Page 131 of Queen of Anarchy (Dirty Broken Savages 2)

I can feel my nerves rising as it gets closer and closer to being time to move. But looking at Knox helps a little. He winks at me again as he passes, and it makes me smile.

I’m glad the ceremony will be interrupted before he has to kiss Natalie, because I don’t want his lips anywhere near that whore’s.

Once Knox is in place, the music changes to the bridal march, and the doors open again. Natalie comes walking out on Julian’s arm, and everyone turns to watch.

Her dress is an over the top confection of lace and tulle and beading, like she thinks she’s some kind of princess or something. The train flares out behind her a good three or four feet, and it probably cost a small fortune. If she’d had the time, she probably would have gotten it handmade. By orphans or something.

Julian is dressed to the nines as well. He’s straight-backed, his lavender pocket square and tie fitting the theme Natalie wanted. His arm is looped through his sister’s, and he doesn’t spare a glance for anyone as they make their way down the aisle to where Knox is standing.

Neither the bride nor the groom will have people standing up with them, so when they reach the altar, Julian kisses Natalie on the cheek and then moves to take his seat as well, leaving her to remain up there with Knox alone.

The priest takes over then, beginning the ceremony in dull, dry tones. I barely listen to him, letting the droning words go in one ear and out the other, paying just enough attention so that I’ll know when it’s time to move.

I search the seats for where Hannah is supposed to be sitting and find her in place with Cody at her side. Her posture is a little stiff, and she’s looking straight ahead at the couple at the altar as if she’s paying attention to this farce of a wedding. But I can see the tension in her shoulders and jaw, and I know her thoughts are on what’s to come.

She’s nervous. I am too.

The plan is to set off the flash bangs and small explosives right before the rings are exchanged. Gage has the trigger in his pocket, and the charges have been set in places where they’re likely to get a lot of attention but not injure anyone.

If things go well, no one will get hurt. Maybe a little singed and trampled in the chaos, but there’s nothing lethal there. Just loud and bright. Enough to make this room full of jumpy, paranoid people think that they’re finally about to get their comeuppance for something.

It’ll simulate an attack on the church, which is entirely plausible considering the high concentration of powerful people here. They’ll all run and scatter and try to fight back against an unseen enemy to save themselves, and in the madness, we’ll get Hannah and Cody out.

I feel the tension in my body, like I’m poised to cut and run at any second. The priest’s droning seems to take forever, and I bounce my knee nervously, waiting.

A warm hand covers my knee and presses it back down, and I glance over atmyPriest, who’s still staring ahead.

Even without him saying anything, I can guess what his silent signal means—and he’s right. There’s no point in getting all worked up now. We have the plan in place, and all we can do is stick to it.

“Now,” the priest at the front of the church says, lifting his hands. “Who has the rings?”

Julian stands up with a little box in his hand. None of us know what the rings look like. Knox said they asked him if he had a preference, and he told them he didn’t care. Which probably pissed Natalie off, but whatever. It’s not like he’s going to be wearing it.

I remember Gage being ticked off, worried that acting so blasé about things was going to tip the Maduros off that something wasn’t right, but Knox helpfully pointed out that he’d feel the same way even if they were getting married for real. So there’s no point in pretending otherwise.

I glance at Gage, catching his gaze. He holds up three fingers and then puts his other hand in his pocket.

As soon as Knox goes to put the ring on Natalie’s finger, it’ll be go time.

Gage puts a finger down, and Julian hands the box to the priest. The priest says some more shit about the power of love or whatever, which is hilarious considering this would have been a marriage of convenience at best.

Gage puts another finger down. The priest flips the box open.

And then several loud pops cut through the air, cutting the moment off.

Someone near the front screams in fear, and that sets off a ripple through the rest of the crowd, everyone shuffling and turning to see where the noise is coming from.

More shots ring out through the air, and more people start screaming.

For a second, I don’t understand. We had the plan down, and this isn’t it.

Did Gage set flash bangs off early?

Did his hand slip or something?

I look around, trying to figure out what’s happening, then a woman sitting in front of me gets hit hard in the arm with what can only be a bullet. A real one. She jerks from the shock, and blood seeps through the thin fabric of her dress.

Oh, fuck.

This isn’t fake.

Seeing the blood and someone else go down off on the other side of the church makes the chaos even worse. The screams get louder and people start trying to scatter out of the way.

This is a real attack.

The one thing we didn’t plan for.

Fuck.

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