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“How do you suggest we do that?”
His brother turns around with a smirk on his face. “By beating her at her own game. The Castaneda way.”
“She already has everything.”
Gabriel shakes his head. “As long as you're still alive, she has nothing. All we have to do is make sure you stay that way and that Mateo doesn't marry Santiago.” He switches his dirty pants for a pair of clean ones, not caring he's out in the open.
“What if it's already too late by the time we get there?”
Gabriel's brother's eyes brighten with certainty. “Let's just say I have that covered and I have a feeling many of the guests will be objecting to the wedding. You may have enemies, but turns out Santiago has way more.”
Gabriel digs in the bag again, sliding a holster over his shoulders, loading each side with guns. He pulls a sports coat over it, straightening his posture. “How about we go add a few more out there?”
There is no possible way I could ever second guess the man beside me being Marcus's son. He carries the same drive and passion in his eyes. When he loved, it was with his whole heart and it was apparent in every action he took. This man loves my son and that alone is enough for me to fight along his side. We both want the same things. To stop the wedding and take down the people who threaten my family. Mateo is all I have left, and I won't let anything else happen to him. I couldn't keep his brother here, but there's still time for things to end up differently for him.
Thirty-Three
Mateo
I stand next to my soon-to-be husband, who's wearing a black suit and a smug expression on his face. He thinks he's won. The mystery guest from before and unplanned fireworks give me hope that it isn't over yet. The priest looks toward the guests behind us after we say our vows. “If anyone can show just cause as to why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”
“No one does, please go on,” Santiago says in a rushed tone.
The priest looks back down and when he's about to continue on with the vows, someone I’ve only met briefly stands up. “I do.”
Santiago's eyes go wide and his face grows red with fury. Before he can say anything else, another man with long blond hair pulled back stands up. “Me too.”
“Same with me,” another one says from behind my mother.
Santiago clenches his fists at his side. “If you are all done with your little joke, I'd like to continue getting married.”
“I have just cause.” Another person jumps from their seat and the priest closes his book and tilts his head.
“Will there be anyone else?”
I glance into the crowd and watch as the back doors swing open. My breath catches when my father and Gabriel come barging out with guns in their hands. They're alive. Why would I have doubted it for a single second? They both draw their weapons toward Santiago and four men stand up from the chairs, pointing their guns at my father and Gabriel. The men who stood up before draw their weapons as well.
Santiago bursts into a heap of laughter. “Well, wasn’t all this very entertaining. I think we can stop fucking around now and just admit I’ve won this little game and that Mateo here is part of the prize. Since you bothered to waste my time, I think I’ll keep you alive until after the honeymoon. I'd much rather have you watch me break your precious boy.”
Santiago wraps his cold fingers around my chin, and I hear the clicking of someone's jaw. “How about we skip the boring part and get to the fun part. I think it’s time I kiss my husband, don’t you, Father?” He stares at the priest and the guy's hands shake around the bible.
“Yes, sir. Of course. And by the power invested in me, I pronounce you both partners for life. You may kiss the groom.” Santiago’s lips turn up as he presses them against mine. I slip my hand under my coat, grabbing my pocket knife. I kiss him harder, pulling him farther into me while I jab the blade into his side.
He yelps, jumping back. “You little shit. You will pay for that, cabrón.”
He reaches for his gun but I’m faster pulling out the blue pistol from the back of my pants. I shoot him in the arm, making him drop it to the floor with a loud clack. “Looks like the only one who will be paying is you.”
His jaw clenches as he tugs his injured arm to his chest. I keep my gun right on him, staring him right in his cold eyes.
My mom stands from her seat. “Please, mijo. Think about what you're doing. You can still set things right. It doesn't have to be this way.”
My hand shakes with anger while remaining on the gun, pointing it at the vile man in front of me. “No, Mother, it does have to be this way. It's the only way I can try to fix the mess you made.”
She huffs. “The mess I made? All you're doing is repeating your father's past mistakes. Everything I've done is for you. Can't you see that? Everything I do comes from love. Your father and Gabriel don't care about you as they claim. Your life will always be miserable if you leave here with them today.”
I laugh, staring in the direction of the woman I no longer recognize to be, the one who used to hold me every time I woke up from a nightmare. She is the reason for the one I'm in now, and nothing about her cold touches from earlier brought me comfort.
“Do as she says, mi amor. Keep continuing this path and you are as good as dead, just like your father and Gabriel. It isn’t too late for you.”
