My brand-new husband yanks me to the side, and when he steps in front of me, I catch a glimpse of dark chrome metal as he pulls something from behind his back.
I don’t see what’s happening as gunshots ring through the air because my damn sneaker catches on the silk and I fall flat on my butt in the doorway.
I jerk with every bam, the blood and heat draining from my face as I watch Adriano take the steps down to the wounded man lying partially across the cobbled path.
“Noooo! Anthony!” The agonizing cry grabs my attention, and I see a sedan parked crookedly near the curb. A woman sits in the passenger seat, anguish carved into her face as she stares at the wounded man.
The second Adriano’s head snaps in her direction, she scrambles over the center console into the driver’s seat andfloors the gas. The tires spin, leaving smoke behind as she speeds away.
While Little Ricky kicks the assailant’s weapon out of his reach, Adriano presses the barrel of his gun to the man’s head and growls, “Any last words, Castellano?”
Anthony coughs, drops of blood flying into the air. “You think because you’re a capo… and have the Cosa Nostra behind you… you can butcher men in the street… and nobody will come for you?” He chokes on another cough, blood spilling down his chin. “Your family… has rotted… this city… for decades. The uprising has begun… my death will be… avenged.”
The world tilts violently around me.
Capo?
Cosa Nostra?
I have no idea what capo means, but I think I’ve heard Cosa Nostra from the documentaries about Gotti, which Austin loved to watch.
Horror crashes through me as I stare at Adriano, who rises to his full height before emptying his gun into the man.
A scream tears from my throat, and when I glance over my shoulder and find the priest watching the horrific scene with a sad expression and zero panic, I realize just how screwed I am.
My survival instinct kicks in the second Adriano turns around with the grimmest expression I’ve ever seen on a man’s face.
Scrambling to my feet, I run into the cathedral, and when Paulie lunges for me, I somehow manage to evade him.
“Get rid of the body,” I hear Little Ricky snap. “And clean up the blood.”
Shit.Shit.Shit!
Gathering fistfuls of silk and lace, I sprint toward the door at the back, and slamming through it, I realize with a terrible sinking feeling it’s only an office and not an exit.
Spinning around, I see Adriano calmly walking up the aisle while tucking his gun behind his back and adjusting his jacket like he didn’t just execute a man outside a church in broad daylight.
My breaths explode over my lips as I frantically glance around. Making a desperate dash across the little podium where the altar is, I accidentally bump into the table and knock the marriage register with all the papers to the floor.
I flit down the hallway, trying every door but only finding empty rooms.
“No!” I gasp, running for the last door, which turns out to be a kitchen.
Spotting a backdoor, I rush over and try to open it, but realizing it’s locked, I let out a frustrated cry that morphs into a choked sob.
“That’s enough, Laurie,” Adriano says behind me, still sounding as angry as when he shot that poor man.
Slowly and with jerky movements, I turn around to face the murderer I married.
I begin to shake my head, and giving him a pleading look, I whimper, “Please…”
His expression softens, and as he comes closer, I squeak like a mouse as I press up against the door while pinching my eyes shut.
When he takes hold of my arm, I begin to cry and continue shaking my head. “Nonononono.”
I resist and rear back as he pulls me into his arms, but he just uses more strength to overpower me, and I’m yanked against his chest.
Terror ripples over me like tiny thorns pricking at my skin, and still shaking my head, I look up and beg, “I-I-I w-won’t t-t-t-tell anyone. P-p-please.”