Page 53 of Covert (Ruthless Love #2)

Chapter forty-nine

Nikki

I walk down the aisle, smiling, head held high. One hand is wrapped around my father's forearm, and one is holding a bouquet I couldn't care less about. It's pretty at least, full of peaches and pinks. Not sure I would have picked this exact color palette, but this isn't exactly my wedding, either.

I do feel the nerves and excitement of a real bride, though. The smile on my face is real, and the angry bees vibrating in my stomach are real.

My fiancé stands at the altar already, in a bright blue suit.

Not typical for weddings in our families, but I appreciate his flair.

His black hair looks greasy, and he's a sickly shade of white.

And a little green. Probably still hungover from the night before.

I doubt he wants this wedding any more than I do.

However, when his father was killed, it took the legs out of his organization.

Giovanni is known for being a partier and womanizer.

He never took anything seriously before, especially with his father's business dealings.

But with his father out of the picture, it's suddenly his organization, and rumors are he's not handling it well.

My father roughly grabs my arm and squeezes it hard. I wince.

"Don't fuck this up for me," he growls through a fake smile.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Daddy," I reply in a sickly sweet tone. I'm seconds away from being free for good. I couldn't be happier. Angelo, Damiano, and Matteo stand behind Giovanni as groomsmen. Angelo shifts his weight nervously, and I widen my eyes at him in warning .

Our father is a ruthless and cunning man. If he gets any hint that things are about to go sideways, we won't make it out of this church alive.

The music plays as we walk down the long aisle. The audience is full of both mafia families, but no one believes this is anything more than a contractual marriage. I don't understand where the Italian families went wrong and started using their children as bargaining chips.

I stand before my fiance. I have to school my expression and not roll my eyes.

A low rumbling begins, almost unnoticeable under the wedding march music, but my smile widens, almost becoming maniacal. Giovanni frowns at me, clearly confused as to why I look so goddamn happy, but I can't help it.

This is it! My freedom.

As the music quits in preparation for the priest, the low roar of thunder gets louder. Until eventually the audience notices, too.

"Please rise," the priest says, holding his hands out to the congregation. The shuffle of fabric as hundreds of people stand simultaneously drowns out the rolling thunder.

"Who gives this woman away today?" the priest asks, his voice amplified with a mic.

"I do," my father replies next to me. He turns me and gives me a kiss on the cheek, and I have to fight the urge to vomit.

The roar of thunder hits a crescendo before cutting off suddenly. My smile widens impossibly .

'They're here,' I mouth to my brother before shooting him a wink. His face blanches. The priest clears his throat uncomfortably and breaks open his bible to start the ceremony.

He gets three words out before muffled male shouting filters in through the closed wooden doors. Suddenly, the heavy wooden doors fling open, momentarily blinding the congregation with the sunlight outside.

Diesel and Scar are the first through the doors, followed by Maddox, Beckett, and Axel. A strangled sound comes out of Diesel as he stumbles into the room and sees me about to marry someone else. I wince.

'Hey, baby,' I mouth. The look of absolute heartbreak on his face is replaced quickly with anger.

An army of big, burly bikers filters in through the doors and surrounds the audience.

Tino and my father push to standing, pulling out their weapons, but they're surrounded and don't know who to point at.

All of the bikers are armed, and I gather my skirt, reaching underneath the heavy fabric to retrieve my own weapon, pointing it directly at my father's head.

"What the fuck is this?" my dad hisses, weapon finally trained onto me, realizing that I'm the ringmaster.

"This is my army," I say proudly.

"What have you done? You stupid bitch!" he shouts, droplets of spit flying out of his mouth. His face is red with anger.

Calmly, cooly, I explain the situation to my father. "There's no way you're leaving here alive. If you shoot me, you'll have an army of armed killers on you in a second. You let me go; I'll make your death painless. "

"Not a fucking chance, Princess," he curses, disgust dripping from his tone. "My men will kill yours."

"What men?"

My dad finally looks around at the audience. 'His men' have remained seated, watching us curiously. Not one has made a move to protect him or attack any of the bikers except Tino, whose hand wavers. He's starting to realize his loyalty might mean the death of it.

While my father's gaze was trained on me, Scar crept up behind him. He's quiet for such a big guy. In a brutal kick, Scar takes Dad's knees out. In the fall, Dad's grip on his weapon falters, and Scar kicks it away, glaring at Tino threateningly.

"Thanks, big guy," I say, gathering my skirts and stepping down from the dais.

He smiles down at me warmly and steps back, allowing me full access to my father. I walk around to the front of him.

"This is a house of God," the priest shouts from behind me.

" I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed… " I quote back to the priest; years of Catholic school coming in handy.

Finally, I turn my attention to the audience, both the Ricci and Vitale mafia families.

"The Ricci family is now run by my brother. Anyone who threatens me or my family will have to answer to my army. Is that understood?" A murmur ensues, but the message is received.

"You fucking..." A loud crack echoes through the church, and my father's eyes widen in surprise and then fear, before they go dark, and his body falls forward onto the ground .

I raise my gun at Giovanni. "Are we going to have a problem here?" Eyes wide, he raises his hands in surrender. Patricide is usually frowned upon in the families, but considering I didn't do it for power or control, having Angelo take over is perfect.

"I didn't want to marry you anyway," he mumbles, backing up a step or two.

Coup complete, I rush to my guys, wrapping my arms around them in a group hug. Being surrounded by them, their warmth, their muscles, their scents

"I'm free!" I squeal, almost unable to believe it. It was always the plan, but there were so many things that could have gone wrong.

"Oh!" I say, pulling out of the group just barely as Natalie runs past me and into her brother's arms. My chest squeezes in on itself, watching the pair reunite. Maddox sighs with his entire body as he embraces his sister.

"I-I-I didn't believe it," Maddox chokes out when the pair parts.

Diesel wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder, bringing my back to his front as we watch the emotional reunion as if he knew I needed the grounding.

I'm nervous about Axel's reaction to her, whether I'll be replaced, now that his first love is back.

Axel is next to hug Natalie, and a piece of me heals when he pulls away. He's not looking at her like he looks at me. He's looking at her like a friend would, not a lover.

Even Beckett walks up, and I stare in amazement as he bends at the waist to hug Natalie, too. I knew they were friends growing up, but I didn't know if his comfort with touch extended past our relationship.

"I like the dress, pretty girl," Diesel croons in my ear .

I spin. "Ew. Get me out of this thing."

Angelo walks up, then, shaking the guys' hands, and I make introductions with my guys and the MC crew. I peek behind him to see Matteo and Damiano dragging our father's lifeless body out a side door.

"An army, eh?" Angelo teases me. "What in the world have you gotten up to while you were gone?"

I laugh and give an easy shrug. "Oh, you know. Bikes, tats, why choose harems. The usual."

Maddox takes me in his arms again, dropping a kiss to my lips. I smile as my brother grumbles, "I'll still never get used to that."

"You're ours now? Finally free?"

I run my hands up his chest and over his shoulders. "I'm ours. Finally free," I reply.

And I am.

Finally, I am free to start the rest of my life.

The End