“How can you be so sure we are then?” I ask.
“He’s right,” Tommaso says from behind me. “We ain’t got shit from the fucker, we can’t promise that someone else won’t come up guns-a-blazing.”
“We haven’t gotten news of anyone else suspicious,” Carmine tells both of us. More so reminding Tommaso.
“I don’t give a shit; we didn’t have a sign of anyone the first time either. You know, when a bomb was placed at the Fiorelli’s front door?” Tommy reminds our eldest brother.
Carmine looks to the side for a moment at Tiberi, as if looking for someone to take his side.
“I agree with Alessio,” he says, which surprises even me. “We need all hands on deck.”
“Okay, fine, but not right now,” Carmine says, clearly frustrated. “Alessio needs to be walking down the aisle in an hour. We don’t have time to mess around.”
“We would if we rescheduled this whole thing,” I remind him.
“Oh, better yet, why don’t we just cancel and call the whole thing off, just annul the marriage, yes? That’s what you really want,” Carmine accuses me.
My jaw sets and I launch myself at him. “You’re the one who pushed me into this,” I hiss at him. “You don’t get to act surprised.”
“Alright, calm down,” Tiberi says and stands up. “Carmine is right too. We don’t have time for this right now, but…after the wedding, we should let Alessio in on everything we have.”
“Damn right,” I say.
Carmine purses his lips. “Fine. After the wedding. Which includes the reception. You will be on your best behavior, got it?” He points a finger at me.
I scoff. “Please. You’re the one who was shit drunk and losing it just a couple months ago. You don’t tell me to be on my best behavior when I was the one taking care of this family while you were on a bender.”
Carmine’s face flushes, but he doesn’t say anything else. He just nods, and then turns around to leave the room. He’s already dressed for the wedding.
“Make sure he’s ready in time,” he says offhandedly to my other brothers before he disappears.
“Goddammit,” I mumble and fight the urge to grab the nearest bottle of alcohol—not sure whether I want to drink it all or smash it against a wall.
Given that alcohol shouldn’t even be in a church, I’m lucky that Tommaso brought me a bottle of whiskey to begin with.
“You should be the one in charge of this,” Tommaso tells me as he pours me a glass and hands it over.
I take it and chug it down much faster than I should.
“Slow down, slugger,” Tommy chuckles.
“I can’t smoke in here, I gotta do what I can,” I reply quietly.
Tiberi steps over and takes the glass from me. “I know you don’t want this, and if it were up to me, I’d let you have a choice, but you’re stuck in it now. You don’t want to go down the aisle shitfaced, do you?”
I lick my lips and taste the alcohol still on them. It’s already starting to ease some of the pain I’m feeling.
“Why don’t you marry Rosalie, then tell me what I want,” I sneer.
“She’s a good looking woman,” Tommaso comments. “She can’t be the worst option.”
“She’s…fine,” I take a step over toward my tux.
“But having the person you marry being chosen for you is never easy,” Tiberi finishes for me. “Many people in our family have been in the same place you are.”
“I know,” I mumble. “For duty.”
“For honor,” Tommy replies quietly.
