Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Not a single one of them would ever dream a man might commit an atrocity like this one.
And I swear, Mass never looks away from me. Like casually murdering a man in front of hardened and vicious criminals at his own wedding is nothing at all.
Finally, the scream I’ve been holding back rips itself from my throat.
All hell breaks loose.
Men are on their feet. Guns are drawn. But before the shooting can start, more people spill into the yard. Men in full tactical body armor with helmets, visors, and long military-grade rifles surround the little wedding. Some are kneeling while others stand above them, a double ring of death. I count twenty before I lose track.
If my father’s security is still alive, I’m pretty sure they’re useless at this point.
Mass steps forward and lowers his gun. He shoves it back into his holster and grabs me roughly by the arm. I stumble against him, whimpering, struggling to keep my composure. Dozens of outraged and horrified faces stare back. My mother has Rosie turned away from the slaughter. At least she’s sparing my daughter the worst. At least she’s too little to understand.
Her father’s back.
“I believe there has been some kind of mistake,” Mass says loudly to the gathered people. “This girl was about to be married off to a nobody. She was going to be given away to a worthless minor figure in our illustrious world.”
“Who the fuck are you?!” Papa shouts, trembling with outrage.
But Gabriel puts a hand on our father’s shoulder. He leans in and whispers, and Papa’s face goes completely pale. His eyes widen as terror falls over him.
Word is passed around the gathering. I watch it like a ripple in a pond. Some of the men realize what’s happening, and as they all hear Mass’s name, they come to understand.
They’re in the presence of a Dragon.
“I’m here to rectify this grievous mistake. If anyone wishes to speak against my decision, now is the time.”
Some of the most powerful men in the city watch and don’t speak a single word.
The overwhelming emotion is pure fear.
A woman appears at the far end of the gathering. She’s tall and willowy with long dark hair and olive-toned skin. She’s wearing tactical body armor and a pair of dress slacks. The contrast is fascinating. She strides forward, dragging Father Michael behind her. The old priest stumbles along, walking as fast as his awkward robes will allow.
“I’ve been told, ah, that I am going to officiate this, uh, union,” Father Michael stutters, looking older and frailer than I’ve ever seen him before.
“Skip to the end, Father,” the woman says. Her accent is vaguely Hispanic. “If you would be so kind.”
“Yes, of course.” Father Michael clears his throat. He looks to my father, who can only mumble stupidly. Gabriel stares at me, his expression a mixture of confusion and fascination. My other brother, Dominic, has his arm around Mama to keep her steady.
Father Michael talks fast. He skips straight to the vows but doesn’t bother asking us to repeat after him. Mass simply nods when it’s his turn. Father Michael turns to me, and I can tell that he’s expecting something.
Until the situation finally cracks through my wool-filled head.
Mass is trying to marry me.
He just murdered my arranged fiancé in front of the entire New York criminal underworld, and now he’s stepping in to take my hand instead.
But this is crazy. I don’t want this man. I’d rather marry Sal Mancini a million times than get anywhere near Massimo Cardone.
He was a horrible mistake.
That was one night. A single, stupid, passionate night. A good night, but the sort of night that infected me. It gave me Rosie, but it also broke something in me.
Left me twisted and wrong.
I only figured out who he was after it happened, and I swore I’d never go near him again. I told myself I’d keep Rosie far away.
How did he find out?
I didn’t tell anyone, not a single living soul.
There’s no way he should be here. We’ve kept my daughter as quiet as we could.
But he found her anyway.
And now he means to get to her through me.
“I won’t do it,” I whisper, shaking with fear, but this is my baby’s future. I can’t let her get sucked into the orbit of a Dragon.
Father Michael looks panicked. “Ah, I don’t think she means that, of course. Perhaps she just didn’t hear me well enough?”
“I’m not going to marry this man,” I say loudly and try to step away.
But Mass holds my arm tightly. His grip’s like iron.
“She said the words, priest. Keep going.”
Father Michael’s eyes widen. Mass stares back blankly and waits.
“I didn’t say them! I won’t do it! Please—”
“By the power vested in me by God and New Jersey, I now pronounce you man and wife,” Father Michael says quickly, ignoring my pleas.