
“Two birds one stone, isn’t that what you Americans say?” He chuckled.
“Lev, what’s going on? People are dying.” I lifted my gun at him. “This is my family. You’re a fucking idiot if you think you walk away from this.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not your family. Not all. Mila was to marry Russian, that was the rules, the agreement! She fought it, said no. What was I supposed to do? So, when that man approached us, we saw an opportunity.”
A bullet whizzed past me and I ducked. “I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But what is left behind is all your fault.”
All my fault? He’d said a man approached them, and suddenly I knew exactly who it was.
I sneered. “Benito paid you to do this.”
He laughed loudly. “No, he didn’t have to.
The agreement was broken the moment Mila said I do to that fuck Alex.
Mikhail wanted to let it go, but Benito went to the pakhan.
I don’t know how he found out about the agreement my father made with them, but when the pakhan found out, he ordered the hit.
He wanted it to be a grand display, a message to those who ever thought to betray him.
It just so happened to be exactly what Benito wanted as well. ”
I saw red. “You’re willing to let your family die?”
“I am Bratva!” he shouted. “That is my family. Father left but Mikhail, Ivan, and me stayed. He knew this. He let her marry him anyway. Benito wanted you to lose everything he lost, feel his anger, and we had a debt to carry out…bird. Stone.”
He smirked. Everything he lost…my kids, Penn. “Fuck you, Lev.” I didn’t hesitate; I shot him in the chest and rushed over to the bar where Penn had been. I didn’t see him, but there was blood everywhere.
Fucking hell! I had to find my family.