Satisfied, my father went back to his meal. I stared down into my tea, my mind blank and my body numb. Later, when I was alone in my room, I would cry. But not now. Not in front of him.
Never in front of him.
CHAPTER3
Enzo
Current Day
The reception was being held at a hotel not far from the church. When we walked in, we were informed by the concierge that the entire sixth floor had been reserved for those who wished to stay the night at the expense of the groom.
Tristan and I hung back as Luca and Veda walked over to the newly married couple and gave them their congratulations. Only those who knew him very well would notice the tense set of Luca’s shoulders, or the way his smile did not quite reach his eyes.
And only someone who was standing directly behind them would see the way his hand gripped the back of Veda’s dress, as though he were afraid someone would try to take her from him. Which wasn't as crazy as it sounded.
As Luca had ordered, and for the safety of everyone there, I hid my pain behind the dark lenses of my sunglasses and the relaxed, yet alert, posture of my body. If anyone who had been at the wedding was curious as to my reaction to the bride, they didn't dare say anything to me about it. I kept my eyes averted from Sera, because if I looked at her, if I saw the trapped expression on her face, there was no way in hell I'd be able to leave her here. With him.
But even though on the outside I held myself completely in check, I couldn't do what Luca had asked. I couldn't shut myself down. Not completely. What had once been so easy for me was now impossible.
And it was all because of her.
We lingered in the reception area only as long as absolutely necessary, and then we headed inside to eat and drink and act like none of this was as fucked up as it actually was. Luckily, the fact that I was on duty saved me from having to partake with the other guests, because there was no way in hell I would've been able to choke anything down. Not when my guts twisted and my head pounded as I watch the woman who was mine sit beside her new husband.
I’d never hated him as much as I did in this moment. Not even when the son of a bitch had ordered me to shoot my own wife. No, that wasn't true. I did hate him then. I just didn't allow myself to feel it. I was a soldier before I was anything else, and I did what I was ordered to do. No questions asked. Not even if they were burning inside of me.
I stood behind Luca and Veda as they ate and drank and danced, and this time I could no longer keep my eyes from straying toward the woman seated at the front of the room. Her face frozen in a mask of acceptance, she wouldn't return my attention. But I noticed that even though she had her wineglass refilled often, she barely ate anything. And when Luigi took her out onto the dance floor for the first dance of the bride and groom, she was stiff and uncoordinated.
At one point, I saw her wince when her new husband squeezed her hand too tight. I took a step forward, my only thought to remove his fucking touch from her, but Tristan's hand shot out to grip my arm, stopping me. My jaw clenched so hard it made my teeth ache, I took a step back, taking my place beside him once more. In my peripheral, I saw her father, Ciro, watching me carefully from his table near the bride and groom’s.
Taking a calming breath, I clasped my hands in front of me and went back to watching for any threats to my boss.
When the first dance as husband and wife was over, Sera immediately removed herself from the circle of his arms. But Luigi wasn’t finished with her yet, and he took her hand and led her over to a table of mafia men and their wives so he could show her off. After introductions were made, she leaned into him and spoke into his ear. He shook his head, and she tried again, more urgently this time. After giving her a threatening look and what I could only imagine were words of warning, Luigi snapped his fingers at one of his guards and let her go. Quickly, she crossed the floor and headed toward the double doors that led out into the hall, the guard close on her heels.
I watched her go until she was out of sight and Luigi had turned back to his friends. Then I glanced toward Ciro. He was standing up, his back to us as he chuckled about something with one of the other guests. “I’ll be right back," I told Tristan.
His eyes never leaving the crowd he scanned, he asked, “Enzo, what are you doing?"
"I'll be right back," I repeated. As discreetly as possible, I followed her across the floor. By the time I got out of the room and into the hall, she was nowhere to be found. Following my instincts, I turned left and headed toward the restrooms.
As I rounded the corner, I saw Luigi's guard standing outside the ladies’ room. My steps were silent on the carpeted floor as I approached. He didn’t so much as glance up from his phone until I was right on top of him. Without a word, I shoved him up against the wall with my hands around his throat. I squeezed until his eyes rolled back into his head and his legs gave out.
His body slid down the wall as he passed out cold. After a quick look up and down the hallway, I grabbed him by the shoulders of his jacket and dragged him into the men's room. Luckily, it was empty, and I sat him up in the stall. By the time he woke up and realized what had happened, we would be long gone.
Sera was standing in front of the gold-rimmed mirror when I barged into the ladies’ room without announcing my presence. Her eyes flashed to my face, and for an instant, I thought I saw relief in the blue-gray depths. But it was there and gone so fast that I questioned whether I'd ever really seen it at all.
"Get out," she told me.
“Sera…”
"I said. Get. Out."
“No.”
I stalked toward her as she backed away, throwing one hand up, as if that would stop me. She made to run around me out the door, but I anticipated that she would do exactly that and I lunged to the side, lifting her up off her feet and into my arms. Through the overpowering scent of the bouquets of roses that decorated the sink, I caught a whiff of coconuts and tropical flowers that made my heart ache inside my chest.
Bold as you please, she stared up at me, her eyes dull and cold. A direct contrast to her scent that warmed my soul. "I'll scream," she threatened, but I had a hard time believing she would. I was greatly outnumbered here, with only Luca and Tristan and perhaps a small handful of others to back me up. If she carried through with that threat, the odds of walking out of here alive weren’t great.
I cocked my head to the side. “Do you want me dead?"
