by Bethany-Kris
Lucian chuckled. “No worries. You’ll get used to it pretty quickly.”
Her brow furrowed at his statement, but he was no longer looking at her. He was glancing down the aisle at something else as though he was entirely unaware that his simple words had made her heart clench in her chest like someone’s fist wrapped around it with no warning.
You’ll get used to it.
Like it was to happen.
No question.
“What do you mean by—”
“Showtime,” Lucian interjected with a smooth smile.
A door opened at the back of the church. Haven’s gaze swung in that direction as Lucian stood from the pew, and everyone else around them followed suit just as fast. Given Haven had already noticed the fact that the altar was empty but for the waiting priest, she knew who would be coming through those doors.
It still shocked her.
Seeing Andino after all this time—dressed in his tux, and with his mother on his arm—was like a punch to her chest. It ached, and took her breath away at the same time. She didn’t have time to think on it for long.
Andino and Kim only stayed at the entryway for just long enough to scan the crowd of people standing in the pews before they were moving again. His mother stared straight ahead with a soft smile while Andino’s face was a blank slate.
Nothing was there.
No happiness.
Nothing.
It certainly wasn’t the face of a man who was happy to be getting married. Why did he look like that?
Andino’s gaze shifted their way briefly, and landed on Lucian first. The man standing in front of Haven moved slightly. Just enough to make her visible to Andino. She swore the life that had been missing in his gaze was quick to make itself known when he saw her. His lips edged higher at the corners.
A ghost of a smile.
That smile was enough to kill her right there on the spot.
It didn’t last long, though. Andino and his mother were moving again. Haven had to stand on her tiptoes to watch him walk Kim to her seat before he dropped a kiss on her cheek, too. The moment Andino made it to the altar, the people started to sit again. Haven was pulled back into the pew by Lucian with a chuckle.
“We don’t want anyone seeing you here just yet,” Lucian said. “That wouldn’t be good for us when we’re waiting for another show to start.”
“What?”
“Just wait for it.”
Everyone was sitting when a hush fell over the pews. The doors at the back of the church had been closed again, likely so the rest of the procession could shortly begin.
“Three bridesmaids should be coming through any time now,” Lucian said dryly.
No one came.
The doors stayed closed.
Whispers started to move through the pews, but up at the altar, Andino stayed stoic and waiting. His gaze was nailed to the doors, but for a brief moment, they passed to glance her way, too.
It distracted Haven, but that daze was quickly broken when the back doors where thrown open. The man she recognized as Darren Calabrese—the same one who had dropped that fucking invitation off to her a month ago—stormed down the aisle. In the front pews on what Haven considered to be the bride’s side, a man stood up.
“Kev Calabrese,” Lucian informed. “Darren’s brother—Ginevra’s, too. You know, the bride. Remember his face, he’s not as important as he wants to think he is, but he’s important enough to cause us problems. Never trust him.”
Haven sucked in a fast breath. “Why would I have to worry—”
Lucian glanced her way. “You know exactly why.”
Haven went back to staring at Andino. He was staring back at her again.
She supposed she did know.
This wedding was never meant to happen.
He’d only ever wanted her.
“What?” she heard Kev roar from the front of the church.
“Showtime,” Lucian said, smiling in that sly way of his again. “Do try to blend into the crowd once things pick up, Haven. Andino will find you once he can, I am sure. If not, find his mother or father. They expected this as well.”
Expected what, exactly?
“She’s gone?” Kev asked loudly. “Where the fuck is she?”
“Gone, Kev.”
“Gone?”
“Yeah, g—”
“Find her!”
The whispers were getting louder. People from both sides of the aisle were standing and starting to talk instead of whisper in hushed tones. Haven’s heartbeat was kicking so loudly, she thought it might start to hurt.
Andino was already stepping down from the altar, and fixing the sleeve of his tux like he didn’t have a single care in the world.
There was no missing the grin he wore.
Sly.
Knowing.
Happy.
SEVENTEEN
There was a great sense of satisfaction that came with watching a plan all fall together just as you hoped it would. To watch everyone else around you struggle to understand what just happened, and how to react while you were a calm pillar in a raging storm was … divine.
Andino hadn’t realized that this was how it was going to feel. That it would be this satisfying and amusing at the same time.
The echo of confused voices around him only picked up while he remained still and silent leaning against the wall. His gaze scanned the familiar faces of his family, and those of Ginevra’s. They’d been looking for a half an hour now. Searching the church, and surrounding areas. They were unwilling to admit she was actually gone.
He had news for them.
Ginevra was getting closer to the Canadian border with every passing second. With freedom at the tips of her fingers, there was no way in hell that woman was turning back around now. As she shouldn’t, he supposed.
He needed her to stay gone.
It had been pandemonium at first when they realized Ginevra was gone. Complete fucking chaos. Now, they were finally starting to calm.
That didn’t mean they were happy.
Too bad, so sad.
“Nothing?” Kev asked desperately.
The enforcer shook his head. “Nothing, boss.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Kev, we’re wasting time here,” Darren stepped in.
Oh, they were having a right fit, and Andino found it all hilarious. He didn’t show it other than the small smile that continued to edge its way over his lips. He couldn’t help that. Satisfaction was hard to fucking hide.
And besides …
Well, he supposed a part of him wanted them to know, too. He wanted these fucking snakes from Brooklyn to know exactly what he had done. That he was the one who ruined their plots and plans because he could. Because he didn’t trust them, he never had, and he was never going to.
There was no way in hell he would bow to them.
Ever.
“Where is Siena, then?” Kev demanded. “She should know! She was supposed to be with her the whole fucking time!”
“She’s dealing with Greta and—”
“I don’t give a fuck. Get her!”
Andino readjusted his stance, and leaned his shoulder against the wall as the Calabrese struggled to find a new angle to which they might use to find Ginevra. It was all rather pointless, he figured. The woman wasn’t coming back, and there was no way they were going to be able to find her unless they ripped the truth out of his mouth.
Unlikely.
Marcello people weaved in and out of the panicking Calabrese. Andino mostly paid them no mind because they were only here for him. The one he did care to watch was his uncle—the boss.
Only because Dante was watching him.
From the other side of the room, Dante stood similarly to Andino … but without the shit-eating smirk. The boss watched him with that cold, hard stare of his that said I know what you did.
How Dante knew was impossible to know. Probably because if the Calabrese were a little clearer headed at the
moment, they might understand that there were only a select few people in this church who could actually get Ginevra the hell out of town, and had the motive to do so.
Andino, really.
He was the only one with the means and the reason.
Dante kept staring.
Andino stared back, unbothered.
He didn’t care if Dante didn’t like this. He didn’t give a shit what his uncle thought about what he’d done, or why he did it. He didn’t even give a fuck about the consequences he might have to face because of all this.
It was time for Dante to really learn.
Andino was his own man, and at the end of the day, that’s what mattered. He was going to do things his way when it came to this family. He was never going to do what he was told to do just because he was told to do it.
And he would never cower to an enemy.
Not for peace, or power.
“How long before he blows up, do you think?” Andino asked his father. “He looks about ready to, doesn’t he?”
Oh, Dante was calm and collected on the outside, sure. But in his eyes? That’s where the disbelief, and rage swirled with every passing second.
Gio and Kim had both come to stand on either side of Andino from the moment he stepped off the altar, and left the main section of the church. They didn’t leave him—it was their silent way of showing where they stood in all of this, he supposed.
And not necessarily for the benefit of the Calabrese, either.
Gio made a noise under his breath, and passed his brother a look. “He won’t do anything here. The last thing any of us needs is for the Calabrese to think we have fractures amongst our own ranks. Dante knows better—that’s the one thing you can bet on.”
“But the only thing, too,” Kim added dryly.
His father nodded, in silent agreement.
“Great,” Andino said. “How much longer are we going to have to stand here acting like we give a fuck—”
“Let me go, you asshole!”
Andino’s gaze swung in the direction of the familiar, hateful voice. Siena was dragged into the entry of the church by a bull of a man. He kept a tight hold on her elbow until she was almost right in front of Kev. Then, he practically tossed her at her brother.
“Here she is,” the man grunted.
Siena huffed, and shot a burning glare over her shoulder. “Fuck you.”
“That’s quite enough.” Kev folded his arms over his shoulder as Siena faced him. “Where is Ginevra?”
“I don’t know. Why would I know, Kev?”
“Where is she?”
Jesus Christ.
Even Andino bristled at the man’s tone. He had to give Siena credit, though. She didn’t even flinch. If anything, she stood a little bit taller in the face of her brother’s rage.
She was subtle, this chick. Her strength was quiet, and small, and sometimes, it seemed like it wasn’t even there at all. And yet, he thought she might be the strongest one of them all at the end of the day.
No wonder John loved her.
That was going to come in handy someday.
For now, though …
“You were with her all day,” Kev snapped at Siena, pointing a beefy finger right in her face. Hell, if he got any closer, then that finger was going to hit her forehead. Siena never even blinked, or backed down. “You were with her right before she was supposed to come down. So, where in the fuck did she go, Siena? Don’t mess around with me. Not today.”
“I went to the bathroom,” Siena replied, her jaw tight. “I came out, and she was gone. What do you want me to say? I can’t tell you something I don’t know.”
Damn.
Give credit where it was due, after all.
Siena was one hell of a liar.
Kev let out a harsh noise, and flicked a hand. The enforcer who had come to bring Siena stepped in to take her away. He moved to grab her, but she was quick to slap the man before he could even try.
“Don’t fucking touch me again!”
“Siena!” Kev barked.
The woman gave her brother a withering look over her shoulder, fixed the skirt of her dress, and stormed off without another word. The enforcer was quick to follow behind, but he made sure to keep a couple of extra steps between him and her.
It was funny.
And boring, too.
Strange how that worked.
“I think it’s safe to say that this day is a loss,” Dante said, speaking up for the first time as he moved away from the wall, “and that my family would like to go home.”
Kev’s angry attitude turned on the wrong man, then. “How quick you are to back out of a deal, Dante.”
Dante quirked a brow. “What deal, Kev? There is no bride. There is no deal.”
“There will be a bride!”
His uncle’s gaze drifted to him, and then quickly went back to Kev. “For some reason, I doubt that. I think we’re done here, Kev.”
Dante turned to gesture for his wife to join him, but Kev was already stepping forward. Not a man to back down, Dante stood tall and unmoved when Kev came toe to toe with him. Had that been any other man, Andino figured they would have been quick to make Kev back the hell off.
Not Dante, though.
No, he stood there and smirked.
“Do you want something?” Dante asked. “Another wedding that will fall through, maybe? A new way to try and slither your way into our family?”
“We’re not finished, Marcello.”
Dante glanced Andino’s way again. “No, I suspect we’re just getting started, Kev.”
He was right.
Now was not the time.
It was the shift in the back of the crowd—a flash of blonde hair trying to move further behind the people that took Kev’s attention away from Dante. The man’s gaze narrowed for a second, before he stepped to the side, and strolled forward.
“You!”
Andino finally found what had caught Kev’s attention.
Shit.
Haven.
It took all of Andino’s willpower not to show the way his heart decided to do a fucking deep dive in his chest every time he looked at her. He didn’t even know how to begin to describe the way he felt when he saw her in that church.
But she was here.
She was not gone.
Didn’t that mean good things?
He could fix this.
At the idea that Kev might approach Haven, Lucian was quick to slide away from the wall and move through the crowd like a hot knife cutting through butter. His uncle was supposed to stay with Haven, but Andino figured maybe the two had gotten separated at some point. Silently, Lucian moved in beside Haven, and did nothing but fucking stare at Kev.
Like he was daring him to come closer.
Haven, on the other hand, glanced between Kev and Andino on the other side of the room. It didn’t escape Kev’s notice, either.
The man barked out a loud laugh, and spun around. Those icy eyes of his landed on Andino, and he saw the promise of violence staring back at him before Kev even spoke the threats out loud.
“I should have fucking known, Andino,” Kev said. “Was it you, then? Did you get Ginevra out before she could even walk down the aisle? Was this your plan all along?”
Why lie?
“Yes,” Andino said, shrugging one shoulder. “I was never going to marry her. Not for you, and not for fucking anyone else, either. After all you did to me, to my family … to my best friend, you thought I would give you something, Kev? There’s your first mistake. I allowed you to have it with this little lesson added on, of course. I won’t be as nice the second time around, so try not to make another one.”
“You fucking—”
“Insults are for weak men who lack any real ability to challenge their opponent in a better way. Try something else. Surprise me.”
Kev’s face reddened, and he clenched his fists into tight balls at his side as he came as close to Andino as he had been to Dante earlier. Lik
e Dante had, Andino stayed as still as stone and refused to let the man’s size or proximity intimidate him.
Kev was a fucking bully.
Nothing more, and nothing less.
He didn’t hold any real kind of weight or power. He couldn’t do shit. Andino might laugh at the man if this whole thing wasn’t so goddamn dull now.
“For what?” Kev asked, so close that his hot breath made Andino want to punch the man right in his throat. “What did you do this for, then? Her—Haven? A whore your family will never allow you to marry because she’ll never be good enough for them? Was that it?”
Okay, so maybe Andino wasn’t quite like Dante.
He went for the face instead of Kev’s throat. His fist came up lightning fast, and slammed into Kev’s mouth. He felt the man’s teeth split his knuckles before Kev dropped like a rotten sack of potatoes to the ground. The room turned deathly silent as Andino bent down, and grabbed the man’s face to force him to look at him.
Bleeding, but still pissed, Kev stared up at Andino. There was a bit too much glee in his eyes. Like maybe he’d just gotten what he wanted.
A reason.
That’s all these fucking snakes ever needed. A reason to start a war. A reason to live. Shame, really.
Leaning down, Andino murmured in the man’s ear, “Put her name in your mouth again, and I will make sure your cock is the last thing you taste when I cut it off and shove it down your fucking throat. I hope we understand each other.”
Andino was quick to stand then, and fix his jacket. Kev, on the other hand, didn’t move.
“This isn’t over,” Kev said below him. “Count on that. You’re a dead man.”
Andino smiled. “Do you think that scares me?”
“It should,” Kev murmured.
“It doesn’t.”
• • •
“What in the hell were you thinking?” Dante asked as he strolled into the office at the large Marcello mansion.
Andino, and his uncle and father, filtered in behind him. Lucian moved to sit on the couch while Giovanni went to his usual perch on the windowsill. Andino, on the other hand, stuffed his hands in his pockets and stayed standing in the middle of the room.
“You ask me that question a lot,” Andino noted, “but you never care to actually hear the answer. I mean, not if it’s an answer you don’t like.”
