Chapter 9
Enzo
The gunshots were coming from the adjacent building, probably the top floor based on the bullet trajectory.
Knowing that, I threw myself over Valentina to shield her, pushing her down to the church steps as the crowd of spectators went berserk with terror.
A bullet whizzed by my ear, hitting a bystander in the leg.
The bystander howled in pain clutching his leg as he managed to crawl behind one of the outside church columns.
Out in the open was the worst of all places to be with a madman shooting at us. I had to get Valentina out of harm’s way. Getting her back inside the church was the best chance at keeping her safe.
I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat thundering in my head, my temples pounding as the adrenaline started pumping. Grabbing onto Valentina’s shoulders, I yelled, “Get back into the church. I’ll cover you.”
Without protest or argument, Valentina scrambled off the steps and ran back inside, my body shielding her as I followed close behind.
Inside the church, I threw myself across her as she took cover behind the last set of pews.
While outside had been pure pandemonium, inside there was calm by comparison.
Family members were already pulling out their weapons while armed guards shouted orders.
The politicians who had showed their faces cowered behind their security detail, who were already barking orders through their earpieces.
The exchange of gunfire roared in from outside, and suddenly the church windows were shattering over us.
Acting fast, I pulled my jacket over my head, my entire body now completely covering Valentina as shards of glass, sharp as knives, rained down on us.
I felt something nick my shoulder, but I gritted my teeth against the sudden pain.
I’d worry about my injuries later. What mattered was that I sheltered Valentina with my body, even if it posed a danger to me.
There were shouts as the sound of gunfire began to die down.
“There he is, on the roof!” someone outside yelled.
More gunshots, this time coming from inside the church as several guards fired. Then, several of the guards rushed outside.
Luckily, the glass had stopped falling so I could focus on my own security earpiece that I’d been wearing all day.
It had been part of the increased security for the wedding with me deciding to use the earpiece so that Valentina wouldn’t have to worry.
No bride should have to worry about this kind of violence on her big day.
Furious, I tapped the earpiece to communicate with my family’s head of security. “Update. Immediately.”
Our security officer’s voice came in loud and clear. “Mr. De Luca, the shooter was on the roof.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Was?”
“We’ve lost sight of him,” the security officer answered. “We don’t know how he could have gotten up there. We had that adjacent building secured.”
Which could only mean that the son of a bitch was making his escape because he knew the layout of the building. Another sign that this was close to home and likely an inside job. That spelled betrayal.
I barked several orders to the security officer, commanding him to keep tracking the gunman down.
“Understood, sir,” the security officer said. “I would advise you to head to the reception venue ASAP. It’s a smaller venue and therefore much safer.”
Right, the wedding reception was going to be held at one of the Romano hotels.
As much as I currently distrusted Don Romano, he wouldn’t be stupid or brazen enough to attack me so close to his daughter or his wife.
And definitely not out in the open. Valentina would be much safer in one of her father’s hotels than in a compromised church.
The Romanos knew their own properties better than they knew this church and its surroundings.
I had to get Valentina out of here—fast.
“Where are my parents?” she asked me, her voice tinged with panic. “Are they okay?”
I lifted my head above the pews to take a look around. Her parents were sitting at their place in the front pew near the altar, with Don Romano laying his body over his wife Bridget.
“Valentina!” Don Romano shouted.
“Valentina, are you out there?” her mother cried.
“I’ve got her,” I shouted back, reassuring her parents.
As I averted my gaze away from the Romanos, I spotted my mother and father at their place on the opposite side of the aisle, my father crouching on the ground, gun drawn with a shaky hand as he shielded my mother.
We had all followed the same instinct and done what was necessary to protect our wives.
Probably the one and only thing that Don Romano, my father, and I all had in common.
Complete commitment to ensuring our wives’ safety.
I was finally starting to understand why my father would be crazy enough to set up an arranged marriage to stop all-out war.
He had been desperate to protect his family, including me.
If he could get to control the Romanos as an added bonus, my old man would take that too.
Before meeting Valentina, I hadn’t fully grasped the drive a man could have to do anything to protect what was his.
My love and loyalty to my brothers, my parents, and my uncle paled into insignificance where Valentina was considered.
Not because I didn’t love them—I did—but because I had a duty to Valentina that I didn’t have as a son, brother, or nephew.
A fiancée, a wife, really changed calculations in ways I hadn’t anticipated. Husbands and fathers had a responsibility that someone who was solely a son could not fully understand. I could see that now. My father was impulsive, aggressive, and yet...
He would stop at nothing to amass the power he needed to protect what was his. Much as my dad’s decisions pissed me off, I could see how a man could be pushed to such desperate extremes.
For the first time in my life, I found that I understood my father.
“Stay put, Dad,” I yelled.
My old man nodded. “Be careful, Lorenzo.”
“We need to get to my parents,” Valentina said.
“Valentina—”
“Listen to me, Enzo, we have to get over there,” she insisted. “Not only is it near our parents, but it’s also as far away from the gunfire as we can get.”
She was right.
Nodding, I helped her up and hustled her down the aisle over to her parents. We crouched low, keeping the pew in front of us in case of more gunfire.
“We can get out through the side entrance,” Don Romano said. “Let me test it first. Once I’ve made sure that way is safe, we can all help the others get out of here.”
In spite of my distrust, I respected him for risking himself to help everyone else escape.
That was the sign of a true leader and I admired him for it.
Valentina’s loyalty to him was both infuriating yet also understandable.
Don Romano was willing to face danger for his people. Of course that would inspire loyalty.
I looked over my shoulder and shouted to my father, “Dad, cover Valentina.”
My old man nodded again.
Then I turned to look back at Don Romano. “Don’t do this alone. I’ll come with you.”
Don Romano stared at me for a second too long, as if he was really seeing me for the first time. After that moment, he gave a nod, got to his feet, and kept his head down as he rushed toward one of the side doors.
I sprinted after him, pulling out my pistol from the chest holster strapped underneath my jacket.
Valentina’s father threw the door open where servers, deacons, and other members of church staff were hiding and holding onto each other in terror. Some of them cried out alarm when we entered, but when I held up my hands and told them we were part of the wedding, they all breathed sighs of relief.
With a gun in one hand, I went to check the door on the other side of the room, I opened it to find that it led out to a short passageway and then outside.
There was no more sound of gunfire. Just security speaking into walkie talkies, searching the exterior for the gunman, or corralling people at the side of the church.
Concerned that the relative calm wouldn’t last, I rushed back to Don Romano, informing him that the exit was safe.
Trusting me, he shouted orders at some of the guards in the main church and the guards were soon herding people out of the church to safety outside while Don Romano and I kept watchful eyes over the process.
Eventually, everyone who wanted to leave was out of the church, the security guards increasing their presence around the perimeter.
Satisfied that the guards had finally regained control, Don Romano made orders for the wedding party to head to his hotel for the reception.
At first, I thought it was crazy to go ahead with the reception after the attack, but from the clench of Don Romano’s jaw, I sensed that he was trying to prove a point. We weren’t going to be scared off by some coward who didn’t have the guts to face us man-to-man.
Still, I checked with Valentina as I helped her into the passenger seat of one of my family’s bulletproof cars. “You’re sure about going to the reception?”
Valentina reached out to take my hands, the gesture making me feel like we could salvage the day. Make it ours again, instead of letting a madman think he could conduct things.
“We can’t back down,” Valentina said firmly, her courage once again leaving me in awe of her. “We have to show a united front now more than ever.”
She was right. Forgetting myself, I leaned in close, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.
Damn it, without a priest instructing me to kiss her, I didn’t know what the hell the protocol was.
I had followed my father’s orders and now I was rightfully paying the price for it.
Valentina hadn’t forgiven me and that meant, her hatred for me would likely burn brighter than ever.
As it dawned on me that I had probably made a mistake, I felt her lips curve against mine. I pulled back to see the faintest smile on her face. So, she wasn’t rejecting me.