The priest begins the ceremony, talking much too long for my liking. Even Vitale starts to scowl at the elderly man, motioning him to hurry up. Serafina’s stare hasn’t moved from stained-glass window behind him. Her spine is straight, rigid, her shoulders stiff. These two couldn’t be further away from playing the happy couple if they tried.
My tapping speeds up.One, two, one.
The priest announces it’s time for vows, and a hush descends over the crowd—from the audience, an air of excitement atwitnessing a Capo officially wed his fiancée, and from our small group, the knowledge that it’s the beginning of the end.
Vitale recites his vows in a mechanical voice, and then it’s Serafina’s turn. At the mention of her name, she seems to wake up, twisting her head towards the minister. She murmurs something no one but the duo hears before nodding.
And then, her voice comes, no louder than a whisper. It’s the voice of a bride choked with emotion over her ‘big day’, but I know the truth, the hesitation tainting the clarity of her words.
“…until death do us part.”
Sooner rather than later.
Vitale reaches into his pocket, pulling out wedding bands. He gives one to Serafina who, after a moment’s hesitation and the priest’s verbal prodding, slides it onto his finger.
One, two, one.My muscles lock, even if none of this will be real for long. Anastasia leans into my arm.
Vitale reaches for her left hand when she doesn’t offer it, yanking it up roughly. My own curl, wanting to end up in his face until he’s bloody and unable to breathe and?—
Anastasia nudges me. “Behave. You look like you’re about to start something.”
One, two, one.“Don’t tempt me.”
“You’ll lose. The entire Cosa Nostra is present. Let this happen.”
He poises the ring at the end of her finger.
One, two, one.
Three seconds before it’s slid on.
One…
Two… It’s at knuckle.
Three… It’s seated in its new place—a temporary one.
My heart stops beating.
What kind of fucking masochist watches his girl get married to another man?
Me. Because I’m a damn idiot who’ll do anything for her, a fact that’s unnerving and so curious. She buried herself beneath my skin. She went from being a job to becoming my everything.
My everything.
She makes it easy to forget the past, forget what Papa did. She makes me want a future outside of the Bratva and my job as my Pakhan’s Spy. She sees past my skills and doesn’t mind my bouts of silence. She eases my mind in every moment except this one.
The minister declares them husband and wife and invites them to share their first kiss as a couple.
Their first kiss… How the hell did I forget about this?
Vitale leans close to Serafina, cupping her face, and red flashes across my vision. Every motherfucking shade surges from my eyes to my feet until I react.
Vitale presses his lips to Serafina’s. I’m halfway out of my seat and?—
A hand hauls me back down, a heel jammed into my shoe.“Sit. Down,”my sister hisses below her breath. “Lev, people are watching. Don’t move another muscle.”
On my other side, Dimitri’s hand hovers over my arm, prepared to help Anastasia should I disobey.
