I’m dragged into the church via a side entrance, and when I try to yank free again, Alessandro hauls me over his shoulder and carries me up a set of stairs.
“Let me go!” I scream, pounding my left fist against his back.
He carries me into a room and throws me down on the floor. Excruciating pain splinters through my right arm, numbing my shoulder.
I quickly climb to my feet, but he shoves me back, then shuts the door behind him.
I slam my left fist against the door. “Let me out! You can’t do this.”
Frantically, I glance around the room for a way to escape, but there’s not even a window to climb through. I start to look for anything I can use as a weapon, pulling open a cupboard that’s filled with arts and crafts.
I grab the biggest paintbrush I can find, my breaths exploding over my lips.
Hearing footsteps, I hold the paintbrush ready in my left hand, my eyes glued to the door.
When it opens, Alissa comes in, followed by Alessandro and Tommaso. The guards are carrying a wedding dress.
“I won’t marry Mr. Greco,” I say, my voice trembling with frustration and panic. “I’d rather die.”
“Don’t fucking tempt us,” Alessandro grumbles. “Get dressed.”
I shake my head, taking a step back. “No.”
Tommaso comes at me, and I try to stab him with the paintbrush, but he easily swats my hand away. He moves behind me and grabs my arms, yanking them behind my back.
I let out an agonizing cry from the jarring ache in my right arm.
“Stop,” Alissa cries. “You’re hurting her.”
“Get out,” Alessandro snaps at her.
“No!”
The guard grabs hold of her and shoves her out into the hallway before shutting the door on her. To my horror, he locks it to keep her out.
With a menacing look, Alessandro stalks to me. Tommaso tightens his hold on me as Alessandro takes a knife from his pocket and cuts my shirt down the front.
Feeling borderline hysterical, I scream, “Stop!”
“You had a chance to dress yourself,” Alessandro sneers at me. He unbuttons my jeans, and when he pulls the zipper down, intense fear slams into me.
My breaths sound ragged, and my heartbeat is erratic.
Alessandro yanks the jeans down my legs, and I start to kick and thrash in Tommaso’s brutal hold.
Alessandro slaps me hard between the legs, pressing his face close to mine. “We can’t fuck you, but we can hurt you.”
Paralyzing shame and horror rip my soul to shreds. Bile churns in my stomach from the disgust filling every inch of me.
My eyes are wide on the monster in front of me.
His middle finger rubs over my slit.
Overwhelming anger and humiliation have me gritting out, “S-stop.”
“S-s-s-stop,” he taunts me with a cruel smile curving his lips while he pushes my panties aside. I clench my legs hard, but his arm stops me.
When his finger touches my skin, it rips a hopeless cry from me.
“That’s enough,” Tommaso snaps, his hold on me lessening a bit.
“Are you going to dress yourself?” Alessandro leans closer until I can smell cigarettes on his breath. “Or do you want me to do it for you?”
My throat strains as a tear escapes, and my voice breaks over the words, “I’ll d-do it.”
A triumphant smile spreads over his face, but at least he pulls his hand away from me.
Tommaso shoves me forward, and I quickly grab hold of the dress. I can feel Alessandro’s eyes burning over my bare skin, and I hurry to step into the wedding dress. Yanking the chiffon up my body, I shove my left arm through a sleeve before struggling with my right arm.
Tommaso comes closer, and it has me shrinking away from him.
“I just want to help,” he assures me, none of the cruelty on his face that’s on Alessandro’s.
I watch with a pounding heart as he helps me get my right arm into the tight sleeve. With his head bowed, he whispers, “Stop fighting. You’re just making it harder for yourself.”
“I’ll never stop fighting,” I bite the words out between clenched teeth.
When Tommaso steps away from me, he gives me a look of pity.
Alessandro picks up the veil and holds it out to me. “Cover your face. No one wants to see a bride with bruises.”
I grab it from him, muttering, “Fuck you.”
I’ve never cursed as much as I’ve done in the past four days.
“Wouldn’t you like that?” he taunts me.
Tommaso gives Alessandro a look of warning. “Go wait outside. I’ve got this.”
The two guards stare at each other before Alessandro stalks out of the room.
My eyes lock on Tommaso’s face. “Help me, please. I can see you’re not like them.”
He takes the veil from me and arranges it on the top of my head. Before he pulls it over my face, he looks at me. “You have no idea what I’m like. I might not rape you, but I will kill you.”
The little hope I got from Tommaso protecting me disappears.
He covers my face, then gestures to the door. “After you.”
I can’t do this.
I gather the chiffon of the skirt and walk into the hallway. Alessandro leads the way down the stairs, and when we stop by double doors, the wedding march dramatically fills the air from where it’s played on an organ.
God.
When I step back, Alessandro grabs hold of my right arm and yanks me forward.
“No!” I cry, and even though my arm aches terribly, I try to pull out of his hold.
Tommaso grabs my left arm, and the guards drag me down the aisle as I kick and scream.
Greco is waiting by the altar with a priest who doesn’t seem shocked by what’s happening in his church. Guests fill the pews, and I get a glimpse of Alissa crying where she’s sitting between her father and mother.
NoNoNoNoNo.
I’m brought to a stop by the altar and forced to face Greco, who smiles triumphantly, an evil look in his eyes.
“I won’t marry you.” My words sound stronger than I feel, and to bring my point across, I spit at him.
In the middle of a church full of people, he slams his fist into my jaw. My legs go numb, but Alessandro and Tomasso keep me from falling, forcing me to remain standing in front of the vile old man. I can feel blood trickling from the corner of my mouth where my lip split open again. A drop splats onto the white dress, followed by another and another.
The priest starts to talk, his voice booming over everyone.
Sobs burst from me, and I keep shaking my head, repeatedly saying, “I won’t.”
Only Greco says his vows, and I’m not even asked to say ‘I do,’ then the priest announces, “I pronounce you husband and wife.”
“No!” I shout, the sound echoing around the church.
The church doors creak loudly, and everyone turns to see what the disruption is.
My entire body goes weak at the sight of Viktor shoving the doors wide open with a gun in each hand. Light streams in behind him, making him look like a god.
Rage comes off him in waves, quickly tensing the air. It looks like his features have been cut out of stone. He’s dressed in black cargo pants and a long-sleeve shirt, the same outfit he wore when he kidnapped me.
Viktor dips the barrel of his gun in the bowl of blessed water and slowly signs the cross as his eyes drift over everyone until they stop on me.
“Moya Malen’kaya Roza,” he murmurs, a flicker of pain on his face when he sees the state I’m in.
“Viktor,” I whimper, straining against Alessandro and Tommaso to get free even though my legs are too numb to hold my weight.
All the heads of the Cosa Nostra rise to their feet, turning to face Viktor, who’s slowly stalking up the aisle.
He’s a sight to behold, all power and wrath – and nothing like the man who was kind and patient with me while I stayed in his house. There’s nothing sweet and caring about him.
The head of the bratva is here to take what’s his.
Thank God.
“What’s the meaning of this, Mr. Vetrov?” Mr. Parisi asks.
Viktor aims a gun in my direction, and his voice sounds deadly as he says, “You have something that belongs to me.”
Alessandro and Tommaso let go of me, and I instantly slump to the floor, chiffon billowing around me.
Before the guards can draw their weapons, shots ring through the air, making me jerk with each blast. I shriek when Tommaso and Alessandro drop dead on either side of me.
“Stop!” Mr. Parisi shouts. “Our families are here. Let’s talk like civilized men.”
There’s movement behind Viktor as the other four men of the Priesthood walk into the church. Heavily armed, they stand ready for action.
Intense fear bleeds through the church, murmurs fill the air, and people start to move, trying to get out of the pews and away from the Priesthood.
Using what little strength I have, I force myself up on my feet and say, “Did I forget to mention I belong to Viktor Vetrov?”
Greco gives me an enraged glare, but this time he doesn’t dare hit me.
Relief hits so hard, I start crying from absolute happiness.
Viktor came to save me.
Viktor’s eyes lock on mine. His eyebrows narrow, and his features grow tenser. “Who laid a hand on her?”
“Rosalie never told us she belonged to you,” Mr. Parisi says.
For a moment, Viktor closes his eyes as if he’s a second away from losing his shit, then he growls, “Who. Hit. Her?”
“Greco,” I say, my voice loud and clear.
Viktor’s eyes snap back to my face, and finally finding the strength, I rip the veil off and step toward the man I love with all my heart.
The man I never should’ve left.
Greco grabs hold of my left arm, and as he yanks me backward, another shot rings through the air, hitting him in the left shoulder. With a grunt, he stumbles back, shock registering on his face.
As quickly as physically possible, I walk to Viktor.
He only spares me a second to look at my face, then orders, “Go to Luca, moya Malen’kaya Roza.”
Luca hurries forward and wraps his arm around my shoulder before pulling me to where the rest of the Priesthood is standing.
Nikolas moves partially in front of me while Luca and Liam stand on either side of me, and I feel Gabriel at my back.
Unlike the first time I met the Priesthood, they’re protecting me today.
God, how everything has changed.
I watch as Viktor stalks toward the altar, his fingers flexing around the handles of his guns.
“Vetrov, this is no place for violence,” Mr. Parisi snaps while he indicates for his wife and Alissa to leave.
Viktor tilts his head at Mr. Parisi. “Yet there’s blood on the fucking wedding dress you forced my Little Rose to wear. I’d say this is the perfect place for violence. I’m sure the priest won’t mind saying a few words for the dead.”
“If this doesn’t end now, the peace treaty between the Cosa Nostra and the Priesthood will become null and void,” Mr. Parisi threatens.
“You forced my woman to marry Greco,” Viktor chuckles. “That fucking destroyed the peace treaty.” Viktor aims his weapon at Greco. “There’s only one way I’ll consider peace between you and us.”
Mr. Parisi glances at Greco, then looks back at Viktor. “What do you want?”
“Greco and me. Here and now. A fight to the death. I’ll even agree to no weapons just to make it fun.”
“Shit,” I whisper, my eyes going wide.
“Of course, he wants to kill him with his bare hands,” Luca mutters, then gives me a pointed look. “Never leave Viktor’s side again. He’s been driving me insane.”
Nikolas, Liam, and Gabriel all chuckle.
Because the men don’t seem worried, I relax a little.
Then it really hits – Viktor came for me, and because Greco tried to marry me, Viktor is going to kill him.
I get to watch the monster die by the hands of the man I love.
“I’ll never leave him again,” I whisper, more to myself than Luca.
