Page 22

Song- Nowhere to go- Bad Omens

“You good, sis?” Dom whispers as I link my arm through his.

We’re standing at the gates of the church. Everyone else is inside, waiting. Colten definitely picked this church knowing it would make my father's skin crawl as a Catholic. And honestly, I like that level of petty. I know damn well Harper got married on Sterling Ranch, so we could have done that, yet here I am.

“Do we have time for a smoke?” I ask, tapping my fingers against the stems of my red rose bouquet.

Dom checks his watch and shrugs. “Yeah, fuck it. I think it’s pretty standard for a bride to be late anyway.”

My eyes form slits. “That isn’t who I am. I’m not being late.”

“Okay…”

My fingers start to shake, and my body is vibrating as I shift my weight between my feet in these killer heels. Gianna Milano does not get nervous.

“I’ve known my entire life that one day I’d have to do this, marry for power. Dad always said that’s what I had to do for the family. I thought I was okay with it,” I say quietly.

Dom looks at me, and for a second, I’m thrown back to us being kids. And it’s one of my nightmares playing out in front of me. My little brother with pity in his eyes.

“You’re not fine with it? G, what the hell is happening? Are you having some sort of episode?”

I scoff. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m… standing outside a church in fucking Arizona about to marry a cowboy. It isn’t quite what I expected.”

Dom runs his tongue along his bottom lip. “A hot cowboy. A really rich and powerful one. Just think, it could have been a sixty-year-old Italian guy with a gut the size of Milan.”

I laugh, resting my head against his arm.

“Put the mask back on, G. Be the girl Dad taught you to be to survive. We’ve got this. And then you know what, once we’re back at the top of the chain, we can take everything. Like we promised Max.”

I peer up at him. We were ten years old, and I’d had my first beating from a guard for putting on some of my mom’s make-up. And Max, Dom and I pinky promised that one day, we’d work together to take over the family business.

“I think that day is getting closer,” I say.

And I half believe it. No one in this world frightens me… except my own father.

“Let's get this over with,” I mutter as I drag Dom towards the church. My heels click on the stone as we head up the steps and the doors open.

“Fuck me, I thought the spirits opened the doors.” Dom laughs to himself as we’re greeted by two clergymen.

My breath hitches as they open the second bolted doors.

“You’re armed, right?” I ask.

“Yeah. You?”

I nod. I don’t go anywhere without at least my thigh strap and a gun in my purse. “Only a knife, though,” I tell him.

“I got you, G. We got men here, tons of them, and surrounding the church.”

“Yeah. So have they, Dom.”

I scan the rows. None of their kids are here. Not that I expected it; they don’t trust us. Harper turns in the front row; Ace has his arm over her shoulder. She gives me a little wave as the organ begins to play.

My father is in the front row on the other side, surrounded by my uncles. I didn’t want him walking me down the aisle. Dom is the one I’m safe beside. I swallow hard. Ignoring how fast my heart is racing. Towards the back of the church, I spot Romeo, and next to him, Enzo fucking Testa.

A smile twitches on my lips. My plan is working. That is the man I have to get to. The one I have to show I can do this. That I’m worth keeping alive and heading up LA.

My eyes finally dart to the end of the aisle as we step through the doors.