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Nineteen
Nerine
Finally, the day was here.
Andraius’s funeral.
I’d wanted it. I’d waited for it.
Now here I stood with an umbrella over my head in the pouring rain under a giant tent that did little to protect us from the leaking canopy above us.
The weather seemed fitting, considering the cloud of suspicion surrounding the guest of honor was going into the ground.
Why the hell had Andraius written that he wanted an outdoor liturgy? I’d never understand. Still, here I was, dutiful wife and giving him his last wishes.
Maybe he’d thought I’d give him a big send-off in the spacious Angelos cemetery where my family members were laid to rest.
Yeah, that was never going to happen.
Hell would freeze over before I’d bestow such an honor on him.
Instead, I’d purchased a large section of the cemetery belonging to his home church and had it designated for him. No matter how I felt about him, he was still considered the head of a powerful family and deserved a proper burial in a blessed area.
It just wouldn’t be one sacred to my family.
If anyone thought my actions were questionable, they were all idiots and possessed selective memories of what occurred only a few years ago.
From the moment I’d opened my eyes this morning, I’d known that I had to harden myself for the day ahead, which meant implementing many of the lessons the squad taught me. Principal among them was to show no weakness in front of anyone who slighted me.
I’d survived so much and had grown stronger.
I had to remember society admired men who were ruthless, and when women behaved the same way, they were bitches.
Blessings to all the bitches in the world.
I inhaled deep and then steadied my breath.
All eyes are on you, Nerine. Perform your duties, and don’t let even one of them see you sweat.
Representatives of thirty or so families had arrived from around the country to pay their condolences. Even Andraius’s brothers and nephews showed up, which surprised all of us.
My gut told me they planned to determine their chances of filling Andraius’s position. They’d hated him with a passion for betraying them. They sought every advantage to muscle their way into the Angelos territory.
Then again, many of the other families here today would do the same thing.
They wanted to see whether the Angeloses were even more vulnerable to a hostile takeover now that I sat at the head of the table.
Assholes, all of them.
I stared into the distance wearing my standard expressionless facade. However, with my sunglasses perched on my nose, no one would know I wasn’t paying attention to Father Christianos going through the divine liturgy.
Thankfully, all the kneeling was out because of the nonstop rain.
The wind picked up as the weather eased from a heavy pour to a drizzle.
Being here without Mama and the girls standing by my side felt strange. Their presence would have eased some of my tension and given me the extra boost to build my confidence in this sea of vultures. But as luck had it, being with me wasn’t in the cards for them. There had been delays with closing the house, and then unexpected volcanic activity on an island off the coast of Italy had grounded all flights in and out of that part of Europe.
Xander and Theo stood behind me, officially taking on the roles as my seconds-in-command. They kept our public interactions businesslike to keep anyone from suspecting the depth of what we shared.
