A gut-wrenching feeling sinks deep in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t realize others knew about what my father made me do. “How do you know?”
“He tried to offer you to my father, who then came home and told me about it. He told me if I ever did something like that in the future to my own daughter, he’d kill me on the spot.” I don’t know Desmond Mackenzie, but I’m starting to like him.
“You know . . . about my past and you still want to marry me?”
“It’ll keep you safe, won’t it?” Liam shoots out, cocking a brow.
I narrow my eyes, focusing in on him. “Do you even care?”
“Wow. Do you think I’m a heartless pig?”
“No, of course not. I don’t know what to think of you, though.”
“What in the bloody hell do you mean by that?” Liam hollers, glaring at me.
“Well, I’d say you both are madly in love. If you aren’t, you wouldn’t be yelling at the other like you are.” Father O’Sullivan chuckles. I look behind him and see Alessandra next to Luca and rush over to her, wrapping my arms around the brat. We hold each other for a few moments before I pull away and look into her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
She nods. “Yeah . . . what’re we doing in a chapel?”
I glance back to Liam, smiling since Father O’Sullivan is in here and we have to lie. “Liam and I are getting married. It’ll keep Sergei from harming me.”
Alessandra closes her eyes. “Yeah, well, he came to the apartment and was determined to yank me off and use me instead.”
I look over at Luca. “Is this true?”
He nods.
I want to curse, but considering we’re in the house of God, I don’t. I bite my damn tongue, even as hard as it is to do so. I shake my head from side to side, not wanting the reality of what I’ve put us both through to sink in. “He’s going to come for you next . . . ” I stammer out, feeling tears well behind my eyes. I’ve only ever wanted to protect Alessandra and today I failed to do so.
“We need to focus on your safety,” she tells me, but I can’t. I think about what time of year it is and the horrors fill my head.
“It’s July tenth,” I state, eyes going wide.
Alessandra furrows her brows. “No. It can’t be July tenth already . . . ”
“What’s July tenth?” Liam asks.
“My birthday,” Alessandra answers. “I’m officially old enough for Sergei to marry. He said he was coming after me. It sounded like a promise . . . you don’t think father would let him, do you?” There she goes again believing the best about our father.
Shutting my eyes, I tell her the truth. “He’ll do whatever he can to make himself more important.”
“Is there a way out of this for me too?” Alessandra asks, and I look over to Liam, trying to think about possible scenarios. There’s only one option I can think of now that she’s eighteen.
I give Liam a pleading look, wanting nothing else than for Alessandra to be safe too.
“Holy hell . . . ” he mutters.
12
“In spite of everything, I shall rise again.”
~ Vincent Van Gogh
Liam
She can’t be serious. I think I know what she’s insinuating . . . but she— no. I barely convinced Father O’Sullivan to marry us. Now she wants me to marry her sister off too? I need a glass of whiskey, as soon as possible. I glance over to Father O’Sullivan. “I bet you can read my mind right now.”
“Who would I marry her to?” Father O’Sullivan asks me. There’s only one other man in the room with me and he happens to be my most trusted guard.
“Luca,” I immediately answer.
“What the hell, man? You can’t be serious,” Luca shoots out.
“Now . . . these two obviously don’t have the story you and Caprice do,” Father O’Sullivan states and I give him a curt nod.
“No, while Caprice and I are madly in love, Luca and Alessandra only just met tonight. We’re trying to keep her away from the man who wants to cause harm to Caprice,” I explain, keeping my eyes on the two impending lovebirds. However, I don’t miss the look Alessandra gives Caprice. In a silent way, she calls her out on her shite.
“And marriage is the only way to keep this man away from them?” Father O’Sullivan questions.
“The only effective option,” Caprice speaks up, looking to the priest.
Father O’Sullivan sucks in a sharp breath. “Alrighty then, let’s get this over with before I change my mind. Luca and Alessandra, please come here.”
Alessandra looks over to Caprice with worry-filled eyes and she urges her sister to go along. “If you don’t do this, your fate will be sealed.”
Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Father O’Sullivan rushes the traditional Catholic ceremony and marries Alessandra DiGiovanni to Luca McCarthy. “I’ll sign the marriage certificates when you provide them to me, but you know I can’t help you obtain them.” Father O’Sullivan tells me.
Nodding, I reply. “Don’t worry about that. I can get those first thing in the morning.” I pull my cell phone from my pocket and text a friend who works at the registrar’s office. If I pay him a hefty chunk of change, he’ll be sure to make it happen. I text him and tell him I need a favor and for him to call me in the morning when he gets to work. When he does, I’ll give him the dates I need the marriage licenses to have and they’ll be certified by the country of Ireland. No one will dare question them.
I slide the phone back into my pocket until I see my father’s name appear. Immediately, I answer, “Hello,”
“What in the bloody hell is going on? Do you know Gabriele DiGiovanni called me?”
I suck in a sharp breath. “No. I had no idea. What did he say?”
“He said you were married to Caprice, his eldest daughter.”
“Yes, we were married— yesterday,” I state, looking at Father O’Sullivan who sighs and throws his hands up in the air. He mumbles something under his breath about why he even tries to do things for my family. The good thing is he believes Caprice and I are madly in love, which means he’ll sign the certificate regardless. There’s absolutely no reason for us to go through what we just witnessed her sister and my best friend go through.
“You’d better get your ass back to the family house as soon as possible. I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” my father grumbles.
“Alright. Just so you’re aware, we’re not coming back alone. Caprice’s younger sister Alessandra will be accompanying us.”
My father mutters something I can’t make out and ends the call abruptly. I slide my cellphone back into my pocket and look over to Father O’Sullivan, who is obviously irritated. “Am I going to marry you both or not?”
“You will, however, it won’t be tonight, I’m afraid. My father isn’t pleased and we need to get back to the family estate as soon as possible. You will sign the certificate for us, correct?”
“It will keep the girl safe, right?” he asks.
I nod.
“Fine, I’ll do it, but when you two actually get married, I expect to be the priest officiating the ceremony. God will forgive you for what you’ve done tonight, Liam, but I’m sure he’ll make you repent for it.”
Smiling, I reply, “I’d expect nothing else from the big man upstairs.” I see everyone’s eyes are glued to me, so I speak to Luca. “We’d better get a move on it.”
“I agree. Let’s get out of here.”
We lead the women to the front of the property where the SUV is parked and climb in the back. Thankfully, this car can easily fit eight people. Luca takes the backroads and heads to the family estate versus taking the interstate and going in through the front way.
When we arrive, he enters the keycode for the back gate to open, driving us through the tree-lined driveway that takes us to the back of the house. I doubt either one of the girls can see much, but I’m sure they can see a decent bit of the grounds. Considering the family they’ve come from, the
ir own home may be bigger than the Mackenzie estate. Although, massive isn’t an accurate representation of our home.
We have a staff of fourteen who live on the premises with us in small cottages on different parts of the two hundred acres we own. We have a small building next to ours where our security team lives. The maids and chefs live on the other side of the property near the pond, with the only exception being Maeve. She might not be blood, but she is a Mackenzie in every right. Instead of staying in the home near the pond, she has a bedroom on the first level of our house. This way she doesn’t have to go up those damn stairs she hates.
“Why do I have an inkling I’m about to meet your father,” Caprice whispers, putting her hand on my leg. It’s odd how she finds comfort in touching me considering we’re still strangers, but I don’t mind it. Honestly, it’s comforting to me as well.
I place my arm around her shoulder, preparing her for the worst. “You’re about to meet everyone in my household. I hope you’re ready for this.”
I know we can wait until tomorrow for the questions to begin, however, I’m itching to figure out how Sergei figured out where they were. I thought at first it could’ve been Alessandra, but given the look of fear she wore all night long, I don’t think it was her. Time will reveal all truths, though.
13
Nothing kills you like your mind.
~ Unknown
Caprice
Luca parks the vehicle on the side of the Mackenzie estate. To say it’s massive is an extreme understatement. It’s dark, but there are lights surrounding the home showing its vast size. Our home in Sicily is a bit smaller than this from the looks of it.
Liam removes his arm from around me and opens the door, hopping out. I follow his lead and walk out onto some sort of stone gravel. From the corner of my eye, I see prying eyes peer from the window downstairs. There’s an older woman staring out at us. I wonder if she’s Liam’s grandmother or something.
“We’d better get this over with,” Liam mutters, turning around as he speaks to Luca. “You take Alessandra to the security house. Caprice and I will deal with my father.”
“Whoa. What?” Alessandra whisper-yells out, charging up to Liam and me.
I know she’s uncomfortable, but she has to go with Luca. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if she comes with us. I imagine it’ll take Desmond a while to process I’ve married his son. There’s no telling what will happen if he discovers Alessandra and Luca are married. Hell, he’d probably see all of this for what it is— a sham.
“You need to go with him, Al,” I urge, calling her by the childhood nickname I gave her. My hope is she’ll understand how dire our situation is. She looks at me with confused eyes, but I have an inkling she doesn’t want to be left alone with Luca. “Trust me, okay? Liam and I have to handle whatever is going to happen with Mr. Mackenzie. You go with Luca and get some sleep. We’ll chat in the morning.”
Alessandra shakes her head from side to side, obviously showing me she’s had it. “No, I don’t like this. Please don’t make me be separated from you right now. Not after I . . . ”
Luca gets out of the SUV and does something which shocks me beyond measure. He puts a hand on Alessandra’s shoulder and tugs her over to him. “It’s evident you’re afraid, cailín. Don’t be. We’ve got you now.” I don’t know the word he calls her, but it isn’t English. My assumption is he’s speaking Irish, although I don’t think it’s called that.
“We can trust the Mackenzie family to keep us safe,” I assure my sister, whole-heartedly believing everything I’m saying. I don’t know why I believe the Mackenzies will keep us safe, but I do. If they wanted to harm us, then we wouldn’t be here. We would’ve been handed over to Sergei on a golden platter.
“I hope you’re right, Caprice,” she mutters. Luca takes the opportunity to escort her to wherever his house is. I’m sure I’ll find it when daylight comes.
I peer up at Liam. “In the morning, will you take me to where she is? We need to have a heart-to-heart after everything that’s happened.”
“Of course.” Liam nods, taking a step back as he urges me to walk forward with a motion of his hand.
I walk onto a stone path that leads up to a back door. Even though it’s dark, I can see how thick and vibrant the grass is here. I almost want to bend down and touch it because in Italy and New York we don’t have grass that looks like this. It makes me feel like I’m in some sort of fantasy film. Redirecting my attention to the door, I see the same older woman who was staring out at us a few minutes ago.
“Cad atá á dhéanamh agat leis an cailín seo?” the older lady asks Liam. I recognize one of the words from what Luca called Alessandra a couple minutes ago.
Liam stops, chuckles, and glances at me. “Caprice, this is Maeve. Maeve wants to know what I’m doing with you.”
I remain silent, not quite sure how to respond.
“Maeve, this is Caprice, my wife. I’m bringing her to the house to meet Father. What’re you doing up anyway? Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Liam retorts, moving toward the door.
“You’re damn right, I should be! Tell your bloody father to be quiet. His moaning and complaining woke me up. I could hear him on the other side of the house! A Dhia, táim tuirseach traochta!” Maeve goes from English to Irish again, and Liam explains that she cursed in a way and said she was tired. I do like how he’s translating instead of leaving me in the dark.
Liam and I step through the back door, walking into a massive living room. All the lights are on and I can fully take in the beautiful architecture of the home. The walls are a light cream color where the floors are a deep chocolate brown. The windows are huge and span almost the entire wall. I estimate they’re around twenty feet high. Light yellow curtains fall from the very top, being pulled on both sides in the middle. The room is big enough that there are two seating areas with carpets underneath the couches and armchairs. The rugs have a combination of creams, reds, and taupes throughout.
The ceiling is just as grand, molding spanning over the entire thing with three long chandeliers extending down the length of the room. I feel like I’m in an episode of Outlander. “Wow,” I mutter, taking in all of the beauty.
“I know. It’s a lot.”
“It’s . . . beautiful.”
“Yes, yes, now get going to your father’s study so I can get back to bed!” Maeve orders grumpily. Liam places his hand in mine and leads me down a hallway to a room near the front door of the Mackenzie house. The stairwell leading up to the second floor is across the room. I imagine it must be another living room, or maybe the dining room.
Liam puts his hand on the door and pushes it open, revealing his father’s study. “About time you arrived,” Desmond Mackenzie grumbles under his breath, glaring at his only son. Considering the tone of his voice, I close the door behind us.
“I left after we got off the phone,” Liam explains.
I make my way next to Liam, getting a good view of his father. It’s evident where Liam gets his good looks. Desmond has to be near my father’s age but you wouldn’t think that at first glance. It’s a little past three in the morning at this point and the man’s wearing a full suit. His salt and pepper hair is styled back in a James Bond sort of way. The man embodies authority. Even from twenty feet away, the same emerald green eyes Liam has burn through me.
“You must be Caprice. I apologize for greeting you with haste. Please have a seat. There is much we need to discuss.”
14
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun warm up your face. And rains fall soft upon your fields.
~ Irish Proverb
Liam
The old cat has already done damage control. I can tell in the way he’s talking to Caprice. Shite, I should’ve known. My father looks over to me as I stand, hands planted on one of the armchairs he has in his study. Caprice has already taken a seat on the elegant red couch my father had put in here last week.
/>
I suck in a breath, thinking about what I’ll say to him, but he cuts to the chase.
“Do you think I’m an eejit?” he shoots out, looking at me and then to Caprice. “I mean no disrespect to you, of course, dear. Only to my foolish son who is only now starting to play the game. You’d best remember I wrote the rules in the book, boy.”
“It’s alright. I’m not taking any offense. I’d ask you to elaborate if you’re willing, though,” Caprice asks my father.
“My son must think I’m stupid, lass. He’s been denying marriage for almost two years. I bet he forgets I tried to arrange a marriage between the two of you about fourteen months ago and he said no.”
Caprice raises her brows, glaring at me. “Is that true, honey?” There’s a certain aspect of coldness to the way she’s asking.
“It is. Look where I ended up. Appears you did some matchmaking of your own, Dad,” I say, taking a seat next to Caprice. I wrap my arm around her and hold her tight against my chest. We need to appear like two lovebirds so the slight change in her voice shouldn’t be too suspicious.
“Stop fucking with me, Liam. If you were honestly in love with Caprice, you would’ve told me the other day when I mentioned she and her sister were missing.”
I don’t want him to think he’s right, so I interject, but I’m cut off by Caprice. “I asked him not to say anything. To be fair, Mr. Mackenzie, I didn’t think you’d be supportive of our relationship and I was fearful you’d run to my father and tell him where I was.” Holy shite. Caprice is an amazing liar. It’s obvious she was born and bred to be a mobster’s wife.
My father chuckles, coming out from behind his desk. He approaches us and sits on the small coffee table in front of the couch, staring intently at Caprice. “I only put up with your father because I have to, lass. If it were up to me, he’d be in the ground next to my brother-in-law Rafael, but I doubt either of them will die anytime soon. I apologize if I’m being crass, however, considering we’re family, it means you’ll keep my secrets and I’ll do the same for you. Now, since we’re being honest here, I’m telling you both I don’t buy your bullshit story. I’m not who you need to worry about, though. We Mackenzies, well, we stick together through the brunt of every war. Now, were you two actually married yesterday?” I notice Caprice stiffens next to me after what my father has just said.
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 51
