Page 56 of Final Installment
“She left earlier with Drita.Something about looking out for—.Something about the flowers, I think.”
Luka pounced on Kristo’s obvious shift.“Looking out for what?”
Kristo hesitated before finally admitting, “Liliana.”
Luka cursed under his breath.“Are you serious?Again?She promised she was done with this.That she understood and was moving on now that she had closure.”
“She lied.She was at the venue last night during the rehearsal.Drita had her intercepted by our people, and Zec talked to her before he put her in a car and sent her home.”
“Really?And no one thought I needed to be told?”
“You have enough female problems without adding your ex into the mix.”
His phone began to vibrate, cutting off his smartass reply.He checked the screen.Darko?
He silenced the call, certain his friend wanted to share congratulations or some sort of ribald advice he wasn’t in the mood to hear.
Neither Darko nor his siblings had been able to attend the ceremony.Whether that was because they truly had other commitments or because there were still hard feelings about the crypto deal gone sideways, Luka couldn’t tell.
Not wanting his phone to interrupt the ceremony, he powered it off and slipped it back into his pocket.When they arrived at the old Habsburg palace that now operated as a wedding venue, he followed Kristo through the maze of halls.Eventually, they arrived at the designated room where they had been instructed to wait by the wedding planner.
Aleksander was already waiting, and Luka nodded at the youngest Dushku sibling as he came to stand near him.“Skender.”
“Luka.”
This close, Luka could see the resemblance between Dafina and her brother.The same blond hair.The same nose and high cheekbones.It struck him that Elona was the only child that favored their dark-haired father.He was reminded of the nasty rumors about Ana back during the war, about her closeness to a certain blond bodyguard.
“Security seems tight.”Skender’s gaze lingered on the men standing outside the French doors.They were extra guards hired by Zec, trusted men who would keep the ceremony and guests safe.“Are we expecting trouble?”
“There’s always trouble when our two families are involved.”Just because the war between their two families had ended didn’t mean there weren’t other enemies waiting in the shadows.God only knew how many lives had been lost as collateral damage and how many vengeful relatives were biding their time for a chance to get justice.
“Carlo is here.”Skender mentioned his longtime jailer without a hint of bitterness.He’d always been surprisingly pragmatic about the situation.
“I spoke to him this morning.”Luka didn’t much feel like schmoozing and socializing right now.“I’ll talk to him again after the wedding.”
“After the wedding,” Skender repeated calmly.“When we’re supposed to pretend that we’re all one big happy family.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Luka muttered.“As long as we can learn to co-exist.”
“I’m not going to Houston with my mother,” Skender announced, surprising him.“She seems to think that’s the plan, but it’s not mine.I’m not jumping from one prison into another.”
“You still have a year left before you finish your degree.It wouldn’t make sense for you to leave unless you have acceptance lined up at a school in Houston.”Not that Ana Dushku had ever used common sense to approach any of her problems.
“That’s part of it,” Skender replied, “but mostly, I’m staying because Dafina needs me here.”
“She isn’t intending on staying.”
Skender’s mouth settled into a tight line.“She doesn’t get to make that choice.”
Taken aback by Skender’s reaction, Luka reminded him, “She’ll be my wife.It’s my decision.”
“It’s the wrong one.”
Surprised that Skender would dare to argue with him here of all places, Luka narrowed his eyes at the younger man.“It might be better if you do go back to Houston with your mother.”
“Not a chance,” Skender replied stiffly.“I’m not leaving my sister unprotected.”
Luka bristled at the suggestion that Dafina needed her brother’s protection.“I would never hurt her.I’m not that kind of man.”
