23
“Everyoneis watching us.”
“I promise you there isn’t a single person in this room looking at me.” His lips were at my temple, and his hands were on my back as we swayed to the smooth musical notes. “Amalia, you look stunning.”
My face flushed, and I leaned into him, taking a moment to breathe in the crisp scent of his cologne. “You clean up pretty good yourself, Cain.”
“I believe that title also belongs to you now. Wife.”
I laid my head on his shoulder and sighed. “We did it,” I whispered. “We pulled it off. Everyone seemed convinced.”
“Effortless, vicious. You and I don’t have to try. You know that. Anyone can see, even now, that the last place I want to be is on this dance floor.”
I lifted my gaze, confused by his words and maybe slightly insulted, until I saw the fire in his blue eyes and how they darkened. “And where exactly would you like to be right now?”
“My favorite place. Inside you.”
Closing my eyes, I swallowed the moan fighting its way up my throat. “Come to my room tonight, Kai.”
With his thumb and forefinger, he tilted my chin. “Our room?”
Ours?
Against my better judgment, I nodded, because no other response would do.
Maybe this arrangement wouldn’t be the hell I’d envisioned and dreaded for so long. Life beside this man excited me in ways I hadn’t felt in a long while. My belly dropped to my feet at the thought. It was unnerving for so many reasons, but the biggest was, what if I couldnt say goodbye at the end of it all?
“Mind if I cut in?”
Gio tapped Kai’s shoulder, and his handsome face lit up when my new husband pressed a kiss to my lips and handed me off.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said, throwing my arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
I sighed heavily. “After what happened at the compound, I’ve purposely avoided you.”
“I noticed. I’m sorry, too,” he whispered, emotion thickening his voice. “What I did was reckless, I know. But when I overheard your conversation, I was afraid for you. I don’t want to lose you, Amalia. Not you, too.”
His face blurred behind the tears that had gathered in my eyes. “Gio, you won’t even ride Miss Oscar because you’re afraid she’ll throw you, but you snuck into one of my cars when you knew that we…that things would get dangerous.”
He wiped my tears. “I did that for you.”
I squeezed him until he grunted, but I didn’t care, and I held him tighter. He did nothing to shove out of my embrace. “Don’t you ever do that again. If something had happened to you, I would have never forgiven myself.” Gripping his shoulders, I said, “Promise me.”
“I promise. But you…”
“Gio, I’ve been doing this a long time. I can’t promise that things will always go as planned, but for now—”
“But why? We don’t need the money, Amalia. And I know Kai is loaded.”
Despite the seriousness of our conversation, I couldn’t help but find humor in his knowledge of Kai’s financial background.
“It’s not just about money. There are things you don’t understand. Our family can’t just walk away from… from…”
Gio’s eyebrows knitted together as he watched me stutter my words while looking past him.
“From what? What is it?”
It had been days since I’d felt the urge to sink a blade into flesh or empty my mag into something that had once been moving. The feeling rolled over me in hot, pulsing waves as I advanced to the other side of the wooden dance floor.
“Helena, losing those pretty nails would be a damn shame.”
She twisted to face me, her arm still around my husband’s neck. “Amalia, I never took you for the jealous type.”
“I’m not.”
“Hey,” Kai said, stepping between us. When he attempted to thread his fingers with mine, I swatted his hand away. I was being irrational, and I knew it because Helena had Silas. But I suddenly couldn’t unsee the image of her and Kai fucking, and now she was here, with her arm around him.
What would people think?
“How are we supposed to be convincing when you’re cozying up with your ex at your wedding? How do you think that makes me look? You will not disrespect me, Cain, especially not here.”
“Amalia, you’re being—”
“Watch how you finish that sentence. You say crazy, and I’ll cut off your dick.”
Helena had the audacity to cross her arms and grin as she watched us. “I knew I always liked you,” I heard her say as I turned my back and walked off the dance floor. I kept pace until I reached the end of the paved walkway, and I tossed my heels, crossing onto the grass toward an iron bench.
Heavy steps followed, and I knew it was Kai.
“Mu?eca.”
Or not.
“Rocco, I didn’t exactly want company.”
“I’m sorry. You’ve been the center of attention all day, and I haven’t been able to congratulate the new bride.”
“Don’t be a hypocrite. We both know you’re not a fan of Kai’s.”
He chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You know me well.”
I shrugged him off. Things had changed with Rocco ever since the compound. No matter how much I tried to convince myself, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was somehow involved. It was a hard truth to reconcile, considering I’d known him my whole life, and my father trusted him with his. But without concrete evidence, it was just a wild accusation.
His brow quirked when I moved away, and we regarded each other suspiciously, as if waiting for the other to say something or make a move.
“Amalia?” he questioned, stepping closer. “What’s wrong?”
I wasn’t the type to hold my tongue for anyone, but I suddenly felt strangely vulnerable, and with only a blade strapped to my thigh, if anything went down, I wasn’t confident that it was a fight I’d win.
“Nothing,” I lied.
He moved in closer and dared to lift my chin.
As I swatted him away a second time, another voice joined in. “You know, the men in my life don’t ask questions about another man’s hands on what’s theirs.”
Helena took a casual stance beside Rocco, but I knew that every instinct was on alert.
“Are you going to call your boyfriend, the guy with the ponytail?” he asked, scoffing.
I sat on the bench and crossed my legs, suddenly intrigued.
“Oh no, he knows better than to steal my fun.”
Rocco regarded her, eyes falling on the Ares ring that adorned her forefinger.
“Amalia, I was also coming by to let you know I’m heading out early.” His stony glare slid toward Helena. “It’s a little crowded here anyway.”
“Bye, Ricky,” she said with a smirk.
“It’s Rocco.”
“I know.”
Rocco motioned as if he were going to say his goodbyes with a peck on the cheek, as was his MO with me, but even he knew that something had fractured between us. With a nod, he turned and disappeared down the dark walkway as I kept watch, paranoia getting the best of me.
“Who’s the asshole?” Leni sat beside me on the stone bench, making no effort to conceal the blade she’d tucked in her thigh strap when the slit of her dress fell open.
I rolled my eyes. Clearly, Kai has a type.
“What do you want?”
“Come on, Amalia. We go back years. Kai is a dear friend. And I know you’re not jealous.”
“Jealous, no. But you hanging off my new husband isn’t exactly a good look. There are eyes and ears everywhere, Helena.”
She laughed and leaned both elbows on the back of the bench. “No one will believe that man has eyes for anyone else. In case you missed it, he looks at you like you’re the only person in the room. Hell, maybe even the whole goddamn city.”
There it was, that feeling like the pit of my stomach had fallen to my toes. Of course, I’d noticed because I’d also felt it. For just a moment, I had envisioned that our circumstances were different. That he and I were getting married because it was what we wanted.
Because we were in love.
Living in that reality was easier than the one where my hands were tied, as were his. I wasn’t the woman who followed orders. I gave them, and it killed me that this was the one rule I couldn’t break—one where I had to give up my power and choice.
“Are you ready to get back to the party? Kai is probably fidgeting like a kid, waiting for you. I had to threaten his life to come talk to you.”
As I motioned to get to my feet, Helena put a hand on my forearm. “Hey, Kai is special. Don’t hurt him.”
We locked eyes. There was an unspoken warning in her tone, but the threat was loud and clear. I sent a smirk her way. It was one of the many reasons she and I had always gotten along.
Stab first and ask questions later.
Helena twisted as she got to her feet, but in the next breath, she plopped down beside me again, as if she’d lost her balance, and released a small gasp.
“What’s wrong?”
“I—I,” she stuttered and brought a hand up to her left shoulder, her eyes widening when she looked at the blood streaking her fingers.
“Amalia,” she whispered. “Duck.”
The impact of a silenced bullet hit the stone beside her, sending pieces of rock flying in all directions.
Fuck.
She and I hit the ground and hid behind a stone ledge. Fear gripped me at the realization we were under attack.
“This can’t be happening. We hired extra security. Someone is fucking us over.”
“Well, they ruined my fucking dress and shot me in my goddamn good arm. They’re dead.”
“Agreed,” I said in a hushed voice, conscious that whoever shot at us was still close by. “But we have to go about this with a clear head. The bullet came from over there. If we stay on this side of the wall, we can round the corner and come up behind them.”
Helena held her arm as blood spilled in a steady stream between her tightly clasped fingers. I tore several layers of tulle from my dress and made a tourniquet around her wound.
“Leni, there’s no exit wound. This should help, but I need you to tell me if you start feeling lightheaded.”
“It takes me getting shot for you to care and call me Leni?” Her smile was sincere but tight, the pain getting the best of her.
“Well, my probability of walking out of here is greater with you than not, so don’t get your hopes too high. It’s purely selfish.”
“Noted.”
Panic suddenly set in as realization dawned. If they were here, another group could also attack the reception guests. Had they done so already? Fuck. My parents, Gio.
Kai.
We’d only managed to crawl a few feet when three pairs of heavy boots landed beside us, the barrels of their guns pointed at the top of our heads. Dread snared my heart. Leni was a fierce and skilled fighter, but down one arm.
“I suggest you stay down.”
“Who are you working for?” I asked, not expecting an answer, but I had to try.
“This is one hell of a party. Probably cost a fortune.”
I gazed up at the three men, surprised to see them dressed as our security team. Though I didn’t recognize them, that didn’t mean they hadn’t been here all along, as many had been hired by my father. I was sick to my stomach at the thought that we’d put our trust in these men, only for them to betray us in the worst way.
And on my wedding day, no less.
Rage.
It was hot and tasted sweet on my tongue, or maybe I was anticipating the smell of their blood at the end of my blade. I extended my hand to Helena and squeezed hers, hoping she’d understand that we only had seconds to act and that whatever we did had to be lightning fucking fast. No matter how much training we’d had, they could overpower us if we were disarmed, and I knew that was their next objective.
When she squeezed my hand back, I knew it was go time.
With no parting words or sarcastic comments, I slid my blade from where I’d hidden it between my thighs in the grass and went for the most vulnerable spot that would bring him to his knees.
Gripping the leather handle, I plunged the knife into his ball sack. His partner hesitated for a second when he heard his howl, and it was just long enough for me to slash and puncture the second man’s thigh and disarm him.
A gunshot went off, piercing the dirt next to my leg. He didn’t have the opportunity to try again. Leni buried her blade into the third man’s gut, sliding the steel in a vertical direction, until his insides poured out and landed on his boots. Dropping his gun with panicked eyes and shaking hands, he attempted to put himself back together, but he knew it was pointless.
The first man cupped his dick and spewed every derogatory word he could think of. Unfortunately for him, his voice irritated the hell out of me, and he needed to be quiet in case more were on their way.
I cut into his throat and severed his vocal cords, blood spattering on my face and chest and down the front of my dress. With a smile, Leni was about to do the same to perp number two, but I shouted, “No! Leave him alive. I have questions.”
“You won’t get shit out of me,” he spat, saliva dribbling from the corners of his mouth.
“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I won’t have fun in the process.” I noted Leni’s eager expression as she hovered over him. “Make sure he can’t escape.”
“Perfect,” was all she said before slicing through the back of his ankles. The Achilles tendon made an interesting sound when severed and snapped out of place. Though it was nearly impossible to hear over the man’s wails.