Drago: Made Men, #6

by Brianne, Sarah

  “Are you prepared, as you follow the path of Marriage, to love and honor each other for as long as you both shall live?”

  “I am,” they repeated together again.

  “Are you prepared to accept children lovingly from God and to bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?”

  Drago repeated, “I am,” for the final time, but Kat took a moment to think about those particular words from the priest before she finally had to say the words, “I am.”

  “Since it is your intention to enter into the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.”

  Her heart started to pound out of her chest as she gently raised her right hand, and everything seemed to go in slow motion.

  Taking her small hand in his, he gave her his vows, “I, Drago, take you, Katarina, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

  She had been told to memorize the vows, because without the priest’s coaching, it gave them more meaning. Drago had done it so easily, and she found it more difficult, only able to hear the pounding of her heart as they waited patiently for her vows. It wasn’t until his thumb lightly brushed over her knuckles that she found herself saying, “I, Katarina, take you, Drago,”— she stared down at the way he tenderly held her hand and was able to continue—“for my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,”—her eyes finally trailed back up to his, and she was able to see that in this moment they were in this together. That, just like her, it wasn’t what he might have wanted, but it was something he had to do. Unfortunately for her, she was who he chose, becoming collateral damage in this deadly game of chess. Slowly, her heart ceased, and there was nothing but her voice left—“until death do us part.”

  The priest laid his frail hand over theirs, sacramentally making the bride and groom become wife and husband with no turning back. “May the Lord in his kindness strengthen the consent you have declared before the Church,

  and graciously bring to fulfillment his blessing within you. What God joins together, let no one put asunder.”

  “Amen.” The church echoed with the voices in the room.

  Picking up the rings, he began blessing the tiny pieces of metal. “May the Lord bless these rings, which you give to each other as a sign of love and fidelity.”

  Drago picked up the blessed ring and slid it onto her finger. “Katarina, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

  She looked down. A dainty platinum wedding ring now sat on her left ring finger, and whether she liked it or not, she was a wife. Kat picked up the weighted thick band that looked like silver that had been brushed in black. “Drago, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

  She slid the ring on what she’d never thought she’d say in a million years... my husband.

  Seventeen

  A Twenty-First-Century Arranged Marriage…

  There was no ceremonial kiss in a Catholic wedding, thank God, as it would have been one hell of an awkward first kiss. That was what she had been the most grateful for out of this whole day.

  The reception was being held in the ballroom at the casino hotel, and only the bravest of the Lucianos had come to be put in a box with the Carusos on their home ground.

  You could tell that everyone in the room was on edge as they all sat at their tables eating the full-course meals that had been prepared. Some of the Luciano men even refused to eat, afraid of being poisoned.

  Looking around the huge ballroom, she had to give Maria credit, knowing it was all her doing. Everything about the wedding had been breathtaking. The room was a full black and white tie affair, and the only pops of color were the splashes of red roses throughout the room.

  “It’s time for the first dance,” Maria told them as she came over after everyone finished their dessert.

  Kat quickly looked over at Drago, who didn’t seem interested in it either. “That’s okay. I don’t—”

  “I would like to welcome up our bride and groom to the dance floor for their first dance,” the lead singer of the wedding band spoke into the microphone.

  The room went silent at first, but when Dante, the Caruso boss, began clapping his hands, everyone else followed.

  Drago pushed back his chair and stood, asking for her hand by holding out his.

  Taking it, she let him lead her to the open dance floor, and the band began playing while the singer opened his mouth to sing the song What Would It Take.

  When his hand reached behind to the small of her back, the two started swaying to the music, and she quickly became shocked since he had the body type of a football player. “You know how to dance?”

  “I know how to slow dance without stepping on your toes, yes.”

  Kat actually smiled up at him as the words ‘love me’ were sung. Hearing that, she quickly looked away, swearing to herself she was going to kill Maria for the song choice.

  Her eyes drifted out to the crowd while they danced, looking for one person in particular.

  “I haven’t seen him,” Drago whispered to her.

  “How do you know who I’m looking for?”

  “You’re looking for Sal, aren’t you?” He hadn’t asked it as a question but a certain statement.

  “How did you….”

  “You have the same look on your face that you had when I asked you about him.”

  “Oh.” She relaxed her face, no longer searching the crowd. She thought she would have finally got to meet him with it being her wedding day, but it didn’t look like it was going to happen.

  With the song ending and no one on the dance floor still, they exited as Angel approached.

  “May I steal her?” Angel asked, looking at Drago.

  “Sure.” He immediately walked away, not even waiting for them to leave first, seeming to be distracted by something else.

  Looks like the honeymoon phase of him being nice to me is over. Which was fine by her. She really wasn’t prepared for the nice Drago, not knowing how to act around him.

  “I want you to meet someone.” Angel took her to a table full of people her age.

  She wasn’t there a second before a brunette practically jumped on her, giving her a hug.

  Her brother smiled. “And this is Adalyn.”

  The girl just squeezed harder. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Kat.”

  Laughing, she wrapped her arms around her knowing this had to be the Caruso her brother was with. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

  “You have to meet my friends,” she said, finally letting her go. “This is my best friend, Lake.”

  The much taller brunette smiled. “Hi.”

  “Hi.”

  Adalyn then pointed to the strawberry blonde beside Lake. “And this is Elle.”

  A sweet Elle smiled too. “Hi, Chloe’s told me a lot about you.”

  “You know Chloe?” Kat asked, taking an empty seat to get the weight of the dress off her.

  Adalyn sat down too while Angel left to go talk with his brothers.

  “Yeah, she’s my best friend,” the strawberry blonde told her.

  Taking a look around, she saw Lucca but not her, making her realize she hadn’t seen Chloe all night. “Where is she?”

  Elle bit her lip clearly trying to think of what to say. “She couldn’t make it.”

  “That’s okay.” Kat smiled, reassuring her it was no big deal.

  When a seat was scooted back, Maria sat in it before she flipped her glass of champagne back. She seemed to be on edge.

  “Something wrong?” Kat was the one to ask while the others just stared at her, watching her down the contents of the glass.

  Maria set down the flu
te and waited a second before answering, “Yeah, no one’s dancing.”

  “Once the alcohol gets into the Lucianos’ systems, they will be,” she revealed in a sarcastic tone that actually wasn’t sarcastic at all. The Luciano family was rough and knew how to party hard.

  She raised her brow. “They will?”

  “Are they serving anything other than wine and champagne?” Kat had only noticed those drinking glasses around.

  “Yes, it’s a full open bar.”

  “Then give it thirty minutes,” she said with certainty.

  All the girls laughed.

  She saw the tall, handsome blond who Drago had slammed the door on. He looked like he might be walking over here with another guy. “Who is that cute blond? He was the one who dropped off the pizza for us.” She leaned over asking Maria.

  What she had heard just a moment before wasn’t laughter; now it was full-on laughter.

  “That’s my boyfriend, Vincent,” Lake finally told her when she stopped.

  “And my brother.” Adalyn giggled.

  Oops. “Sorry, I didn’t kn—”

  “It’s okay,” Lake stopped, her clearly unbothered. “He would get a kick out of it if he knew.”

  Maria, however, had yet to stop laughing. She practically had tears in her eyes.

  She didn’t understand what was so funny about it.

  “What’s so funny?” Vincent asked when he finally reached them.

  Please don’t! Please don’t say anything.

  Wiping away a tear, the princess flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Oh, nothing.”

  Lake smiled, playing dumb for her. “This is my boyfriend, Vincent.”

  “Hello, I think we’ve met.” The tall, handsome blond dazzled his perfect teeth at her while holding his hand out.

  “Y-Yes.” She got stuck staring into his amazing baby blues. Pretty boys like him didn’t exist in her world. Trying not to look like more of an idiot, she tried to get herself under control. “Hi, I’m Kat.”

  “It’s good to meet you without a door in my face.” He winked at her before going to stand next to his girl.

  “And this is my boyfriend, Nero,” Elle spoke, bringing her attention to the guy who had walked over with Vincent.

  She looked at the other one. He had dark hair and emerald-green eyes. He was handsome as well, but to her it was very obvious that he was another brother of Lucca’s. He resembled him in a lot of ways, not as scary looking, but he was still young, she supposed. “Hello.”

  Nero gave his hi with a simple nod as he stood close to Elle.

  Yeah, definitely Lucca’s brother.

  With a song change, there seemed to be some brave, drunk souls that went out to the dance floor.

  “Ooo, let’s dance.” The tall Lake stood, taking Elle’s and Adalyn’s hands.

  On the way up, Adalyn grabbed Kat’s. “Come dance with us.”

  Afraid of saying no to the girl, she looked back at Maria for help.

  “I’ll be there in a few.” She made no effort of getting up but instead looked around the room for someone in particular.

  “Hello, what about us?” a frustrated Vincent yelled out when he and Nero were left behind.

  She was dragged to the dance floor by girls she had just met minutes ago, who made her feel welcome in their group as they started dancing. She wasn’t that into it at first but slowly relaxed as she danced to the music, and it got a lot easier the more and more people came onto the dance floor after watching them having fun. The boys even joined their girlfriends, but it took longer for Angel to join his after several heated glances from Adalyn.

  Steadily, the air in the room changed from a tense situation to an all-out carefree party. Who would’ve thought that a wedding and a lot of booze could’ve made these two families coexist in the same room at least for a one night?

  She wasn’t sure how long they had danced, but she was sweaty under the heavy dress when a slow song started, breaking the groups up into couples. Kat was heading to take a break when the handsomest Caruso came over.

  “Would you like to dance?” Leo asked with a smile.

  She couldn’t help but smile back, taking the hand he was holding out to her. “It would be my pleasure.”

  * * *

  “It looks like my son has taken to your wife.” Dante sat down his whiskey glass, nodding to where the Luciano girl and Leo were dancing.

  After their first dance, Drago had spent the night right beside his boss, not liking the air in the room. His instinct to protect his boss was just too strong, being an easy target in this room and in this situation. The Carusos were relying on fear to keep the Lucianos in line. However, the longer he sat protecting his boss, the more he had only watched her. His wife. It was as if he was becoming mesmerized by Katarina the longer he continued to watch her laugh and dance.

  He thought the need for revenge would have been satiated. It had started to taste sweet when Dominic had met him before he walked down the aisle, but it quickly turned bitter with every look he glanced her way. She had spent their whole reception not with her family but with the Carusos, the little witch becoming even more and more likable. Ever since Leo had met her, Drago had spent days hearing him talk about her up until the wedding, and now she was dancing with him, making the kid happy. “I see that.”

  Dante raised his glass. “I couldn’t have chosen better myself,” he told him before taking a drink.

  Fuck, even his boss was happy, which was sometimes a hard thing to accomplish.

  But why wasn’t he? Even after getting his revenge…

  His boss could see he hadn’t stopped watching her either. “Why don’t you go dance with her?”

  Taking his eyes off her, he finally scanned the room seeing only happy, drunk faces. “I’m not leaving you unprotected.”

  “I’m not unprotected. I have Todd and enough of my men around me.”

  Todd and the other Caruso men standing around the boss protecting him weren’t Drago.

  “Go dance with her,” Dante ordered this time. “It’ll make me and the families happy.”

  His eyes moved around the room once more seeing no threats, so he nodded telling himself that he was going to dance with his wife, not because he wanted to but because he was following orders.

  Men. They could be so stupid.

  * * *

  “May I steal her?”

  She heard the words for the second time tonight, except this time it didn’t come from her brother and instead from someone she didn’t expect.

  “I guess.” Reluctantly, Leo let him have her to dance with.

  “I think he wanted to finish the song.” Kat laughed while she watched a sad Leo walk away.

  Drago grabbed her waist before the kid could come back to take her away. “Too bad. He’s not the one married to you.”

  Deciding to play along, she smiled as she raised a brow. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

  “Might be, if he were older.”

  She was stunned for a second. Hearing him say that didn’t sound like the little game they were playing pretending to be husband and wife. That almost sounded real. And why is he being nice again? What in the hell is in the air tonight? Everyone in this whole damn room was getting along too nicely; it wasn’t making sense. “Why is everyone so happy?” She didn’t even realize the question had passed her lips till Drago answered her.

  “Because it’s a start to a new world, Katarina.”

  This time when she looked around, she could see it for what it really was… the beginning of peace. The Carusos had really called it; mixing their bloods could stop the possibility of war forever. With Angel and Adalyn, she and Drago, and the families safely interacting with each other, it opened up more relationship possibilities to a point where the families wouldn’t dare to touch the other in fear their own could get hurt in the crossfire. It was genius.

  Kat bit her lip. “I guess it’s not so bad… marrying you, then.”

  “Yeah.�
� His fire eyes stared down at the lip she’d just bit. “I suppose so.”

  “Kiss!” someone yelled out so loudly you could hear it over the music.

  Her eyes now fell to his lips at the request.

  “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!” More and more people started to chant with a clap of their hands until everyone in the whole room was chanting and watching them, waiting on the edge of their seats for their first kiss.

  Kat didn’t know if it was the magic in the air, or if it was the excitement of the new world, but when Drago lifted her chin up with a finger, she parted her lips, closing her eyes. The lips that took hers were ones of possession, not of an equal marriage. That should have scared her, but there was no time as real fear was soon about to set in.

  BANG.

  Hearing the first shot sent the room to a quiet standstill.

  It was only when a shrilling scream filled the room that people realized what they feared they’d heard was real. The second gunshot that was going to sound out soon enough was only going to confirm it.

  With everyone in the room either screaming or running to take cover, it sent what was a lovely night of celebration to a twenty-first-century arranged marriage… straight from hell.

  BANG.

  Eighteen

  The End to a Beautiful Beginning

  Two would be shot.

  One would survive.

  One would be killed.

  Both might just be the end to a beautiful beginning.

  Nineteen

  Making Their Marriage the Shortest One in History

  The second the first shot rang out, Drago pulled his lips away from hers, hearing that shrilling scream that sent goose bumps up everyone’s back. Before she knew it, he used the speed of a bullet dropping them to the ground.

  His tall body lay over hers, protecting her as people started running and trampling over each other. “When I lift off you, you’re going to crawl to that table in the corner.”