We take our places, and Mario and Stacey finally reach the front. Stacey has a ridiculous veil covering her face, and Mario lifts it before pressing a kiss to her cheek and placing her hand in Tristan’s limp one.
The ceremony is a bit of a blur as I do everything I can to not stab Stacey through the eye as she stares lovingly at Tristan.
There are no special vows from the bride and groom, just the standard wedding blurb they repeat after the priest. When he announces them man and wife and tells them they can kiss, I have to put my hand on Vienna and hold her back when Stacey throws herself at him. She practically mauls him, and he does his best to hold her back, but she gets her lips on his, and I see her tongue swipe into his mouth as he opens it to protest.
I cover a snicker of laughter with a cough as he extracts himself from her embrace, and the priest introduces them as Mr. and Mrs. Tristan Maricuso.
The crowd cheers and swamps them with congratulations. Vienna and I are pushed back and quickly joined by Colton and Xavier. I desperately want to ask if they have heard anything about the raid, but I know they are as in the dark as I am for now.
“That dress is hideous,” Xavier tells me dryly, looking me up and down.
“Stacey’s work?” Colton asks mildly as he watches the celebrations.
“You should have seen us when hair and makeup finished. We looked like 80’s wedding rejects.” Vienna leans her head on his shoulder and sighs. “This day cannot end quickly enough.”
We spend the next hour being dragged around the gardens as the photographer submits us to pure torture, posing and smiling like we are all happy to be here. The only one happy is Stacey.
“Seriously, that guy could easily take my place as head torturer,” I grumble when he finally releases us and promises we will take more when we get to the reception.
Stacey doesn’t even give us a chance to talk to Tristan. Instead, she drags him away, looking miserable to ride together in the limo with Mario, her aunt, and cousins.
“I wonder if they will all be able to fit,” Colton muses as we trail after them to my car. Xavier takes the keys from Vienna,and she and Colton climb into the back while we get into the front.
I open the glove box and pull out the burner phone. The only message on it has two thumbs-up emojis. I heave out a sigh of relief and feel the first real smile of the day spread across my face.
“It’s done,” I tell them, and I hear their own exhales of relief. “Now we just need Tristan to keep Mario distracted for the limo ride and let the rest of this play out.”
“We’re almost there,” Xavier rumbles, unable to hide his emotions as his voice cracks.
“We are,” I agree and give his hand a squeeze as we make our last trip under Mario Maricuso’s influence.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The reception is in full swing when we arrive at the estate. It really is pretty here, and the guests are spread between the house and backyard, which is decked out in the same pale pink roses and baby’s breath Stacey seems to be obsessed with. There’s a band on a small stage off to the side with a wooden dance floor in front of them and an honest to God champagne tower table with servers constantly refreshing as the guests indulge in the free liquor. Ice sculptures sit on small tables scattered throughout the garden, and the six tier wedding cake sits in prime place next to the bridal table.
“Ugh, it looks like a wedding expo threw up in here,” Vienna mutters as we discretely survey the scene from behind a large tree.
The crowd cheers as the bride and groom arrive. Tristan looks miserable, and I feel a moment of sympathy for him. He’s definitely taking one for the team.
“Tristan’s going to need therapy after all this,” Vienna murmurs, and Xavier and Colton grunt their agreement.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure we can figure out a way to distract him.” I smile wickedly, and they chuckle.
“It’s not like he plays hard to get,” Xavier says affectionately.
“Okay. Let’s start to circulate and encourage the people we don’t want dead to leave early.” Colton rubs his hands together. “Dinner will be served soon, then the speeches and cutting the cake. We need to let them all know before we are unable to.”
“I’ll get Mario a drink and keep him distracted so he doesn’t watch the three of you too closely,” Xavier agrees and heads toward his father, who is talking to a man I recognize as being on some kind of council in Suncity. The man looks a little nervous, and his body practically sags in relief as Xavier interrupts.
The three of us disperse, and I head directly to Mayor Steel and his family.
“Holy fuck, Tori, who did you piss off to end up wearing that?” Nikki asks me.
“Who do you think?” I say dryly as her mother and father try unsuccessfully to hide their distaste at my outfit.
“She really hates you, doesn’t she?” Nikki chuckles, taking a sip of her champagne.
“It was a lovely ceremony,” Mrs. Steel forces out politely, and I roll my eyes.
