“I left you for fifteen minutes. That’s impressive.”
“It was a miracle he even lasted that long.”
He smirked, bending down to examine my handiwork. He whistled low. “I wondered how you’d kill him with limited resources. What did you use?”
“Raya’s hairpin.” I narrowed my eyes, now thinking clearly enough to see that my brother was a sneaky, manipulative genius.
“Creative,” he chuckled, standing up. “Did you get what you needed?”
“If you mean, have I mellowed the fuck out now?Si.And if you also mean, did I get the information we needed… of course I did. He was working for Callum D'Ardenzi.”
“Hmm,” Gio nodded, not surprised. “Interesting. Alessio just got back to me about the remaining shipments at the port that are still in operation. Guess who owns them?”
“D'Ardenzi,” I growled. “Something bigger is going on here, Gio. She can’tmarry him.”
Because she’s mine.
Gio sighed, folding his arms across his chest as we locked eyes.
“Let me out. I promise I’m not about to fly to Rome and kidnap the mayor’s daughter before her wedding.”
“You’re not?”
“Not exactly. The wedding’s still going ahead. There’s just been a change of groom. Go get a tux on,Fratello.You’re my best man.”
Forgive Me, Father
Outside the wedding car window, Rome blurred past in sun-soaked stone, familiar streets, and busy people. But that’s not what I was staring at. It was my reflection in the glass, one of a flawless bride. Her cheeks tinted, eyelashes longer than life, and lips painted a deep rose. An elegant updo of golden curls, with a few escaping tendrils framing her face.
Detached.
That’s the only way to explain how I woke up feeling today. On the outside, I was calm, composed, and almost convincing, I think. Well, mypapiwas convinced, at least. He kept offering me those wide smiles that said all his problems were about to end. But it didn’t feel that way to me. Nothing about this day felt like an end to my problems. It didn’t even feel real.
I exhaled a slow breath, causing the sheer, dramatic veil to tickle my face. The only thing anchoring me to reality was the feel of lace between my fingers, the quiet, small victory that I had at least found my dream dress in the space of four days. This dress was made for me… even if the wedding itself was a farce.
“You honestly look so beautiful, Ari,” Allegra gushed from the seat beside me, pulling my attention from the window to her face. She sat with one leg over the other in her black satin bridesmaid’s dress, looking like a film star.
She’d been sworn to secrecy and promised she’d stay off her socials for the day, as we wanted to keep this wedding as low-key as possible. It was a tiny, intimate wedding with just us, mypapi,and Allegra, because Callum andPapididn’t want to risk the press leaking news of our engagement and alerting Santino before we were married. By then, it would be too late for Santino to react. If he’d even care at all.
There I was again. Thinking of a man I shouldn’t be. I hadn’t heard from or seen him, which had me doubting whether this was all still necessary. No more texts or pillow-humping pornos to my new phone, no more motorcycles revving past my flat, and no hospital visits. Not that I’d been going into work, anyway. For safety reasons, I’d taken a two-week holiday, which I thought would be a good ideato spend time with my new husband and maybe go on a short honeymoon to get to know him better. But that didn’t stop me from feeling a certain type of way about the fact that Santino Buccini had disappeared. I knew I should have felt relieved. That was the whole point, right? Maybe he’d heard about the wedding and backed off. Or maybe I wasn’t worth the effort anymore.
“You are very quiet,luce mia.”
“Just… nervous.”
“Nerves are completely normal on your wedding day. I wish yourmammacould see you like this,” he said softly at the memory, shaking his head. “You look perfect.”
I smiled and peered down at my hands resting on the layers of tulle. My chest tightened as I thought of my mum and what she’d say about all of this. She was always so strong and had taught me I’d never need a man for anything. She was free-spirited but pretty scorned after her andPapi’sdivorce. She wasn’t a man-hater as such, but she definitely didn’t trust them. She’d probably tell me to run for my life if she were here. I twisted the solitaire engagement ring on my finger, nearly snagging it on my skirt.
I think I could run pretty fast in this dress.
The invasive thought startled me, but not as much as the mean growl of a motorcycle somewhere behind us. My whole body twisted to look out of the back window, my heart thudding in my chest. For the first time today, I suddenly felt very, very alive.
Everyone in the car tensed as the atmosphere shifted when a bike swerved through the traffic towards us. It reared up, driving alongside my window, and my body deflated.
It wasn’t him.
An older man with a long beard, wearing a leather waistcoat over a black T-shirt that showed off his colourful tattooed arms, stared back at me through the window. His green eyes were bright as they clashed with mine through his open visor. Then, with a twist of the throttle, he was gone, speeding ahead of us.
