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"We’ll be right here on the front row, waiting for you." Karma squeezes my arm, then both of them step away. I straighten my spine. I can do this; I can.
Massimo moves toward me. Wordlessly, he holds out his arm. I accept it and allow him to lead me toward the open casket. Before I can reach it, I shut my eyes.Oh, god, this is it. Oh, god.
Massimo pats my arm. "I’ll be right behind you." I hear him move away.
I hear someone cough in the church behind me, followed by the sound of a child crying, shushed by his mother. Footsteps shuffle, then everything fades away. Silence descends, a beat, another. I open my eyes, lower my gaze, and stare into the face of my dead husband.
58
Jeanne
He looks alive. He looks like he could get up from the casket, jump out, scoop me up in his arms, and walk out of here with me. He looks like he could take me home, bend me over the settee in the living room, and fuck all of my sadness out of me. He looks like… he’s asleep. I draw in a breath and his scent of dark chocolate and coffee fills my lungs. How strange. Maybe it's my imagination playing tricks on me? His cheeks are slightly flushed, his hair combed back perfectly, except for an errant strand that’s escaped over his temple. His jaw is shaved, so there’s no trace of a beard. He’s wearing a dark jacket, and underneath it, a pale blue shirt and a black tie.
That’s not right; he’d never wear a blue shirt. He preferred black shirts. Someone should have remembered that. I wring my hands tighter, and my finger slips on my wedding ring. I wore it when I returned from the hospital, and haven’t taken it off since, not even for the performances. I’m never going to take it off again. Not for anything or anyone. My fingers tingle. I want to touch his face. To kiss his forehead one last time. To brush back that errant strand, and cup his cheek, and tell him I’ll always love him. I reach out my hand, when the sound of a car backfiring echoes around the space. It’s followed by a woman’s scream, quickly cut off, and I realize that wasn’t a car. My heart begins to race. A shudder grips me.
Something solid crashes to the floor. I gasp and turn around to find Michael and Massimo have overturned one of the mobile pews. Axel and Christian do the same with another, and Seb and Adrian overturn a third. They line up all three pews, forming a solid barrier, behind which they position themselves with guns drawn.
Massimo glances over his shoulder. "Get down," he yells.
When I hesitate, he points to the floor and I follow his directions. I hear movement and look up to find Michael guiding Karma to join me. The other women follow her and we huddle behind the wall that is the Sovranos.
"What's happening? Was that a gunshot?" I ask.
"It would seem so," Karma replies. Her gaze is alert, but her manner is calm. The other women are tense, but no one seems alarmed. Except for Penny, who seems as confused as me, the rest of the women are remarkably calm.
"Is this normal? Gunshots and hiding from shooters. Is that why none of you is panicking?" I try to chuckle, but it comes out like a wheezing sound. "Why aren't any of you worried about what's happening? Is this like a day-in-the-life of the Mafia? Does this happen often?"
"Not that often," Karma murmurs.
The women glance at each other. Something passes between them.
"What?" I peer into the faces. "What is it?
No one answers. The hair on the back of my neck rises. My pulse begins to thud at my temples.
"What is it?" I glance between the women. "What are you not telling me?"
Elsa glances at Aurora, then back at me. She seems uncomfortable. "It’s nothing that you won’t know very soon." She closes the distance to me, reaches for my hand, but I pull away.
"I hate it when I’m the only one who doesn’t know what’s happening," I snap.
Beyond the wall of Sovranos, another gunshot rings out. One of the Sovrano brothers returns fire. It’s difficult to know who's shooting, since all of them have pulled out guns. Clearly, the fact that we’re in a place of worship is no deterrent for these men. No wonder in all of the gangster movies I’ve seen, guns and churches go hand-in-hand. It’s clearly not a cliché, for here I am, witnessing what seems to be a full-on gunfight.
Karma moves toward me. "We need to leave."
"No." I glance at Luca’s casket, then back at her. "I’m not leaving him."
"We need to leave, babe; it’s not safe here." She reaches for me, but I move back.
"You can go. I’m staying with Luca."
She blows out a breath, then turns to the others. A look passes between her and Aurora. Then Aurora nods, turns, and heads for the back door of the church on one side of the pulpit.
Penny hesitates. Karma turns to her. "We need to go."
"Not without Jeanne."
"Jeanne will be safe, I promise." Karma grabs her hand. "We need to leave."
