Page 17 of Now and Forever

That was unlikely.

“Josie?” I asked.

Mia waved her hand. “I shouldn’t have mentioned her. I wouldn’t bring her up to Dario. Not a good subject.”

“Were they married?”

“Oh no. Father would never have allowed that. Dario is a man who strives to live by his own rules. That time is over. He’s about to be capo.”

“Doesn’t the capo make the rules?” I asked.

ChapterSix

Catalina

The day before the wedding, our plane touched down at a small airport roughly an hour from the Luciano mansion. Despite the offer from Vincent Luciano to use his soldiers, Papá had his own soldiers travel ahead. Our soldiers and their cars were waiting as we landed. My immediate family wasn’t alone; Uncle Nicolas, Aunt Maria, Mireya, and Nick as well as Uncle Gerardo and Sofia were aboard our private flight.

As we taxied, Camila covered my hand with hers and whispered, “You look pale. Have you eaten?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Camila’s, Mireya’s, and Sofia’s concerned looks didn’t go unnoticed.

I had other things besides food on my mind. Mainly, I was thankful that private airflight avoided TSA. While every man on our flight was carrying at least two guns and multiple knives, I was thinking about Em’s early wedding gift. Beneath my flowing sundress was a thigh holster, holding a five-inch stainless-steel fixed blade. During the last two weeks, Em and I spent hours working on self-defense and knife skills. I wasn’t strong enough to beat a man like Em or Dario when it came down to brute strength. My defense had to be offense—quickness and surprise.

As we landed in Missouri, I was morbidly obsessed with what my wedding night would bring. My first night of passion or a bloodbath. These definitely were not the musings of a normal bride-to-be.

Our cars approached the Luciano mansion by first passing through a large gate with a guard. For a moment, I wondered if the guard would ask our bodyguards to exit the cars or remove their weapons. I sighed a bit of relief when they didn’t.

Mama told me that there would be a performance of resigning weapons at the ceremony, but even that was for show. There was a good chance the groom would be armed. After all, he was about to become capo of the KC Famiglia.

Arianna Luciano, Dario’s mother, met us as our cars came to a stop near a large fountain on a circular drive. As our door was opened, I looked up in awe at the grandeur of the home before us. While our home on a cliff was large with a spectacular view of the ocean, the Luciano home was enormous, surrounded by a sea of trees and views of rolling mountains like something out of a travel brochure. There was so much green.

This was my third meeting with Dario’s mother. She was an attractive woman in her mid-fifties. As soon as I stepped onto the brick-paver driveway, Arianna met Mama and me with an embrace and then took my arm, anxious to show us around the house and grounds. “Catalina, we’re so happy you’re here.”

I tried to decipher her truthfulness. If she wasn’t happy about her son marrying a non-Italian, she was doing a good job of hiding it from me. Then again, according to Em, all of the famiglia lied. “Thank you. Your home is beautiful.”

Arianna held tightly to my arm as her stare bore into me. “My son is a collector of sorts. You should know that we’re happy he’s finally decided to collect a woman of worth.”

Of worth.

Before I could respond, her voice rose, talking to everyone. “We’re more isolated up here,” she said, “than being down on the waterfront. Vincent prefers the peace of mind that comes with space.”

Mama, Camila, Aunt Maria, Sofia, and Mireya followed along as Dario’s mother took us from wing to wing, finally settling in the guest wing where we each had our own bedrooms.

Mrs. Luciano pursed her lips. “I won’t pretend to know what the men are doing for most of the day, but I hope that you will make yourselves at home. Dinner will be at six. There are people setting up for the wedding tomorrow, but for the rest of the day, feel free to wander the house, roam the grounds, or use the pool.”

As Camila, Sofia, Mireya, and I settled in, Mama and Arianna discussed the wedding-day plans from the arrival of the beauticians to the ceremony itself. Although Mama never complained, I believed she would have preferred to have been in charge of the festivities. Alas, Patron took that decision from her as he’d taken away my options.

Later that night, I lay in bed staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling, wondering where my future husband could be. Was he out in one of the famiglia’s casinos or strip clubs, sowing his oats and fucking every woman he could get his hands on? Was he causing harm to them or others? Was he thinking about the woman Mia mentioned, Josie? Would any of that stop after we were wed?

With too many thoughts and questions, sleep didn’t come easily.

At some time after midnight, I decided to slip from my room and find something to eat. The appetite I hadn’t possessed for most of the day was back, gnawing at my empty stomach. I justified my middle-of-the-night search. After all, Arianna told us to make ourselves at home.

Wrapping my robe over my nightgown, I stepped from the bedroom, expecting to find Miguel. The chair at the end of our hallway was empty. Even bodyguards needed their rest. For a moment, I considered going back to the room for the thigh holster and knife. I pushed that thought away, deciding my paranoia was silly. Certainly, the Lucianos had their security. Luis and Em were on top of ours as well.

The sound of my footsteps was muffled by the long rugs running down the middle of the maze of hallways. Shadows crept around me, created by the small lights shining near the floor. The Luciano mansion was giant during the day. At night, it took on a mysterious mammoth existence. More than once I considered turning around, but honestly, I wasn’t confident on finding my room. Eventually, a large marble landing and a sweeping staircase led me to the foyer. Once on the first floor, I tried to recall the way to the kitchen.

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