Chapter 9
HAVEN
As we pull up to an old church that has a rocky hillside for a backdrop, my heart is pounding in my chest while panic flays me raw.
I notice Uncle Nicolo’s car parked near the entrance, and the second Leo stops the Porsche, I shove the door open and jump out.
I run through the front door and hardly notice the murals on the roof and walls. There are armed men, an older woman I don’t recognize, and then I see Mom, where she’s trying to pull her arm free from Uncle Nicolo’s grip.
“Mom,” I shout before I dart down the aisle to get to her.
“Haven!”
“Let go of the woman,” Massimo orders Uncle Nicolo.
Mom yanks away from him just as I reach her, and we fall into an embrace.
“God, sweetheart,” Mom sobs, her arms wound so tight around me, it hurts.
“Good. Everyone’s here,” Leo says somewhere behind me, his confident footsteps echoing through the church. “Massimo, show the women to a room where Haven can change into the dress.”
“No!” Mom shouts. She pulls me behind her and locks eyes with Leo. “My daughter won’t marry you.”
Not looking bothered at all, Leo adjusts his cuffs while he says, “You can either enjoy a few minutes with your daughter, or I’ll have you locked in a room. The choice is yours.”
“Mom,” I whisper. “Just come with me.”
“This way,” Massimo says, and I take hold of Mom’s hand.
When we step into the room, Massimo says, “You have twenty minutes to change into the dress. I hope it fits.” He pulls the door shut, and we hear a lock engage.
Still struggling to process the shock of the bomb Leo dropped on me, I look at Mom and burst out in tears.
She quickly wraps me up in a tight hug, her body trembling as much as mine.
We hold each other for a while before she pulls back to look at my face. “You’re not marrying Leo Toscano.”
“I have no choice. He’ll kill you.”
Frustration tightens Mom’s features, then she says, “When they open the door, I’m going to distract them so you can run away.”
“No!” I cry. Grabbing hold of Mom’s arm, I shake my head wildly.
“I’m not letting you get hurt.” My mind races to come up with another plan, but then my eyes fall on the white dress hanging on the outside of a closet, and my heart plummets.
I grow cold as the realization sinks in. “I have no choice but to marry Leo.”
To keep Mom out of harm's way, I pull away from her and walk to the dress. When I tug my T-shirt over my head, she begins to cry, the sound heartbreaking.
“I’ll be okay,” I say for both our sakes. “I’ll marry him, and when everyone eventually lets their guards down, we can escape.”
“Oh God, Haven,” Mom weeps inconsolably as I step out of my sneakers and jeans.
My parents raised me in a loving home in Whitefish. I used to dream about leaving the small town and living in a city, but now I’d do anything to go home.
My hand trembles badly when I reach for the lace dress that has a corset bodice and A-line skirt. Floral accents cover a layer of chiffon.
It’s pretty.
The thought is fleeting as I put on the wedding gown, and when I glance at Mom, she cries harder.
My voice is hoarse as I say, “Can you help me?”
Even though she shakes her head, she comes closer and pulls the zipper up. It’s a tight fit, and I worry the lace will tear.
Luckily, the high heels are the right size, and when I’m dressed, I pull my fingers through my hair.
Mom’s tone is raw and broken when she says, “I can’t let you do this, Haven.”
I meet her fearful gaze and shake my head. “We have no choice. I’m not going to let you risk your life.”
There’s a knock at the door, which has me closing the distance between me and Mom. I wrap my arms tightly around her and press a kiss to her cheek. “I love you, Mom. More than anything.”
“I love you, too,” she whimpers.
Letting go of her, I rush to the door and meet Massimo’s eyes. “Lock my mother in the room. If she gets hurt, the wedding is off.”
“No, Haven!” Mom screams.
My heart breaks into a million pieces as I hurry down the hallway, and when I hear her letting out a harrowing cry, tears roll over my cheeks, and I clench my jaw to keep a sob from bursting free.
I have to do this for Mom.
“My baby,” she wails. “No!”
When I walk into the central part of the church, I lift my chin and lock eyes with Leo, where he’s standing by a priest.
I stop in front of him and don’t bother to wipe the tears from my cheeks while I suck in a shuddering breath.
For a few seconds, his features soften as he stares at me, but then they harden again.
His voice sounds like thunder that’s about to unleash a destructive storm on my life as he orders in English, “You can proceed, Father.”
The priest has a thick Italian accent when he says, “Leonardo Toscano, do you take Haven Romano as your wife?”
Leo doesn’t hesitate for a second to reply, “I do.”
“Haven Romano, do you take Leonardo Toscano as your husband?”
Mom.
I swallow hard on the lump in my throat, and my voice is almost gone as I whisper, “I do.”
Leo pulls a small box out of his pocket, and opening it, he removes a vintage ring. It looks hundreds of years old.
When he takes hold of my left hand and pushes the ring onto my finger, hopelessness sinks into my bones.
There are no vows of love and loyalty as the priest declares, “I pronounce you husband and wife. Sign the register.”
With Leo still gripping my hand, he leads me to a table where a register lies. He signs on the line before holding the pen out to me.
I pull my hand free from his and take the pen, but I hesitate for a moment when I realize Leo doesn’t know what my signature looks like.
As if he can read my thoughts, he grumbles, “Don’t even think about faking it, Haven.”
My chin quivers, and more tears escape as I scribble my signature on the line beside his.
Leo pulls me away from the table, then he watches as Uncle Nicolo and Massimo sign as witnesses.
I glance to my left, and my gaze connects with a woman who seems to be in her sixties. She climbs to her feet, where she’s sitting in the front pew, and walks toward us.
Once she comes to a standstill in front of us, she says, “I wish you all the best for your future.”
“Thanks, Mamma,” Leo replies.
This is his mother?
My lips part with shock as he leans down to kiss both her cheeks.
She must be as corrupted as her son.
Keeping quiet, I lower my eyes to the floor, and a second later, the realization that I’m married to Leo Toscano, the head of the Italian mafia and a complete stranger, slams hard into my gut.
My legs feel numb as darkness creeps in around the edges of my vision, and when I sway, Leo quickly wraps his arm around my lower back and pulls me tightly against his side.
With his other hand, he takes hold of my jaw and tips my head backward. “Are you going to pass out?”
The shock begins to lessen, and I pull my face away from his hand, looking down again as I whisper, “No. Can I go to my mother?”
“Yes.” He removes his arm from around me. “Massimo, go with Haven.”
I don’t wait for Massimo and hurry away from Leo, but when I reach the locked door, I have to wait for it to be opened before I’m able to go inside.
Mom stands in the middle of the room, her face torn with anguish, and when she sees the ring on my finger, she begins to shake her head.
“I’m sorry,” I say, then my emotions spiral out of control, and I break down.
Mom quickly closes the distance between us and wraps me up in a tight hug. For long minutes, we just hold each other before Mom pulls slightly back so she can see my face.
“We’ll get through this, Haven.”
Even though our futures look grim right now, I nod. “We’re alive. It’s all that matters.”
Using her thumbs, she wipes the tears from my cheeks. “Whatever happens, just know that I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mommy.”
In my distressed state, I don’t keep track of time, and when Leo appears in the doorway, my heart sinks.
“It’s time to go. You’ll see your mother soon.”
A sliver of hope trickles into my chest. “Promise.”
He just nods before walking away while saying, “Come, Haven.”
Uncle Nicolo stalks into the room, and grabbing hold of Mom’s arm, he forcefully begins to drag her out into the hallway.
“No!” I rush after them and shout, “You don’t have to yank her around! Stop handling her roughly.”
“Nicolo,” Leo snaps.
Uncle Nicolo instantly stops dragging Mom and mutters under his breath, “I don’t have time for this. Let’s just leave before someone gets killed.”
I give Mom a quick hug and whisper near her ear, “Just go with Uncle Nicolo. I’ll talk to Leo and see if he’ll let you come stay with me.”
Hope flits over Mom’s face. “Yes. Ask him.”
Lifting the skirt of my dress a little, I dart away from her and rush to catch up with Leo as he stalks toward the main entrance of the church.
“Leo,” I call out, and it has him glancing over his shoulder. “Please let my Mom come with us.”
His eyes flick to the back of the church before he continues to walk toward the Porsche. “No.”
“Please,” I cry as I go after him.
“Stop, Haven!” he snaps as he opens the front passanger door. “Get in. I have work that needs my attention.”
Hatred fills my veins as I glare at Leo, grinding out through clenched teeth, “You’re a coldhearted bastard.”
“I’m a coldhearted bastard with a gun.” He tips his head toward the car. “Get in.”
I glance at the entrance of the church, but there’s no sign of Mom.
“Now!” Leo’s voice thunders between us, making me jerk with fright.
I quickly climb into the car, and my eyes remain glued to the doors, but as Leo slides in behind the steering wheel and starts the engine, there’s still no sign of Mom.
As he drives away from the hellhole where my fate was sealed, I struggle to cope with the nightmare that’s been unleashed on me.
How am I going to survive being married to a ruthless mobster?