Page 60 of Emperor of Wrath

I turn to stare at her, thunderstruck. “You stole a car?—”

“Technically, your fiancée stole a car.”

“What in God’s name would possess her to do that at her bachelorette party?”

Hana grins sheepishly.

“What, Hana,” I grunt.

“Because… I dared her to?”

I groan. “Fucking hell.”

“Please,” my sister sighs. “What are we, clergy? You do realize you’re about to be a king, right, Kenzo? I mean, live a little.”

“There’s living a little, and then there’s recklessness. Learn the difference, Hana.”

“Oh, like going after a woman for years just because she stole a necklace from you?”

My eyes narrow. “You know what that necklace?—”

“You’ve got a lot of Mom’s things, Kenzo,” she says tersely. “I do, too. So I’m wondering if it was the necklace, the girl, or the fact that someone beat you that had you all angry and riled up for five fucking years.”

My brows knit. I don’t actually know how to answer that. For the millionth time, I’m reminded how smart my younger sister is.

“Better get ready, Kenzo,” Hana says quietly. “It’s almost showtime.”

From my place standing by the altar, my eyes scan the crowd as the string quartet begins to play. I nod to Sota, who nods back. My father isn’t here, but that’s okay. I saw him last night, and we shared food and a couple of drinks, and he talked to me about married life and being a man and all that.

He doesn’t need to be here for the actual ceremony. Especially since he’s long since left the mafia world.

Takeshi gives me a thumbs up, and Mal next to him gives me a firm nod. A few rows back, I can see Drazen Krylov settling into his seat next to Annika’s twin sister, Taylor. Fumi, my half-sister, is another one who couldn’t be here today. She called me earlier to congratulate me, of course, but the First Lady of New York State can’t exactly be seen attending mafia weddings. I get it.

The doors at the back of the church open. Everyone turns to watch Kir walk Annika down the aisle.

And my heart stops.

Not because this is suddenly all so very, very real. Not because I’m about to chain myself to a batshit crazy little fucking thief.

No. My heart stills for a moment because when she walks in, all I can see is how fucking beautiful she looks.

I mean…fuck.

I half-expected her to walk down the aisle in a Halloween costume, just to fuck with me. But here she is in floor-length white satin and tulle, with pearls sewn into elaborate little floral designs up one side, and dainty leaves made of silky lace scattered across the deep neckline and plunging back.

Christ, she looks incredible.

Kir has to cough to yank my attention back when they reach me at the altar. He puts her hand in mine, and then gives me a hard look as he leans close.

“This woman is a daughter to me,” he says so quietly that only I can hear. “And I already have a bullet with your name quite literally on it. If you hurt her…”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll be making sure.”

He pats my forearm before he turns to kiss Annika on the cheek.

I won’t lie: even that gets my blood heated and my teeth grinding in ways I’m not quite ready to dissect just yet.

---