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“Why?” I was confused. I didn’t think it was a good idea to bring those two together, though I knew my wedding to Jack was the way my father wanted to bring the opposing mafias together.
“Because,” Jack said. “I told Braden that Frank King was here for the wedding, so why shouldn’t he? He didn’t want to miss it, so now he’s here.”
“Jack,” I whimpered. My entire being felt weak thinking of the warring mafias being part of my wedding. I fell into Jack’s arms.
“Shhh, shhh.” He combed my hair with his fingers. “They’re part of my plan.”
20
JACK
Ihated to see Emma so upset and so afraid, but I understood. Getting the contraband to even make my plan work had been enough of a challenge. Now, I just needed to sell my plan to Emma. I laid her down, and she slept for a short nap. I loved seeing her sleep, her face was so relaxed and serene. There were moments of fear that she felt during her sleep, and we held hands through the worst of it.
When she awoke, she looked at me. “You’re still here.”
I nodded. “Right now, the Reeds and Kings are in a negotiating over profit shares so they won’t kill each other right away. You learn a lot when you spend all your time with guards.”
She took her time to process this news, now much calmer than when I had first told her. Finally, she asked, “When do they start killing each other?”
“You’ll be safe,” I told her.
The look of outrage on her face had me confused.Doesn’t she believe me?
“Tell me the plan,” she said, the tones of frustration screeching at me through her voice. I could feel the shrill, scratching of nails on a chalkboard, but she was right. I had to tell her.
“It could get pretty nasty. Frank King’s going to hear a well-placed rumor at the reception,” I told her, “that Braden Reed killed one of Frank’s nephews years ago at the city harbor.”
Emma approved. “Will there be a warning before Frank King goes hysterical on everyone?”
I nodded. “Yes, two of his henchmen will bring it up during dinner after the first course is served. That way, everyone’s distracted with their food, and buys us more time to escape.”
“How much?”
Emma was right to grill me, but she had never planned an escape that relied so much on unpredictable human behavior. Fortunately, my plan was to be out of the door minutes before the first course was served. I explained everything to Emma, who continued to dissect and analyze my plan. She was a brilliant girl, and I was proud to be sharing my work with her. She supported me in my plan, and had a few pointers.
“When Frank hears this rumor, where will he be?” she asked. “We need to make sure we can get him seated within sight, but not so close we get caught in it.”
Emma was right. With the Kings and Reeds around each other, there was also the issue of minor scuffles. I told Emma that I would have to be by her side the day of the wedding. She pointed out that there were still several days before we were to wed. Preparations for the wedding were under way, and her father was mostly in charge, with Karen making some of the major decisions. Emma did not like this.
“But it’s not even the real thing,” I told her when she brought this up to me. “We’ll have the real thing when we’re out of here.”
“And where are we going?” She asked, clearly exasperated.
“I promise you, it’ll be well worth it. You won’t ever have to worry about your father or any of these people again.”
She got quiet. “Do you really mean that?”
“Of course I do. Can you imagine a future where we live with your father?”
“No,” she sighed. “The only way is to leave him for good.”
I put my hands over hers. “Together.”
But she was right to be worried. We weren’t always able to be together, especially when Karen would show her the different preparations. Emma finally started to warm up to Karen being the decorator in charge, and I reassured her that we would get out.
Inwardly, I had doubts. I didn’t know what would happen if we didn’t get out. Somehow, I felt that if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have our lives.A fitting ending for a regular Romeo and Juliet, death.
Emma had gotten lost in the blur of life as the final preparations were secured. The back garden was decorated as if everything in it was a natural part of it, something that Emma really liked about Karen’s decisions.
