Page 61 of Emperor of Wrath

Annika and I face each other as the priest says the words. I slip a ring onto her finger, and she does the same to me before we utter our vows.

“And now, by the power vested in me by God and the State of New York, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Annika half turns to smile at the assembled guests and the cameras, already moving as if she’s about to walk back up the aisle.

I can’t honestly say what makes me do it. Tradition, maybe. Sticking to the script, or “selling” this to anyone present who’s too stupid to understand that this marriage is a peace treaty, not a declaration of love.

Whatever the reason, I’m moving before I realize it. In one motion, I’ve grabbed Annika around the waist, turned her around with a gasp on her lips, and yanked her against my body.

Her brows furrow in confusion as she looks up at me.

“What the fuck are you?—”

“This.”

My mouth slams to hers. Our lips sear together as my hand cups her jaw and draws her in. My tongue dives into her mouth and captures hers.

And everything around us just…fades.

Just as I’m about to try and stop myself, or at least decide what the fuck just came over me, an ear-splitting crash explodes through the church.

We whirl along with the rest of the crowd, and then I’m roaring and jumping in front of Annika as the van comes crashing through the doors of the church in a hail of splintered wood. Guests and their guards lurch out of the way and screams fill the air as the van plows into two pews and then whines to a stop, smoke billowing from its wrecked front grill and its windshield spiderwebbed.

“MAL!” I roar. He, and Tak, and a bunch of our guys are already whipping guns out and approaching the sides of the van. Kir’s men are doing the same. I glance over and spot Drazen keeping Taylor behind him, his gun drawn as they back away toward a side door, surrounded by his guards.

I turn to Hana, but she’s already with Sota and his guys, also moving toward the side door.

“OUT OF THE VAN!” Mal roars. “Now!!”

When there’s no response, he edges closer. The whole fucking church is on edge, like we’re teetering on our toes on the precipice of a cliff.

“OUT!” Mal doesn’t hesitate this time. He charges the driver’s side door, yanking it open and jamming his gun inside. I see the wild look on his face before he even turns back to me. “It’s empty!”

Oh fuck.

“GET BACK!” I roar, shoving Annika back toward the door leading to the vestry and then running to the van as the whole damn church descends into chaos. “GET BACK! Mal! Get the fuck away from?—”

The air turns to fire as I’m punched backward off my feet from the force of the car bomb that shatters the night.

12

ANNIKA

The alcohol is strong and fierce and it rolls down my throat like fire. I don’t normally chuck booze straight like this, but given the events of the last two hours?

Yeah. I think this is necessary.

I pause, letting the first massive gulp of vodka settle in my stomach before I tip the glass back and swallow the rest of it. I inhale deeply, wincing as I set the glass down before reaching for the bottle again.

Like I said: necessary. Plus, I am half Serbian.

Drinking vodka like water is in my DNA.

Mercifully, there’ve been minimal casualties from the car bomb that ripped through the church earlier—and miraculously, no fatalities. Kenzo’s brother Mal has a nasty gash across the temple from shrapnel, and seven other Mori and Akiyama men have various minor injuries from the blast.

Lev, one of Kir’s guys, is in the worst shape after taking a piece of van in the stomach like a machete. But even he’s going to be okay. So are the four other Nikolayev men who took shrapnel.

No one else was hurt.

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