Page 7 of Beautiful Enemy

Matteo became my second in command just a few years ago, after I went into hiding. He thought I didn’t deserve to lose my top spot in the mafia and he wanted to help me reclaim it. He’s practical. Sensible. Smart.

Unlike me. I’m a raging inferno. I’m chaos. I’m death itself. Or I will be to Erik. Once I kidnap Nadia, he will be so torn apart, he’ll give himself over for me to kill him. But only once I make him suffer. Not before.

Matteo and I look so similar, it would be easy to think we’re brothers. Typical Italian looks – brown hair and eyes, tanned skin, and a penchant for looking good in a suit. I strive to look my best. I have to – it’s a wedding day after all.

“Let’s go over the plan,” I say, entertaining him. If it were up to me, I’d go in their guns a blazing and not give a fuck about anything else. But Matteo has helped me see that I can achieve so much more with a plan.

“You go inside and make yourself know. It will cause chaos. Me and Aiden and Finn will be waiting by each exit of the chapel. Once you enter, the three of us will come in and start firing. Then you grab Nadia. You might have to kill her soon-to-be husband to get him out of the way.”

“That’s fine. It’s not him I want to make suffer. It’s Erik and Anya. Sergei too if that fucking bastard even cares about his daughter at all.” Having observed Sergei over the past couple of years, I’ve seen that he’s on the outs with both his daughters. Stealing Nadia away won’t hurt him emotionally but I’m sure it will hurt his pride. And what else does a Bratva man have except his pride?

“As Aiden and Finn remain behind, I’ll get back in the car and have it ready,” Matteo says. “You grab Nadia and get her inside the car and then we take off. Those men will try to follow us. We have to lose them as soon as possible. Hopefully they won’t be able to get to their cars in time. We have a second car waiting two miles up the road. We switch there and keep on going. For any of this to work, Dante, everything has to be perfect. If one wrong thing happens, then our plan crumbles. It’s already a risky plan.”

“The one good thing about a Bratva wedding is that a lot of the men in there are not armed. Many think it’s taboo to bring a gun to a wedding. Bad luck. We have that in our favor. And the fact that Aiden and Finn are fucking psychos.”

Aiden and Finn. The two Irish brother hitmen I hired back when I was on top in the Mafia. Because I continue to pay them, they continue to work for me. Money creates strong loyalty in our world.

As a mafia man, I work in power and trade. Items such as guns and drugs are common to sell and become rich from. But Aiden and Finn work in the murder industry. They literally get paid to kill people. To become a part of that world, you have to have something seriously fucked up in your brain.

Which is perfect for me since I’m also fucked up. I know it and I don’t fucking care.

“We’re losing time,” I say. “We need to get in there. Now.”

“Then let’s do it.” He starts the car and quietly drives up to the chapel. No one is outside. Not even guards. These men are so confident no one will attack, they didn’t plan appropriately. That’s going to bite them in the ass.

And I’m going to be laughing the entire time.

I jump from the car and walk confidently towards the chapel. Aiden and Finn are at the side doors, waiting for my cue. Matteo follows me to the door and stations himself there.

Show time.

I push open the chapel doors. My timing couldn’t be better because the priest is in the middle of asking if anyone objects to this marriage.

“I object,” I say, causing everyone to turn towards me and gasp when they realize who I am.

Nadia is at the end of the aisle, looking so fucking tempting in her wedding dress. She’s grown into a beautiful woman over the years. When I first saw her four years ago, she was seventeen. I didn’t have the desire to make her mine back then. I only considered kidnapping her then just to inconvenience Erik.

But now Nadia is no longer a teenager. She’s a woman who I want to claim. One I want to hurt for belonging to Erik and Anya’s family. She’s my enemy.

“What is the meaning of this?” the man next to Nadia says. Her soon-to-be husband. Viktor Smirnov. Tall and intimidating, he’s a typical Russian. I don’t even give him a second glance.

I bring out my gun and aim it at the ceiling and fire. Men and women scream. “Why don’t we make this easy. Hand over the bride and no one has to get hurt.”

“Dante,” Erik growls, walking towards me down the aisle.

I point my gun at him, stopping him in his tracks. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

At that moment, Matteo enters from behind me while Aiden and Finn enter from the sides. All three of them have machine guns. They could murder every single person in this room if they wanted to.

But that’s not what I want. I don’t want Erik or Anya or Sergei to die. I want them to feel the pain of losing a beloved sister and daughter. I want them to feel my fucking pain I’ve had to deal with these past four years as I’ve worked myself back up from nothing.

Erik’s eyes flick to my men and back to me. “What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what I should have done before. Did you think I was dead, Erik? I bet you did. After four years of nothing from me, I’m sure you hoped I was gone. But that is your problem. I’m not gone and you’re not prepared for me.” I nod at Aiden and Finn. “Start shooting.”

They aim their guns into the air and start firing. People throw themselves to the ground. Erik runs over to Anya and throws himself on top of her, leaving me the perfect open space to walk up the aisle straight for Nadia.

Viktor puts himself in front of her. “I’ve heard of you. Dante Moretti. You don’t get the right to come in here and just take whatever you want.”

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