Page 99 of Ruined in Vows

Chapter 56

Dante

Absolute fucking carnage is the only way to describe what is happening right now.

Riccardo caught on quickly that the wedding was a set up and within minutes his guards were on us. The other families managed to remove most of the women to a safe space, and the majority of them are now locked away in an office. Had they not been, I don’t believe they would be making it out of this alive.

“Fuck,” I growl when a bullet flies past my head.

Crouched down behind a pew with Leo and Enzo by my side, we don’t seem to be able to move without being fired at. I’m not surprised. Riccardo is very much aware that I am alive. When I first stepped into the nave, his eyes had widened before his jaw clenched in anger. From his reaction alone, it was obvious he had believed I had died in that fire.

The second person to spot me was Vincenzo. I couldn’t stop the smirk tugging at my lips witnessing his reaction. His face turned a deathly white color, and he stumbled backward as if he had seen a ghost. Having noticed something was wrong with Vincenzo and where his gaze was pinned, Benito and my ex ‘wife’ looked my way.

Caterina’s mouth dropped open, her eyes widening almost comically as she stared at me, while Benito looked like he wanted to put a bullet in my head right there and then. The feeling was mutual. And I would enjoy every second of killing the assholes who enabled Riccardo’s plan. I’m quite sure, before this, I didn’t make it a habit of killing women, but Caterina was an exception. She deserves everything coming to her for her part in what happened.

“We need to move,” Leo shouts over the noise.

I nod. “Watch our backs, Enzo. Stay vigilant.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” he grumbles his response.

“Dante, Riccardo is moving from the altar toward the side door. He thinks he is getting away.” Nico’s voice comes through my earpiece.

“Not on my fucking watch,” I grate out through clenched teeth, raising to my full height and not caring about getting caught in the crossfire.

I will die before letting that asshole get away.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Nico warns.

Ignoring him, I glance around noticing some of the heads of the other families, fighting on our behalf. Shifting my gaze, I spot Riccardo, surrounded by who I assume are his guards along with the Conti siblings and Benito all backing away quickly, but still firing shots at anyone they deem a threat.

“Leo, Enzo, follow me.”

“On it,” they reply in unison.

As a unit, we duck, dive, fire shots, all while avoiding getting hit ourselves. Dead bodies line the aisle, blood coating the stone floor and I grimace that this is all happening in the house of God.

We make it to the altar, unharmed, but that soon changes.

“Fuck,” Leo cries out, dropping to the floor.

Falling to my knees beside him, I look at Enzo.

“Watch us,” I instruct, checking Leo over and searching for where he has been hit.

“My fucking arm,” his jaw is clenched tight, his face pale.

Locating the wound, I breathe a sigh of relief when I find that it’s a flesh wound. Although the bullet went straight through, this is the end of the fight for Leo.

“Get him out of here. I will go after Riccardo,” I order Enzo.

“Nico won’t like you being on your own, Dante,” he fires back.

I open my mouth to argue when a deep rumbled voice speaks up beside us. I startle, pulling my gun and aiming, only to drop it when I find Nico and Matteo. “Nico will be with him. Go. Get Leo and any of our other injured soldiers out of here. The passcode for the padlock on the front door is six, zero, eight, two. Take two standing soldiers with you. They can watch your back and take out any enemies before they escape.”

“Got it, boss.” Enzo begins to lift Leo, pulling his good arm over his shoulder and instructing a couple of men to cover his back.

My gaze meets Nico’s determined one.

---