Page 3 of The Sicilian Heir
"Fuck you," I snarled.
Not my best retort, but when I was backed into a corner, it was easy to latch on with my claws.
"That's exactly what I'm suggesting we do." Vito grinned, waggling his eyes suggestively.
The wedding coordinator flashed us the signal that we were about to be on.
"In your dreams," I bit out. There was no way I would let him have the last word.
"Where you're wet and willing," he purred.
I gushed right there on the spot. I swear this man could give me an orgasm without touching a hair on my head. I was going to have to let him have the last word. If I tried going back and forth with him again, I would end up naked with my legs spread out for him on display. His dark head of hair would cover that wicked tongue as it feasted on me. Butterflies set off in my stomach at the hole my nasty mind decided to dive down. There was no way I would ever let Vittorio Picone anywhere near my person with any part of his body. Absolutely no way.
The beat started to play, and Vito held out his arm. I wrapped my hand around his thick bicep and tried to hold back the shiver down my spine. It wasn't in revulsion. I felt another spark of arousal and my cheeks heated up.
Vito grinned down on me like he knew exactly what being so close to him did for me. The barbarian. We quick-stepped down the aisle and took our places.
Sadly, my song was transitioned into the wedding march and everyone stood for Rose. She was beaming as she glided down the aisle on her father's arm. Her father looked bored as ever, like he was in a business meeting. Not like his only daughter was marrying into a rival mafia famiglia.
The happy couple said their vows as I looked at the decor behind Vito. There was a huge flower board that covered the entire front of the ballroom. I assumed that was where we were going to take pictures after the ceremony.
Vito just stared at me. His eyes were trying to bore a hole into my soul. At least that's what it felt like. We proceeded out of the ballroom and well-wishers stopped to talk to Rose and Nick. Then it was picture time. Rose only wanted pictures of Vito and me with her and Nick. No one else. After the stunt her mother pulled and the cold way her father treated her, I didn't blame her.
"Could you at least smile?" Rose grouched at me.
I shook it off and beamed a smile up at Vito. Just what Rose wanted to see. It was fake as hell, but this was her day and she got to be happy. The pictures went quickly and before I knew it, we were in another ballroom and it was time to give toasts. Our table sat front and center, with Rose and Nick next to each other, followed by me and Vito. Again, no one sat with us. It just went to show how many people Rose really had in her corner. The Falcone famiglia sat on one side and the Picone famiglia sat on the other, just like during the wedding ceremony. Everything was perfect and when my speech came up, I was ready to do short and sweet.
The servers were making their rounds with entrees and I couldn't wait to eat. I stood in front with my note cards in one hand and microphone in the other. I shot Rose a cocky grin. She knew what she was about to get.
"I met Rose not too long ago in a little town in Texas. Just like tonight, she knew how to make an entrance. She swooned in front of me. I think it was my charm that won her over." I shot a wink at her as Nick barked out a choked laugh.
I went on noting that a few of the servers were just standing behind some of the guests. Maybe their food was wrong or something. I shook off the bad feeling I had and kept going.
"We were friends from then on. We spent as much time together as we could and worked together. Nick stole her from me all the time, monopolizing her time with his caveman ways." Rose whooped in joy.
I looked up from my cards and saw there were even more servers on the floor. This weird niggling in the back of my mind kept on, but I refused to give thought to it. I couldn't see the boogey man in every corner.
"It was love at first sight for them, but someone," I pointed at Nick and he grinned, "fought the heck out of it. When he finally did give in, he locked her in a room for a week." All the men in the room laughed at the blatant insinuation I threw in there.
It wasn't anything other than the truth. Nick was a brute; we all knew it. The way he was devoted to Rose was everything, though. He cared for her, and I think if she had wanted to leave the famiglia, he would've done it for her. The thing about Rose was that she was a princess. I knew she had been through some things, like not being accepted because of her disability, but I always sensed a sadness about her in Texas. I think she was really hurting and running away hadn't solved those issues. I was happy for her, happy she found her own little slice of heaven. I just wished she had kept me out of it. If I could go back, I think I wouldn't have spoken to Rose at all. If only I had the knowledge that I had today. If I knew that meeting her would change my life forever. If I knew I would be damaged, broken, and scarred for something I had no part in. I took a deep breath and shook off the melancholy I was feeling, but before I could sweetly wrap up, there was a loudpop.
I looked around for the sound, thinking they'd opened a bottle of champagne, but that wasn't it. Vito's mom's head hung backward at an odd angle, and a growing red spot on her stomach grew larger. It was blood.
Women started screaming and men jumped up to fight, but they didn't have weapons. Part of the agreement to meet on neutral territory was that everyone left off their weapons.
That's why I was wearing combat boots; I didn't trust any of these men. Vito pulled a gun, and so did Nick. I bent down and retrieved my knife from my boot and started to crawl away from the mayhem that had befallen the wedding.
I crawled on my hands and knees toward the exit, trying not to get trampled on. A pair of boots stomped down on my hand and I tried to jerk away, but they wouldn't move. I looked up and saw the meanest pair of grey eyes I had ever seen. He was burly. He wore the waitstaff uniform, but his shoes didn't fit in with what he should have been wearing. He smirked a cruel grin down on me. His dark hair and tanned skin made me think he was Italian until he bent down and spoke to me.
"Give message to boss. Bring us girls we are owed." He had a thick Russian accent that sent shivers down my spine.
I nodded my head in agreement, but that wasn't enough. He tore my butterfly knife out from under me. He pressed my face down into the ground and started carving on the side that was up. I screamed and screamed, blood pouring into my eye as I tried to scramble away from him. He didn't pause. He didn't stop. He just kept branding me. I could hear Vito from the other side of the ballroom.
"Eunji!" His hoarse yell was louder than all the guns, screaming women, and trampling feet, but all I could feel was pain.
When the mysterious Russian man stopped carving, I sank down in relief. Just another scar to match the ones I already had, but he wasn't done. He tore my dress off and stuck my knife three more times into my chest before leaving it there and dashing off. I let out a raspy breath and waited for death to take me. My blood was pouring out all over the floor. There was nothing that could be done. I was sure I was dead. Another pair of blue eyes floated in front of me. I figured I was dreaming. They were filled with tears and worry.
"Don't die on me, baby, I got you, yeah?"
