Page 36 of The Devils' Darling

My heart hitches. A part of me wanted this—to have Mackenzie say she’d marry me—but I didn’t plan for it to happen like this.

“Just begin,” my father commands the priest.

“Errr…ummm…” the man stutters.

“Just do it!” Grigoriy roars, and we all jump in response.

The priest begins to speak, but it’s in Russian.

“In fucking English.” My father looks like he’s about to murder the priest. Surely to God, even he wouldn’t go that far.

The priest begins the service again, this time in English. The service sounds real, but I can barely hear what he’s saying over the rush of blood in my ears and my heart pounding. Mackenzie’s hand is still in mine, and she squeezes my fingers, and I squeeze hers in return.

“—if anyone here has any reason why these two should not be married…” the priest continues.

I almost laugh at that. The man still has a gun pointed at his head. No one voices any concerns.

“Do we have the rings?” he asks, his eyes darting in one direction and then the other.

“Motherfucker,” Grigoriy curses. “We forgot the fucking rings.”

His men rush in. “Here, here. Use ours.” Jewelry is pulled from fingers and handed over. They’ll all be huge on Mackenzie, but I guess it’s the least of her concerns.

Grigoriy nods at the priest. “Continue.”

But, before he gets the chance, Igor appears at the top of the stairs and clears his throat. “Boss, there is a problem.”

Grigoriy’s eyes flare with anger at the interruption. “What is it, Igor?”

“We have company.”

“Fuck. Just keep going. Say the words. Do you Mackenzie take Kirill Stepanov…” My father has taken over, waving his hand in a circling motion to encourage the priest to keep going.

He does. “Do you Mackenzie—” He cuts off, clearly realizing he doesn’t know Mack’s surname.

“Kingsland,” she fills in.

“Do you Mackenzie Kingsland take Kirill Stepanov to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

She presses her lips into a thin line and nods. “I do.”

“And do you Kirill Stepanov take Mackenzie Kingsland to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

I open my mouth, but from somewhere outside comes the pop-pop-pop of gunfire. To anyone else, they might be mistaken for fireworks, or perhaps a car backfiring, but there’s no doubt in my mind what they are. My heart lifts. Gunfire means someone else is here, and there’s only one explanation I can think of.

Domenic and Valentino have found us.

“I do!” my father roars. “Say it! I do.”

I open my mouth to speak, but there’s a massive bang from upstairs and my words are lost to the noise and chaos.

Chapter 14

Tino

The plan for us to go in quietly and use flashbangs goes to shit.

We park the vehicles a short way from the cabins and approach quietly on foot, only to discover armed guards outside, patrolling the area. One of them is separate from the group, taking a piss, of all things.

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