Chapter 63 Tommy
Tommy
The music is too soft. The notes drift like smoke from the string quartet at the front of the church, curling into the vaulted ceiling, muffled and uneven, getting under my skin.
Every muscle in my body is wired so tight I can hear my pulse in my teeth, and my foot won’t stop tapping against the stone floor, counting the beats—four-four time, ten bars, twenty bars—then starting again.
It’s irritating, but the repetition is a distraction that keeps me from standing up and tearing this fucking place apart.
I sit in the back, the wooden chair cutting into my spine, scanning faces like a soldier clocking enemies.
Black suit, nervous hands, maybe a weapon under the jacket.
The older one two rows ahead?
No ring, eyes flicking too often to the side door.
He’s trained, probably Aurelio’s man.
I catalogue every detail, every gesture, a list of threats arranging and rearranging themselves in my brain in order of priority.
The seconds are ticking by, and only one thing matters: getting Giovanna back by my side.
It’s ten minutes past the time the ceremony was supposed to start.
I left her 28 minutes ago. My phone is a weight in my hand, blank, nothing from her.
How long does it take to have a fucking conversation and say it’s over?
Antonio should be far fucking away from her right now, not stealing more of her time and attention from me.
The quartet starts another piece, syrupy and delicate, and bile burns my throat.
I can’t fucking stand this waiting.
A shadow moves behind me, and I turn to see Vin slide into the chair behind mine.
He leans forward, his gaze down, his voice low.
“What the fuck are we doing here? Where is she?”
My jaw ticks.
“She’s telling Antonio. She’ll text me when she’s done.
”
Vin’s snort is low and vicious. “Bullshit. She’s dipping out with him.
You know she is.”
“Shut the fuck up. She’s leaving him,” I bite out.
Vin studies me, his silence heavy. Then he says, “She’s a flight risk, bro, and you know it or you wouldn’t have that look on your face.
You need to get out of here.”
I whip my head around, meeting his eyes, and try to keep my voice down.
“There’s no way she’s marrying Antonio with my cum still dripping out of her, her dress ripped, mascara and lipstick all over her face.
No fucking way.”
Vin ducks his head, laughter bubbling out of him in spite of himself, and I face forward again.
“Jesus Christ. You’re raw, little brother.
I fucking love it.” He sobers quickly, tapping my shoulder.
“You can tell that this place is about to light up, right? I can feel it. We need to move.”
“No.” My voice is iron.
“I need you on standby for when I commandeer this wedding and marry her. I’m officially making her mine, and you’re going to stand up there with me as my best man.
”
Vin stares at me like I’ve gone completely off the rails.
He speaks slowly, deliberately, like I’m a child, and I stare back at him.
“We are surrounded by Aurelio’s men. Guns in every row.
If you try this, it’ll be a fucking bloodbath.
”
“I don’t care.” My voice cracks, feverish.
“If I have to marry her in a sea of blood, surrounded by bodies, I’ll do it.
She’s my wife. Today.”
Vin scrubs a hand down his face.
“Fuck.” He shakes his head, then mutters, “I can’t leave you here alone.
I’ll post up my men. Bring in the outside units.
”
My chest heaves, and I nod sharply. Relief and panic coil in equal measure.
Then the music changes to a different song, and grows louder.
My heart stops when I see Antonio slowly step up to the altar.
His gaze cuts through the crowd like a blade until it lands on me.
He glares, his eyes molten, daring me to make a move.
My skin prickles, the ringing in my ears starting low and growing stronger, as I glance down at my phone and see nothing from her.
When I look back up, he’s still mad dogging me, and I’m about to shove through all these bitches and tackle his ass to the floor when the doors behind me creak open and every stands up and turns to face them.
My stomach plummets. I keep my head down, hands laced over the back of my neck.
I can’t watch her marry him. I can’t fucking do it.
But it isn’t Giovanna who walks in. It’s Lorenzo, and he’s not walking, he’s running, wild-eyed and screaming.
“She’s gone! Someone took my daughter! Giovanna’s gone!
”
His words rip me to my feet, and I shove my way into the aisle, blocking his path.
When he sees me, his eyes bug out with rage, and he hauls back his fist and slams it into my jaw before I can brace myself.
I don’t stop him. If she’s gone, I deserve it.
I deserve worse.
“What did you do to my daughter?” he roars, spittle flecking his lips.
“Where did you take her?”
Vin lunges at him, tearing him off me.
“Back the fuck up,” he snarls.
Lorenzo thrashes.
“No! She’s gone! Don’t act like it wasn’t you animals who took her!
I know you have her somewhere!”
Vin turns on me, eyes sharp, with a look that says, Did you?
I shake my head once. The look on my face must say it all—despair, horror, jagged terror ripping me apart—because he immediately nods and turns his attention back to Lorenzo.
Lorenzo lunges at me again. “I’ll kill you, you fuck!
Take me to her right now!”
“I’m right fucking here!
” I scream back, voice shredded. “When I left her, she was about to talk to Antonio. Where’s your golden boy now?
”
Antonio storms down the aisle toward us, shoving through people who are gathered around us watching, fury written in every step.
He hits me hard, teeth bared, and I tackle him to the ground, fists flying.
“What the fuck did you do?” he spits, landing a blow to my ribs.
“You won’t stop until we’re all dead—including her.
”
I grunt, blood in my mouth. “She’s mine, you fuck.
She’s none of your God damn business.”
Vin rips me off Antonio and holds me back as two of his men grab Antonio and Lorenzo and hold them off at gunpoint.
His voice is low, urgent. “We need to get the fuck out, bro.”
“Not without her,” I rasp, chest heaving.
I tear away, sprinting through the corridors, back to the bridal suite where I left her.
The door’s ajar, and I shove it open so hard that it bounces against the wall.
Inside is nothing but wreckage. The furniture is overturned, the mirror is cracked and broken, shards of it glittering across the carpet like ice.
Her phone lies shattered, screen dark, on the floor in the midst of it.
She’s gone.
Giovanna and Tommy’s story doesn’t end here!
Read the conclusion of their second chance romance in the second half of the duet, RISE: A Demonio Brotherhood Dark Mafia Romance!