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He never liked to look back at her, but he did this time, seeing that she meant her words wholeheartedly, before he brought the freezer door to a complete close.

Staring at the lock, he thought about how it was the only way to ensure Maria’s safety and that she would live through the possible war that was on the other side of the kitchen door. If it had been Katarina, he knew what he would do.

To lock the door or keep it unlocked?

His tattooed hand hovered over the lock …

It was like being thrown into World War III. The once beautiful reception had been destroyed.

The line had been drawn in the sand, as the two families who stood on different sides of the room waited for their orders to fire. Problem was, it wasn’t a fair fight, as every Luciano member hadn’t been allowed a weapon to the wedding. Dominic had instructed his men to take the risk.

Whoever had shot the gun, it hadn’t been a Luciano; he’d bet his life on it. His men wouldn’t defy an order, not to mention they had been checked by Caruso soldiers before they entered the door. However, judging the people on the other side of the room, there were plenty who could have.

Dominic quickly pushed past his men before the slaughtering of his family could begin. Jumping up on a now ruined table setting, he made sure his voice could be heard by every man.

“We came without guns like I promised. You checked every one of my men on the way in,” he reminded the blood thirsty, adrenaline-rushed Carusos, making them look at the men who stood on the other side stood without true weapons in their hands, only holding butter knives and anything else they could swing.

“Dante, call your men down,” Dominic demanded louder, as he searched for the current reigning king who was too scared to come out, “so we can deal with this man to man.” Spinning on his heels, he continued his demands, but this time to his men alone. “And if it was one of my men who defied my orders, then I will hand him over to you myself.”

Finally Dante appeared, his face a mask of rage, letting Dominic know this wedding wasn’t going to end in a happily ever after.

Fuck.

He made a fist for the coming fight that he wasn’t going to win, as they were all soon to be dead, but he planned to take a couple with him on his way to hell, starting with the ego maniac who had hid behind his own men.

Dante didn’t deserve the throne. The only reason he had gotten it was the exact same reason everyone looked at him with disgust—their last names.

Lucifer might have been crazy, but one thing he was right about was his hatred for the Caruso boss, and his father was about to get his dying wish.

The hard thud of the ballroom doors flinging open had everyone turning their heads to see Drago storming through. He pushed through furiously, going right to his boss to quietly speak something to him. Dominic wished he knew what he had said, but by the look of Dante’s face, he wasn’t going to get his wish of wiping them out or …

Holy fuck, he was going to do it, regardless what his trusted Drago was telling him. Dante was about to blow them all to smithereens.

About to give the order for his men to fight with what they had, Dominic stopped when the ballroom door flung open again.

“Put your guns down.” Lucca’s voice traveled through the room, giving out the order without even speaking a word to his father.

Never thinking he’d ever thank God for seeing that asshole, Dominic jumped down from the table as soon as every weapon was lowered, and he went straight for the underboss.

Any respect he’d had for Dante vanished. It was sad to think that the boogieman was saner than the Caruso boss, yet he was. Dominic might hate Lucca, but what he had just done made him hate the bastard a little less.

The two met in the center of the room, with the dead body at their feet.

“I take it you lost him?” Dominic asked, looking down at the pitiful Caruso with the bullet hole right between his eyes.

“Yes.” Lucca was still breathing heavily from the run.

“It’s a shame you didn’t kick the cigarette habit when I told you to all those years ago. You just might have caught him.”

Lucca’s blue-green eyes darted to him. “Careful, Dominic, you’re still the best option we got for One-Shot.”

“I guess it’s a good thing you made me leave my Glock at home.” Dom smiled, running a hand over his back and coming up empty.

“Lucky you.” Lucca’s voice then turned ominous, hinting that he might’ve already known the answer to, “Where exactly were you when the gun went off?”