by Anne Mercier
"And me," Xander announces.
"Me too!" Jace jumps in.
"Me three!" Ethan says with a grin.
"Me four!" Kennedy smirks.
"Me five!" Ben says quickly.
"Me six," Trace chuckles.
"Me first, always first," Giovanni says and she blows him a kiss.
I really like this family stuff.
"Friends and family, we are here today to celebrate the love of Jesse James Kingston and Luciana Antonia Kingston." Xander starts chuckling and mutters, "Yeehaw" under his breath. I flip him off behind my back.
"Jesse Kingston," mama scolds and everyone laughs.
"Sorry mama." Damn. She catches me every time. I look to Lucy and whisper, "How does she always know?"
"Mojo," she whispers back. Ahh, yes, the mojo. I nod. I need to talk to Nana Russo about learning how to work up some mojo.
"Rather than traditional vows, Luciana and Jesse have opted to sing a song to one another."
"Aww," Sera coos.
"Jesse, if you’d go first."
I nod and Ben picks up his guitar.
"I know most people expect soft, sappy music at weddings, and that’s great, but it’s just not me. Lucy, Cupcake, these words say it all," I tell her before launching into Safetysuit’s Never Stop.
She squeezes my hand when I get to the part about never stopping choosing her. The words hold so true. She is my life and I don’t deserve her. But she’s mine and I’m hers and she’ll never go a day without knowing just how much she means to me.
"You still get my heart racing, for you," Ben harmonizes and Lucy’s wiping tears with the handkerchief she swiped from me earlier as her something borrowed. She was already a crier, but those pregnancy hormones have her going wild.
"Baby, don’t cry," I whisper and wipe her cheeks dry.
"It’s not like I can help it. And I agree with Sera. I should have gone first too," she sniffles and I grin at her.
Ben passes Sera his guitar, but holds on to it for a second and Sera rolls her eyes and gives it a tug.
"Be nice to her," Ben tells Sera.
"I’ll be extra gentle knowing she’s the only girl who’ll let you stroke, strum, or finger her," Sera teases with a laugh.
I scowl. "How come mama didn’t scold you?"
Sera tilts her head and I see mama too busy crying to scold. Alright then. That makes it okay. I was getting a complex.
Lucy wipes her tears again then stands up straight. "I’m ready."
Lucy
"WE’VE BROKEN SO MANY TRADITIONS, Jesse, but I wouldn’t change a single second of it. There is no other song that fits more perfectly than this one," I tell him. I nod to Sera who starts strumming I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden and Jesse’s smile is so big and wide, my heart fills with love and warmth.
When the last chord is strummed, Jesse pulls me into his arms. "I love you so much, Cupcake."
"Do you have the rings?" the officiant asks, and Ben hands Jesse the one for me, and Sera hands me the one for Jesse.
"Jesse, if you’d repeat after me."
I nod.
"With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed," he repeats, slipping a thin diamond platinum band onto my finger.
"Wow, how many rings do you have now?" Sera asks and I snicker.
"Luciana, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."
My breath hitches. "With this ring, I thee wed," I tell Jesse, slipping the matching wedding band on his finger. I meet his gaze and I can’t stop smiling.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may... kiss your bride," the officiant breaks off with a laugh when Jesse pounces and kisses me before the sentence is completed.
"I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Kingston!"
"Again!" Xander shouts.
"Only this time they’ll remember it all," Jace teases.
"Asshole," Jesse chides and everyone laughs louder.
I pull him in for another hug and kiss.
"Jesse." He looks at me. I pull his face down for a kiss then whisper against his lips, "I absolutely love you."
"That’s a good thing because I’m so fucking gone over you there’s no coming back," he says with a chuckle.
"Jucy forever!" Spenser shouts.
Sera
This Means War by Avenged Sevenfold
Head Games by Foreigner
I FORGOT MY GUITAR IN the hall. Cursing, I head back to the ceremony venue and grab it. I quickly head back to the bungalow where we’re going to be changing into our casual wear and I, for one, can’t wait to get out of these long dresses. It’s too damn hot, thin material or not. I can only imagine how Lucy feels.
I walk into the bungalow and stop in my tracks. I tilt my head to the side and study the situation before me, and all I can think is: "Stupid fucking bitch." Yeah, I said it aloud too because really, that’s exactly what Carina is right now.
"You better watch yourself, Serafina," she threatens and I snort. I see the fear in Lucy’s eyes as Carina holds the knife to my sister’s belly containing three innocent lives. She was going to suffer before, but now? She will experience excruciating pain.
"Or what? You’re going to hurt Lucy and her babies? Just how long do you think you’ll live if you manage to do that? You’ll be dead before you even leave this island."
"There’s where you’re wrong. I’ve got it all worked out," she tells me with a smirk.
I nod. "Do you now? That’s good, that’s good. Everyone needs a plan, right?"
"What are you doing?" she asks.
I shrug. "Nothing. Cooperating." I lean back against the vanity casually, resting my hands on the edge. My fingertip touches the gun resting underneath, on a small shelf.
She narrows her eyes. "Take your dress off."
"I didn’t know you were into girl on girl. I thought you only whored for cock," I tell her, knowing it’s going to piss her off. "I know you want my clothes off so you can see if I’ve got a gun on me, but look at me. Where the hell would I put it?"
She shrugs.
"You really are a fucking idiot," I mutter and Lucy smirks at me when she sees my finger pointing to the gun. I stand up and pull the dress over my head, standing there in my bra and panties. I wink at her. "Like what you see?"
"Please," Carina scoffs. "Your body is nothing to call home about. Your tits are too small and you’re too fucking skinny."
I shrug again. "Normally, when I’m not being emotionally tortured, I’m not this skinny and when I’m my normal weight, trust me," I say, cupping my breasts, "these babies are more than enough."
She scoffs again.
I lift a brow. "Why don’t you ask my husband? You know him, right? The one you thought you could manipulate." I laugh.
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up now or I’ll cut her!" she threatens, dragging the blade along the fabric of Lucy’s dress and a piece falls to the floor.
"Where’s Spenser?" I ask.
"Oh your little gay friend?" Carina mocks.
"That’d be the one."
"He’s out back. He had a little accident," she tells me with one of those evil grins.
"What did you do?"
She shrugs.
I sigh. "Really, you’re better off just telling me. That way I won’t have to hurt you more later."
She laughs. Actually throws her head back and laughs. The woman is delusional if she thinks she’s going to get away with this. She has no idea who I am, who Lucy is, or what we’re capable of.
"Stupid fucking bitch," I sneer, then lean back against the vanity.
"Aww, poor little princess. You all sad now that your friend is out there hurt?" she asks.
I sigh and shake my head again. "You’ve got it wrong. Do you know anything? Christ, Luce, she’s stupid."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" she asks.
"Tell me what you did to Spenser and I’ll tell you."
"You have no room to bargain," C
arina reminds me, moving the knife around to the front of Lucy’s baby belly. Lucy’s not scared anymore. Oh no, now Lucy’s pissed.
I shrug but don’t answer.
"What’s she talking about?" she shouts, jerking Lucy for an answer.
"I have no idea," Lucy tells her. "There’s only one way to find out."
"How’s that?" Carina asks.
"Tell her what you did to Spenser. She won’t tell you anything otherwise," Lucy says, her voice shaky. Damn good actress.
"How about I cut little miss Lucy. I bet you’ll tell me then."
"Nope," I say, crossing my arms. She’s watching me too closely to go for the gun and I can’t risk her hurting Lucy or the babies.
"Tell me!" she shouts, her frustration coming through.
I smile. "No thanks."
She growls out a scream and Lucy flinches from the loudness.
"Fine! Your little friend hit his head and then tripped onto my knife. Oops," she tells me with a smirk.
I nod, my face impassive.
"That really sucks for you," Lucy tells her, distracting her.
"What are you talking about?" she snarls, and when she looks down at Lucy, I make my move. I slide my hand onto the shelf and pick up my trusty Beretta. When she hears the click, Carina looks up to find herself face to face with the barrel of my gun.
"If you shoot me, you’ll end up hurting your sister and probably her babies in the process. I’ll go down and she’ll go with me. I’ll make sure she lands on the knife, blade side up," she threatens. God, she’s really and truly ugly, inside and out.
"Drop the knife," I tell her.
"You’re not going to shoot me," she says with a laugh. I know she has no idea what I’m going to do. She doesn’t know me well enough. But I know her. She’s a coward. She doesn’t do any of the dirty work herself.
"Drop the knife," I say again, this time a little firmer.
"Drop the gun," she challenges.
"Never gonna happen. Drop the fucking knife. Now," I bite out, my patience worn thin.
"I don’t think so," she says.
I sigh and shake my head. "Total fucking idiot," I say and Lucy nods her agreement. "One last time." That’s the signal. "Drop." Three. "The." Two. "Knife." One.
Lucy stomps on her instep and I pull the trigger.
Carina cries out and falls to the floor, then again when Lucy kicks her in the face.
"Fucking bitch." She kicks her again. "If you knew anything about us, you’d know that I am the princess. Do your homework. Sheesh. Who taught you how to be a criminal?" Lucy asks, her foot on Carina’s neck. "It sure wasn’t gampy. He doesn’t train idiots." One more kick to the face and Lucy grabs the sash from her dress and hands it to me. I hand her my gun then walk over to Carina, rolling her on her stomach, smirking when she squeals in pain from the bullet wound in her shoulder.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I wanted to kill her too. One bullet right between the eyes, but there’s work to be done before I’ll get that satisfaction. I tie her wrists, then push her face into the floor. I lean down close so only she can hear me.
"I’m going to take great pleasure in killing you. But before I do, I’m going to make you suffer for every fucking vile thing you’ve ever done." I stand up then step on her back on my way to the door, but then stop. The only way she could have gotten in here is if she was working with one of the guards. These are Giovanni’s and Cage’s most trusted. Heads are going to roll.
I grab my cell phone and dial.
"Fee."
"Hi honey. There’s a bit of an issue here," I tell him and Lucy snorts.
"I’m on my way." I hear him call for Damian and a few others.
"Be careful. One or more of the guards are disloyal. Carina whore is here."
"Alright. I’m almost there. Is Lucy okay?" Cage asks.
"Fine." I hold out my hand for the gun because the look in Lucy’s eye tells me she’s thinking about how Carina threatened her babies’ lives and would love nothing more than to put another bullet in her, only this one she’d make lethal. When she hesitates to give it back, I knew I was right. "Luce," I coax.
"Fucking bitch," she says, before handing me my gun.
"Hurry," I tell Cage, "before Lucy kills her."
The door opens. "I’ve got it, Luce," Cage says.
Her hands on her hips. "Where’s the fun in that?"
He nods. "It’s safer."
"She held a knife to my babies," she tells him, venom lacing her tone. She pushes her foot down on the shoulder with the bullet hole. When Carina whimpers, Lucy presses harder. "Just as Sera said. You’re a fucking idiot." She steps back. "And now you’re going to die."
Carina snorts.
I bend down and shove my face in hers. She shuts up immediately. "That’s what I thought." I look to Cage. "She hurt Spenser. I don’t know where he is but she said she stabbed him." Cage nods and sends out a text.
Jesse bursts through the door, fear and anger marring his features. "Luce," he breathes and pulls her into his arms.
"We’re alright," she tells him.
"Who the fuck is that?" Jesse bites out.
"That’d be the dumb-as-a-rock Carina," I tell him.
"You gonna kill her?" he asks Cage.
"Someone will, yes," Cage answers honestly.
"Make sure they torture her good and long first," Jesse tells him.
Cage nods once. "Consider it done."
"How did she get in here?" Jesse asks.
"Let’s just say, more than one person is going to die tonight," Cage says, his eyes steady and angry, his tone menacing.
I’m going to break every fucking bone in that hand of hers—the one that held the knife to my sister’s babies. It’s all I can do not to beat her to death with my fists. But I know they need answers and I know I’ll be the one to get them.
"Well, Luce, what do you say we get changed while they take out the trash?"
Carina slants me a look. "You’re nothing. A worthless excuse for a human being. You should have been there that day."
I narrow my eyes. "What day would that be?" I ask, but I already know. I want to hear her say it.
"The day your parents were murdered. You should have been there. You should be dead!" she seethes.
"Well, isn’t it too bad for you and them that I’m not." I pat her cheek, two rough slaps. Then I whisper, "Later you’re really going to wish I had died that day because I’m going to make you wish you were dead."
She sucks in a breath. I look to Cage who is working so hard to restrain his rage.
I walk over and hug him tight. "It’s alright, babe," I reassure him.
"It’s not," he says tightly, holding me close, so close it feels like his heart is beating in my chest. "But it will be. Before everything is done, it will be. I promise you."
"Cage, you don’t have to promise me that. I already know you’re going to make it happen," I tell him, letting him know I have one hundred percent faith in him.
"I love you, Fee."
"I love you too. Now I need to get changed so we can get our wedding reception freakness on."
"Freakness?" he asks with a smirk.
I raise a brow. "With this bunch, do you imagine it’s going to be normal?"
"Point taken."
I snicker then give him one last kiss before going to change with Lucy.
I Found In You by Sarah Darling
Suspicious Minds by Elvis
Celebration by Kool & The Gang
What I Like About You by The Romantics
P.Y.T. by Michael Jackson
Walk This Way by Aerosmith & RUN-DMC
Jessie's Girl – Rick Springfield
"AND THERE THEY ARE! The brides and grooms!" Xander announces from the stage.
"Oh dear God," Cage says and I snicker.
"Xan my man!" Lucy shouts.
"Luce my goose! Time to dance with your husband—again! Only this time you’re going to remember it!"
Trace drums o
ut a comedy beat.
"Elvis lives!" Xander shouts, then starts singing Suspicious Minds.
"Ha!" I say and pull Cage to the dance floor. I know my big man doesn’t do the whole dance thing, so I wrap myself around him and sway to the beat, occasionally singing a line here and there.
"There’s nowhere you can run that I won’t find you now, Fee," he says with a grin.
I smirk. "I’m done running. The only place I’ll be running is to you."
"Aww, that’s so sweet," Jace murmurs, dancing with some woman I’ve never seen before.
"Suck it," I tell him and he chuckles.
"Congratulations." Cage and I murmur our thanks. "I’m really glad you caught her."
Cage smirks. "Me too."
"Me three!" I say.
"Me four!" Lucy announces.
"Me five!" Jesse says, weighing in.
"Me six!" Xander says from the stage. "I don’t know what we’re sixing, but I’m all for a six-some."
"Xander Mackenzie," mama scolds.
"Sorry mama. It’s a double wedding, a party, and I’m getting inebriated. Brace yourself."
"Lord have mercy," Jesse says.
"I second that," Cage agrees.
Ethan steps up on the stage. "I have a little song for the brides, grooms, and everyone here. Let’s celebrate!" he announces. I laugh out loud when Ethan—our quiet Ethan—breaks into Celebration by Kool & the Gang, mimicking what I can only suspect are some really horrible eighties moves.
Kennedy and Xander are doing the same dance and I look at Ben and Jesse.
"Hell no," Jesse says and Ben laughs.
"They made us do this in high school for some talent show bullshit with the cheerleaders," Ben tells us.
"Ridiculous."
I laugh, then sing really loudly, "Celebrate good times, come on!" throwing my hands up in the air and wiggling my hips. Cage just keeps his arms wrapped around me and smirks.
"You keep rubbing up on me like that, wife, we’re going to need to have a quickie."
I wiggle my eyebrows. "Oh husband." My eyes widen and I giggle—I never giggle. Ever. That’s Lucy’s thing, so when I do, Cage’s smile stretches across his face and he laughs with me.
"Look at that," Ben says. "Hell froze over. Serafina giggled like a giddy school girl."