by Tabatha Kiss
“After tonight…” She smiles. “I think you’ll understand what I mean.”
She pushes open the doors and her jaw drops with delight as we step inside.
It’s a mid-sized chapel, beautifully decorated with red, paper lanterns. My eyes wander upward, following the trails of streamers toward the balcony where several armed guards stand watch.
“Oh, Gio!” Marilyn says. “It’s beautiful!”
I look down the aisle toward the altar. Gio stands there in a black tuxedo, flashing a grin at the two of us as we draw closer.
“Thank you, Marilyn,” he says. “You were right. The lanterns were a good idea.”
“I never grow tired of people telling me I’m right,” she jokes.
I look at the large, stone basin beneath the altar and the very sharp knife lying beside it.
Well, it’s definitely a wedding… kind of.
I turn back to them as their laughter rises.
Marilyn pats Gio’s shoulder. “You’ll have to excuse Ms. Fawn. This is her first Zappia wedding.” She takes my arm. “Come on. Let’s take our seats.”
She tugs me backward, taking me with her toward the pews.
“Personally, I’m on the groom’s side,” she says, “but since the brides are your friends, I figured we’ll sit on their side.”
We slide into the second row and I lower to sit. “Brides?” I ask.
Marilyn smiles as she gazes around once more. “See?” she says with pride. “I told you we do some good.”
I gawk at her as my stomach churns.
Fifty-Seven
Dani
I stare at myself in the mirror, wondering if the girl looking back at me is even real.
Is this really happening?
This wasn’t what my wedding day was supposed to be like.
It was supposed to be a quiet, intimate ceremony. A destination wedding, perhaps. Just me and Fox with Caleb and Boxcar as witnesses. At sunset, if we could swing it.
Not like this.
Not in this white dress that covers every inch of my skin from the chin down.
Not with this veil that I can barely even see through that drags that floor as I walk.
Not without Fox.
The door opens behind me and I close my eyes, hating every moment of this. Is it Beatrix, coming to escort me to my doom? Or is it Gio, coming to tell me once again how much fun our wedding night will be? For him.
“I don’t know…”
I spin around, my heart leaping into my chest. I blink twice, sure my eyes have played some trick on me but a warm shiver rushes down my spine as Fox smiles.
“I pictured something sleeveless,” he says, a disapproving eye on my dress.
Tears rush to my eyelids as I push the veil back over my head. “Fox…” I run toward him and he opens his arms. “Thank God—”
He embraces me so tightly it hurts. I take the pain, knowing that it doesn’t even come close to what it’s felt like since the moment he left.
Fox braces his arms behind my back and lifts me up to his lips. I kiss him hard as tears stream down my cheeks and his arms never tire from their hold on me.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I say, lightly sobbing.
He rests his forehead against mine. “You’d think I’d let some other guy marry you?” he asks. “You’re my girl…”
I laugh as I kiss him again.
The door creaks behind us and we break apart as Beatrix walks in. She spots Fox and her eyes grow wide with anger as she rushes forward.
Something slams against her head from behind and Beatrix crumbles to the floor. My jaw drops at Lucy standing over her with one of her white heels clenched in her palm.
Lucy looks at us and tosses a set of keys at Fox. “Can we please go now?” she asks.
Fox nods and drops down to one knee to free me from my chain. I smile at my new freedom as he rises and takes my hand. We step over that damned woman on our way out the door and I hope it’s the last time I ever have to see her again.
Dante stands in the hallway. “Boxcar says the path is clear,” he says as Lucy balances against him and slides her shoe back on. “Let’s go.”
I bunch up my skirt with one hand, refusing to let go of Fox’s. He and Dante guide us through the house, a soft mumbling coming from the headset in their ears. I try not to look at the bloody dead bodies as we pass them by but I can’t help but feel a keen sense of pride for my man as we pass by a few more unconscious Zappia guards.
“Down the stairs,” Fox says. “Hurry.”
I try to keep up in my heels, taking the last stairs with a few short hops. I turn back to see Dante carrying Lucy all the way down. He places her down again and we tiptoe past another blood-soaked body before entering a wine cellar.
Dante opens a door and I lean back, instantly struck with a dank, musty tunnel. I pause to rid myself of the cumbersome veil and Lucy does the same, the both of us dropping them on the floor in silent celebration.
Nope. Not getting Zappia’d today.
“Go straight,” Fox says, guiding me into the tunnel. “And don’t stop. After about a mile, you’ll come to a staircase. Climb up and Luka and Sofia will meet you in the casino—”
“Wait—” I turn back. “You’re not coming with us?”
Lucy stops, her fierce eyes locked on Dante.
Fox cups my face. “We’ll be right behind you.”
“Why? Where are you going?” I cling to his arms, not wanting to let go.
He pulls me in for a deep kiss, one that feels far too much like the last one we’ll ever have.
“We’re going to finish this,” he says.
Fifty-Eight
Caleb
The chapel slowly fills with guests but not many of them. I mostly recognize the house staff, no doubt given the night off to help celebrate this joyous occasion with their precious Gio. About a dozen bodies line the front rows, each one showing a bright, eager face.
The Zappia cult runs deep.
I glance toward the balcony, noting the absence of the armed guards I saw up there before.
The organ begins playing, belting out the first few notes of Here Comes the Bride. The double doors open at the back of the chapel and every guest twist around in their seats to watch.
“Oh…” Marilyn sighs. “Look at them. Aren’t they just beautiful?”
Two brides in thick, pure white veils enter the chapel. The veils obscure everything from their heads to their toes as they slowly glide down the aisle side-by-side.
I peek forward at Gio, watching as his victorious grin crawls up his face.
This is disgusting.
My heart bleeds, knowing that one of them is Dani. I want so badly to do something. I want to stand up and scream but my cries would surely fall on deaf ears in this crowd. But I can’t let this happen. I can’t let my friend be married off against her will. I can’t—
Marilyn lays a firm hand on my lap. “Relax, Ms. Fawn,” she says, reading my mind. “Would you rather I’d slit her throat?”
I bite down, swallowing tears.
The brides pass us by and I pause. Was Dani always so tall?
Gio steps forward and squints, noticing the same. His eyes shift back and forth between his brides, craning his neck upward the closer they get to him. Soft murmurs buzz throughout the first few rows and even Marilyn leans forward in the pew beside.
Gio reaches toward the bride to the left and yanks the veil off her head.
My jaw drops. Make that his.
Fox points a pistol at Gio’s head as the other bride slides his veil off, too.
Dante raises his own pistol and smiles.
“What’s wrong, Gio?” Fox asks with a smirk. “Not pretty enough for you?”
Fifty-Nine
Sofia
I run my hand along the green felt of the card table. “If I never have to set foot in this casino again, I will be a happy woman,” I murmur.
Luka smiles from the barstool, his cheek
bones poking out beneath the low, ambient lights. “To make you that happy woman, I’ll make sure you never do,” he says.
My eyes rise to the top of the stairs again, my nerves bouncing. “It’s taking too long,” I say. “They should have been back by now.”
Luka adjusts his earpiece. “Boxcar, what’s going on?” He goes quiet as he listens. “He says he can’t see in the chapel but the girls entered the tunnel already. It should be anytime now.”
I exhale a breath as I wring my shaking hands.
“Sofia.” Luka stands off his stool and walks toward me.
“I hate the waiting,” I say.
“You?” He smirks. “Growing impatient after all this time?”
I pause at his amusement. “What?”
He pushes a lock of hair behind my ear. “When we first spoke, you said you’d give your body to Gio it means your soul laughs every time he looks into Lucian’s eyes and sees nothing of himself.”
“That was different,” I say. “That was only my life on the line. Right now, it’s Dani’s and Lucy’s and Fox’s and—”
Luka reaches out to silence me. “Sofia—”
“Everything I’ve done has led to this and I can’t—” My body twitches as my nerves fire through my limbs. “Luka, I don’t know what I’ll do if this ends…”
I can’t bring myself to say it before a sob wrecks my chest.
“Shh, Sofia.” Luka pulls me into his arms. “It’s all right,” he whispers.
I collapse against him, my strength leaving me as he effortlessly holds me up.
“Hello?”
I flinch, drawing my head up toward the new voice at the top of the stairs outside of Antony’s office.
Two girls dressed pure white from head-to-toe, their dress skirt blotted with dark brown dust and grime. I smile at Lucy, happy to see her wild, pleasant eyes again.
“Hey,” she greets us as she bounds down the stairs.
I open my arms to her and she hugs me. “Are you all right?” I ask.
She pulls back and nods. “Better than I was in there.” She winces. “Sorry, I lost your dress at the club.”
I laugh, shaking my head at the ridiculous apology as I throw my arms around her neck again.
The other girl descends the stairs and pauses at the bottom. I release Lucy and step closer to her, admiring the woman who claimed my friend’s heart.
“You’re Dani,” I say.
“Yeah,” she says.
I take her hands. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” I say. “My name is Sofia.”
She nods. “You’re Sofia Zappia?”
“I was once,” I say with a smile.
“Fox…” She takes a breath. “He told me once that if anything ever happened to him, that I could trust you.”
My heart skips in my chest. “He told me about you, too.”
Dani smiles.
“Boxcar,” Luka says into his earpiece. “Dani and Lucy have—” He furrows his brow. “Slow down, Box. You’re breaking up. What?”
I step closer to him as his face turns white. “Luka, what is it?”
He grabs my wrist. “We have to leave. Now.”
We rush across the casino floor toward the front entrance, the girls following close behind us. As we approach it, my ears perk to a deadly sound.
Beep beep beep.
Luka shields me as the door explodes.
Sixty
Fox
A wave of gasps fills the chapel but I don’t look back as they rise out of their benches.
I keep my eye on Gio. I stood this close to him before but I didn’t put him down the way I should have. I won’t let that happen again.
For Sofia.
Gio’s eyes flick between me and Dante as the shock drains from his face. It’s quickly replaced with a slow-burning fury.
“Fox Fitzpatrick…” he growls. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again.”
I nod. “Yeah, last time was fun for me, too.”
He glares at Dante. “And you’re the man who killed my brother.”
“Brothers,” Dante corrects.
Gio clenches his jaw. “You think you’ll be three-for-three tonight, do you?”
“I like the odds.”
“Then, you’re not paying attention,” Gio says, his lips curling. “Look up, boys. You’re surrounded by a half-dozen guards with—”
A body slams into the altar behind Gio, crushing it to pieces from above. He spins around in a panic and Dante kicks his shins to drop him to his knees.
Lilah stares down at us with a smug smile and blood-soaked hands.
“You mean these guards, Gio?” she asks.
The chapel erupts in screams. The people bolt from the pews and race toward the exits, toppling over each other as they all try to escape first. I scan the crowd in search of Caleb, spotting her in the second row next to Marilyn.
We make eye contact and Caleb nods. She takes advantage of the chaos and leaps over the back of her pew to get out of Marilyn’s reach. Three more guards push in past the racing crowd and I step down to take care of them while Dante knocks Gio out cold.
“Caleb!”
I meet her halfway down the aisle and plant myself between her and the rushing guards. One drops to their knees in front of the other two, the whole trio raising their AR-15s.
I ready my pistol, making a split-second decision. I can only hit one, maybe two, before they start firing. With a bit of luck, I can choose the right one before he takes the kill shot.
I fire, aiming low to hit the man on his knees, hoping the bullet throws him back to knock the others. He crumbles forward instead, leaving me nothing longer than a split-second choice. Left or right. Life or death.
I choose the left man, firing a shot and hoping neither of them hit Caleb.
The bullet strikes the left man in the eye at the same time Lilah leaps onto the right man from above. She plunges her knife deep into his skull and uses his tumbling form to break her fall to the floor.
Lilah instantly hops back up and reclaims her knife from his head.
“Fox.”
I twist around, easing Caleb to stay behind me as I point my gun at Marilyn Black.
The chapel turns quiet.
It’s just us and her.
Marilyn smiles as she rises from the pew, steady and calm. She’s different than I pictured her. Like a mother at a PTA meeting. Safe and wholesome.
Though, I suppose that’s what people say about me, too.
“Well done,” she says. “That was quite impressive.”
She takes a step forward, her cobra necklace reflecting light as she moves.
“Stay where you are,” I say.
“If any of you were going to shoot me, you would have done so by now.” She crosses her wrists, amused. “If I’m to go, it’s best to do so quietly…”
She balances a hand on the pew in front of her as she takes another step. The old bench creaks loudly beneath her lightweight. Her heels drag the floor. She scrapes her nails against the back of the pew.
She’s… not going quietly at all.
A shadow moves in her necklace, showing a dark shape lingering on the balcony above.
I spin around, hoping to catch it before it’s too late, but a sharp pain pinches my back.
Caleb grabs the dart quickly and yanks it out but I feel the serum take hold, coursing downward like a bolt of lightning to my spine.
“Fox—!”
My knees collapse beneath me as Lilah tumbles to the floor beside me. I look toward the altar as Dante falls, too.
I fight it. I have to fight it.
I stay on my knees, forcing my quivering arm to rise and point the gun at Marilyn again.
Her safe, wholesome face twists into a sly smile as several men in black tactical gear descend on me and the butt of a rifle slams into the back of my head.
Marilyn steps forward and stands over me.
“Oh, Fox…” she whispers as my vision turns
black. “You never do learn, do you?”
Sixty-One
Caleb
“Fox—!”
I fall to my knees beside him as agents swarm the aisle. One of them scoops Lilah off the floor while two more take on Dante’s sizable weight.
“Ms. Fawn…”
I ignore Marilyn and the thick, black boots in front of me wanting to take Fox away from me. I check his pulse, searching for slightest sliver of hope. It raps quickly against my fingertips. He’s alive. But for how much longer?
“Hey, peanut.”
I hear the deep voice above me and, just like that, I’m a child again. I’m five-years-old, standing next to my mother at baggage claim in a crowded airport. Soon, I’ll look out and see him walking toward me down the ramp. I’ll tug free from my mother’s grasp and race to meet his wide-open arms.
I raise my head to look into his face.
He’s older now with wrinkles around his eyes, speckles of gray in his hair, and a scar running along his nose and brow… but it’s him.
My father.
I shake my head, unable to trust my own senses. This man looks like my father. He sounds like my father.
But my father is dead.
I stand up, praying that the lights played a trick on me but the evidence is no less damning up close.
“No, this…” My voice cracks. “This isn’t possible.”
Marilyn comes up beside me. “I told you I had a surprise for you,” she says, smiling.
Snake Eyes is about family.
My father is Snake Eyes.
My eyes swell. “No…”
He takes a step forward but I counter with a quick one back.
“Stay away from me,” I say.
“Now, Ms. Fawn,” Marilyn says. “Is that any way to talk to your father?”
“This isn’t my father.”
“I assure you, darling. It is.”
I wipe away a tear as it tumbles down my cheek. “No,” I say again. “It’s not.”
