Code of Silence: Cosa Nostra #2 (9 page)

Holy Matrimony

Bela’s hands trembled as Rafe slid the ring onto her finger. The platinum wedding band would show the world that he owned her now. And it would show his brother, too, she thought with a heavy heart.

Everything was so beautiful—from the bouquets of flowers adorning the cathedral walls to the ribbons decorating the pews, to the stunning bunch of white roses in her hands. Yet somehow, the wedding felt so impersonal. So official—businesslike.

That’s exactly what it is. A business deal and nothing more
, she reminded herself as she lifted her gaze to meet Rafe’s. With his lips spread in a grin of triumph and victory, he couldn’t have looked more arrogant if he’d tried.

Vincent wasn’t at the wedding. She wasn’t surprised when she didn’t spot his face in the crowded church. Why would he want to watch her marry his brother, anyway? She didn’t blame him for not showing, but she couldn’t help but wonder about him. In the back of her mind, the recurring worry kept popping up.
Where is Vincent? What’s he doing?

She walked into the church Isabella DeLuca and left it Mrs. Isabella Marcano. As Rafe led her down the decorated sidewalk to where the limousine waited, the cheering sounds of the now united families were a distant echo. Rafe held the door open for her, and she took a moment to wipe a tear from her eye as she slid across the leather seat.

Soon, they were both shut in the backseat. Once the car started rolling, Rafe looked over at her with that grin. “Smile, princess,” he said. “You’re everybody’s hero now.”

~~~

After the wedding, Trey returned to the mansion to find Mandi packing her belongings. He froze in the doorway, looking at that tattered suitcase as she tossed clothes into it.

“What’s going on?” he asked dumbly. It was pretty obvious what was happening here, but he needed to hear her say the words.

“Need me to spell it out for you?” Keeping her back to him, she stuffed another armful of clothes into the suitcase.

“I mean…why?” Finally, he made himself move forward. He grabbed her wrist to stop her from packing. “Mandi, why?”

“Why? You really have to ask me that?” Turning to him, her eyes were wild with anger. “I was willing to overlook what you did to your dad, because, let’s face it, everybody knew he was a monster. But now…with what you’ve done to Bela…”

The way she studied him, as if he suddenly looked like a stranger and she was struggling to find a part she recognized, turned his body cold. Even with all of the justification he’d been doing lately, he’d always known what he’d done to Bela was wrong. He’d just been hoping nobody else saw it that way.

“She’s just a girl, Trey. An eighteen-year-old girl. And all she wanted was to be with Vincent, and now you’ve made sure that can never happen.”

“But it can,” he insisted. “We have a plan—”

“I don’t give a damn what your plan is,” she said. “I don’t care if you needed to unite the families to keep your crew or not. The point is: you chose work over your own flesh and blood.”

“Mandi, listen…”

“No, you listen,” she said. “She’s your sister. You’re supposed to protect her and instead you broke her heart. And you didn’t think twice about it!”

“I’m going to get her out,” he insisted, his voice shaky from the emotions festering inside him. “I just needed time…power. Power I couldn’t get unless she married Rafe. Don’t you understand? I did what I had to do.”

“Who are you kidding, Trey?” she asked. “Power is all you’ve ever cared about. Well, congratulations. You finally got everything you’ve ever wanted. You’re the reigning mob boss of the
DeLuca familia
. But you lost me along the way.”

“Mandi, you can’t just leave,” he said as he followed her out into the hallway. “What about the baby?”

Yanking her arm from his once again, she whirled around to face him. “I’m saving her from you!”

Standing in the hallway, he was stunned silent. Shocked. A strange feeling of joy settled over him, even in the midst of this heartache. “
Her
?”

There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at him, but the anger still remained in them as well. “That’s right. You’re going to have a baby girl. And I’d rather die than let you treat her the way you just treated Bela.”

“Mandi, don’t do this. Don’t leave like this.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked. “Are you going to lock me up like a prisoner again? Should I have planned some dramatic nighttime escape?”

Right now, he wasn’t going to do anything. Mandi was angry and scared, that was why she was doing this. It didn’t mean she didn’t love him, that they wouldn’t work things out. All it meant was that he’d crossed a line this time and she wanted him to know it. So he said nothing, did nothing as she walked away from him.

As the emptiness of the house settled over him, he realized everybody he loved was gone. His father was buried in the backyard. Bela was on a plane to Italy with the man he’d forced her to marry. And Mandi was getting into a cab in the driveway.

She was right, he thought as he made his way across the mansion to his father’s old office. He’d finally gotten everything he’d always wanted. Why did it feel like such a hollow victory? 

Vincent wasn’t sure why he’d thought getting drunk at the Strip Dive would help him take his mind off of Bela’s wedding. All the alcohol did was make his mood even more grim. Not even the half-naked women on the stage made him feel better.

Nothing would help, he knew that. A look at his watch told him the wedding was over by now. Bela was officially off the market and no longer his. Officially a Marcano.

That thought caused him to lift the glass of scotch to his lips once again. The only thing that dulled his heartache was his newborn hatred for Trey. It burned inside him like hellfire, eternal and everlasting. Everything that had gone wrong was his fault. Trey was the one who’d killed Sal and rendered Vincent’s entire investigation null and void. Trey was the one who’d sold his own sister into virtual slavery to keep the keys to the DeLuca dynasty. Trey was now the enemy.

In the haze of the bar dimly lit with neon lights, he saw a familiar figure coming toward him. Nik slid into the booth across from Vincent.

“Drowning your sorrows?” Nik asked.

Vincent shrugged in response. In the back of his mind, he wondered why Nik bothered to talk to him. He never had before.

As if sensing this question, Nik added, “I figured if there was a guy who hates Trey more than me, it’d be you.”

Hate was an understatement. Right now, he was disgusted with Trey’s actions. Appalled. Revolted.

He’d expected their fathers to hold Bela to the arranged marriage, but once he’d gotten wind that Trey had killed his dad and took his place in the family business, he thought all their suffering was over. Surely, Trey would allow them the freedom they needed to be together. Surely, Trey would let his sister off the wedding hook. That’s what he’d thought, at least. He’d driven straight to Bela’s with this amazing feeling of relief. He’d even waited anxiously downstairs for half an hour. And when he finally did get to see Bela…

“The look on your face says it all,” Nik said with a snicker.

“What do you want?” Vincent asked in a gruff voice. Right now, he needed to be left alone to ‘drown his sorrows.’ “Did you come here to twist the knife?”

“No,” Nik said, still grinning. “I want to shove that knife in Trey’s back.”

Vincent froze with his glass poised at his lips, unsure of what he’d heard. It sounded like…

“And I thought you might want to join me.”

He took a slow drink while this information settled in. So Nik was the one trying to get Trey killed. Of course, he thought. Nik was the underboss and was supposed to have been the next in line for Sal’s job, if it hadn’t been for Trey’s little show of power. And Nik had probably known all along that he couldn’t hold a candle to Trey’s success, so the next logical solution was to take him out. Why hadn’t he seen it sooner?

A new plan began to form in his mind. One that would ensure he could escape with Bela for good. Leaning in, he gave Nik a wink. “Count me in.”

COMING SOON!

Jasmine Denton has trouble confining herself to one genre, so she writes books that often include (but aren't limited to) fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, paranormal romance, contemporary romance and most recently, mafia romance. 
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