Page 14 of Alejandro's Prey

“I will take her from here,” Reyes said, striding forward.

Alejandro laughed and nodded. “Should’ve known you would butt into my business. You didn’t trust me to make an honest woman of your cousin?”

Reyes stopped beside Gina and placed a hand at her back. “I couldn’t allow my family to walk herself down the aisle,” he murmured, looking down at Gina. “Casey wanted to be here too, but I couldn’t allow it. Not with the events of last evening.” She glanced up at him. Though they’d always respected each other and she’d never had cause to fear Reyes, she kept a healthy distance. The man was both intense and frightening. She had no idea he cared enough to walk her down the aisle.

She smiled slightly and nodded at him. “Thank you.”

He took her arm and led her to the back of the church where they stood next to the last row of pews while Alejandro strode with his mother toward the front. No one else was there except for a nervous looking priest and the bodyguards, who stood in strategic places throughout the church. Gina supposed it wasn’t every day the man presided over mafia weddings with this kind of fire-power inside his sacred space. Gina glanced quickly away from the gathering of people, trying to reclaim her former happiness. She didn’t need to dwell on the smallness of this gathering, nor remember that this was a mafia family wedding. She was marrying the man that she loved. As she looked toward the front of the church, where he took his place and turned to look back toward her, she focused on that fact.

“Ready?” Reyes asked.

Gina smiled, and Alejandro smiled back at her. “Si,” she agreed without hesitation, “Let’s do this.”

Chapter Eleven

Gina sat in the front row pew watching her new husband argue with his boss. Though they were far off to the side, standing underneath a stone archway, out of earshot, she could imagine the conversation. Alejandro wanted to stay in La Paz or fly on to another location where they could honeymoon with privacy. He’d said as much directly after the ceremony. Reyes had immediately denied the request, though Alejandro hadn’t exactly made it a request. He’d told Reyes of their plans. Now Reyes was attempting to convince his valuable second-in-command that the safest place for the new couple would be at the compound.

She understood Alejandro’s hesitation. It wasn’t part of his character to hide until the threat was over. No, he would want to hunt that threat down and neutralize it himself. But he couldn’t do that with a bride tagging along, especially one who wasn’t specialized in any form of combat. Her pathetic attempt at helping him the day before was proof enough of that. Alejandro also wanted to get Gina alone.Finally alone. No family, no bodyguards, no mafia interruptions. She understood that part and she wanted it too.

But she was torn. She also wanted to feel safe again. And she had felt safe at the compound. Never once had she ever thought it might be penetrable. Reyes had built it in such a way that not even Genghis Khan himself could’ve gained access.

“Not the honeymoon you were expecting,” Selena said from beside Gina.

Gina smiled tightly and shook her head. “We’ll manage, no matter what they decide.”

Selena sighed and shifted on the hard bench, attempting to find a more comfortable position. She turned her back on the heated discussion and studied her new daughter-in-law. “I think the decision has already been made and you know it. But I like that you always seem capable of finding the bright side. I have noticed this about you since your arrival in our tight-knit family. It’s a good quality to have, this ability to find a silver lining.”

“Gracias,” Gina said quietly, nodding her head at the compliment.

Selena continued, “Alejandro, he calls you the little mouse because he thinks you are shy. I think you are just quiet, observant. You are not impetuous, like your cousin. You think before you leap. Not that there is anything wrong with Casey, you are just different. A better match formihijo.”

Gina swallowed a laugh and simply thanked the woman again for her words. Selena might have thought her a lot less thoughtful if she’d seen her the evening before during the shootout. But she didn’t comment.

“You are very kind, Señora Morales,” she said and then continued in a rush, wanting to assure the woman of her affection for her son but feeling uncertain at the same time. They hadn’t had enough opportunity to form a bond over the past year, having only met a handful of times. Yet she was now Selena’s daughter-in-law. “I want you to know that I… I love Alejandro. He’s a wonderful man, and I think we will be very happy together.”

Selena smiled kindly and then snorted, the sound reminiscent of her son. “I’m sure you will, Gina. Despite your severe lack of choice up there in the mountains. Especially if I know my son. He would have been ensuring that lack of choice was even smaller by making sure you couldn’t get any closer than absolutely necessary to his men.”

Gina’s mouth fell open and then she giggled. “Rule number one, don’t talk to the men,” Gina said in a low deep voice.

Both women laughed together and chatted about Alejandro’s overly strict rule’s until they were interrupted by the priest who had performed the ceremony. He’d been coldly efficient so Gina hadn’t felt the need to do more than give him a quick smile after he’d finished the nuptials.

“Excuse me, Señoras’?”

“Si?” Selena answered for them, turning to the man.

He glanced quickly toward Alejandro and Reyes who’d stopped arguing and were now deep in discussion with Fredo and a few other of the men, likely hammering out logistics for getting the couple to the airport safely. Gina shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. It was a stark reminder that her entire family had perished under a similar threat, a similar hit. She was more than willing to put her honeymoon off until their safety was ensured. She just wanted to get back to the valley fortress, back to her cousin, and create her home with Alejandro.

“Perhaps I can distract the ladies from their present unpleasantness with a tour. The original foundations for this cathedral were built in 1789. The stained glass brought over from Italy…” He launched into an impassioned speech, far more animated than the wedding ceremony he’d just performed. Clearly, he cared far more for stones and mortar than people. Without checking to see if the women were following, he turned and began moving toward an archway further toward the front of the church talking loudly, his voice echoing in the room.

Selena and Gina looked at each other, somewhat surprised at his sudden interest in them. Gina shrugged and stood, smoothing her skirt down. She glanced toward the men, still conversing. One of the bodyguards stepped forward. She nodded toward the priest with an arched brow and he gave her a thumb’s up falling into step beside them as they hurried to catch up with the man who was still droning on about a bible sent over from the Vatican.

“… over a hundred years ago. Almost one of its kind. Only a dozen in existence.”

“Well then it’s not one of a kind, is it?” Selena asked, humour evident in her voice.

Gina laughed and tried to cover it up with a cough.

“Excuse me?” he asked, his robe swishing as he turned to give them an annoyed look. “Did you say something?”

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