Guns n’ Boys book 1 part 2 – sneak peek
Seth’s palms were wet as he reached for his glass of red wine. It was chilly outside, but with his body heat all too high in the designer suit Dom got him to buy, sitting in the garden wasn’t a bad idea.
Lucrezia Bruni, his future wife was to arrive today, escorted by Santo, the consigliere’s son, and her father. If Seth could have his way, he would stop time and never face her. Father was teasing him and wouldn’t even show him a picture, thinking it was all a great joke. Not so, fucking, much.
“Leave that,” muttered Domenico, scooting down next to Seth, the ever-present cigarette dangling from his lips. “You don’t want to be drunk when you meet them.”
Seth scowled and pushed the glass away. “It’s just wine.” He knew Dom was as happy as he was with this arrangement, but it didn’t show much, and the disengaged façade was just making Seth more agitated.
“Not your first glass, and it’s home made. It’ll go straight to your head.” Domenico sighed and offered him a cigarette instead. His eyes were barely visible behind the black shades, and it gave him that emotionless, cyborg-like look.
“This will be such a fucking disaster,” Seth groaned but was happy to take a cigarette.
“Nothing happens today. It’s just formalities. I saw you being comfortable with women. Just act as you always would,” advised Domenico, slowly getting to his feet and towering over Seth in his immaculate dark blue suit.
“I had female friends in the US. I just never… you know what I mean. There will be expectations.” Seth reached out to Dom with his fingers, sure that he wouldn’t be allowed to touch him. And sure enough, Dom didn’t move by an inch, standing there like a statue.
“I know. Just go with the flow,” he said, eventually stuffing his right hand into his pocket.
“Why doesn’t Vincente marry her, huh? He’s older.” The wine looked all too tempting again, so he lit his cigarette.
Domenico shrugged. “He’s not groomed for your future position,” he said flatly, and Seth knew very well what that tone carried. That Seth wasn’t good enough to be a future Don. That he would be shit at the job, and she would be disappointed. And, oh, how funny that was. It will be even funnier when he gets killed, and she goes down with him. Hilarious.
Seth sucked in a big breath of smoke, and his body froze when he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching over the driveway at the front of the house. There was no point in complaining.
As impossible as it seemed, Domenico straightened even more. “They’re here,” he said, reaching out his hand to help Seth up. His calm was chilling, and it seemed the longer Dom was on the Villani grounds, the more distant he became. Soon enough, their– whatever it was they had — would be just a distant shadow. Dom would find himself men who weren’t married, and Seth would settle into a relationship he would never be satisfied with.
Seth got up and slightly pushed Dom’s hand away. “I’m fine.”
Domenico took a step back and said nothing. With those damn shades, Seth didn’t even know if he was being looked at or not.
“Seth, where are you? They’re here!” Father yelled from the villa, so Seth picked up his pace, all too aware of the steps behind him. He took one more cloud of smoke into his lungs and put out the cigarette in a flower pot as they passed through the rooms.
Father appeared at the turn of the corridor, with a big smile threatening to break his face in two, it was in such stark contrast with the void in Seth’s chest that for a moment he didn’t know what to say. “Ready to meet the bride?”
“Couldn’t wait since you told me,” he said and hoped his lack of enthusiasm could be interpreted as nervousness. “You could have at least shared a photo.”
Father made a wave with his hand and scooped Seth with his arm. “I want it to be a surprise. She is a fine young woman though. You will not be disappointed.”
“Is her father coming today as well?” Seth asked, with cramps in his stomach.
“Make sure to greet him.” Father patted Seth in the chest, all smiles. No wonder, it was his plan unfolding, at the cost of Seth’s misery. The Brunis held a big chunk of the drug trade pie in Calabria. After initial conflict, Father and old Bruni managed to strike a deal on consolidating their business, all cemented by Seth’s and Lucrezia’s marriage. “Then you’ll get to spend some time with your lady, and you get to put the ring on her finger. You have it, right?” he added after a moment of thought.
“Yeah, yeah,” Seth patted his suit jacket’s inner pocket. He didn’t even look at the damn thing.
“Come on, don’t be so gloomy.” Father grinned as they neared the entrance and the sound of many voices. People have gathered in the mansion, eager to see Seth’s bride. “It’s not the end of your freedom. You can still live a little, right?”
“I sure hope so.” He laughed nervously and dared to look back at Dom, who followed them with a face that could as well be a mask. At least the shades were gone. Seth’s palms were sweaty so he shook his hands to calm down. They entered the hall, where several men stood, discreetly looking through the windows, and through the wide open doors, Seth could see a black limousine with tinted windows. His knees went so soft he almost stumbled over his own feet.
Father let him go and came out first, moving like a man half his age, but it left Seth alone with menacing eyes, that studied him for any weakness. He had to straighten up and deal with this marriage because it wasn’t going away any time soon. Dom wasn’t about to elope with him, so that matter was sealed. Without Dom on his side, escape was not an option.
Seth followed his father outside, his heart pounding at the sight of three black cars in the driveway. Like on command, some of the doors opened, and men started emerging from the first and third car. Only then, two of them rushed to the limousine in the middle and opened its back doors. In the same moment, Santo got out from the front seat, buttoning up his black suit jacket as if he were conditioned to do it. His hair was tamed with some product, slicked back to emphasize his strong jaw and pronounced cheekbones, and his shirt was open at the top, revealing the ugly scar across his throat. He shut the door behind himself and nodded at the middle-aged man who appeared on the other side of the car.
Seth’s nerves were stretched over capacity, and they broke the moment a slim, high-heeled foot peeked out from behind the car door. Santo gave Lucrezia a hand and helped her out of the car. With his face completely frozen, Seth watched the girl, because he could hardly call her a woman. She couldn’t be more than twenty years old, light-skinned, with blonde hair arranged into an elegant conservative bun. The lilac pencil dress fit her delicate frame perfectly, the whole look finished off with a pastel yellow jacket with elbow-length sleeves, and a pair of long white gloves.
When Lucrezia looked up the stairs and smiled at Seth, his heart sunk. He didn’t want to be this monster who lies to his wife.
Before he could dwell on it any further, the middle-aged man he noticed earlier was in front of him, his steel grey eyebrows bushy over lively eyes. The man had a jovial face with a pale scar running across the side of his lips and a cleft in his chin. He was shorter than Seth, with thick hands and the figure of an aged bodybuilder. Seth didn’t even consider extending his hand in greeting when Father came along and did it for him. So, this was his future father-in-law. Possibly the man to kill him when he finds out that the husband of his daughter fucks men. With hands like that, it would be a piece of cake to twist Seth’s neck.
Seth swallowed and wasn’t sure if he should go down to Lucrezia, but when he was trying to decide, Santo already led her up the stairs. Each careful step of her pretty shoes pushed Seth a mile farther away from what he had with Dom. He licked his lips, hoping his lack of smile would make him look mysterious instead of unhappy.
Despite being in high heels, her head only reached his chest. Even Peter was bigger, but comparing her to his ex-boyfriend was the last thing Seth should be doing. Lucrezia looked up at him with with big blue eyes, and Seth bowed to kiss her hand through the glove. They were very thin, and he could feel her warmth through the fabric.
“Told you they’d like each other,” boasted Father from the side, but Seth was too distracted by his bride’s wide-eyed look to comment on that. Lucrezia’s soft mouth moved to form a smile, which combined with a smooth flush made her look doll-like.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” was all he managed without having his voice tremble. Seth tried to compare the situation to fighting an assailant who had a knife instead of a hand, which did give him a different perspective on this meeting. “Would you care to come inside?” he asked when he figured his voice could handle it.
Her eyes lit up, and her other hand slid from around Santo’s arm to curl around Seth’s. “Thank you, I would love that. It’s quite chilly outside, isn’t it?”
She was no longer an immaterial concept. Now she was a person he could talk to, a human being who he couldn’t blame for this situation. Her hand on his arm was all too real.
Father walked up to them with Luciano Bruni, who eyed Seth like he could read his soul. Fortunately he couldn’t, or else Seth would be a dead man. They exchanged some greetings and all headed inside, followed by Santo and Domenico at the end of this funeral procession. It was the death of Seth’s freedom.
The house seemed even livelier than it was earlier, with men drinking wine and smoking cigarettes in the corridor and hall as the family headed to the living room where Seth was supposed to get to know his bride before popping the question. Lucrezia was keeping up the small talk, but Seth felt completely out of his depth, and the fact that all eyes were on him again didn’t help.
As they all sat down around the coffee table, Seth ended up awkwardly close with Lucrezia on the only sofa.
“It feels like I’ve been waiting for this day forever,” Lucrezia said, looking at Seth with a bright smile. He didn’t know what to say, but then his eyes briefly met Domenico’s.
The dark, handsome figure didn’t join everyone at the coffee table and stood by the wall where Seth could spot him. How was Seth to ever focus with Dom’s presence overwhelming all of his senses.
“Don’t look so nervous, Seth, she doesn’t bite,” Luciano laughed to Seth, and Father patted his knee.
“I am very happy to finally meet you,” she added, making Seth want to howl.
“Would you like some wine?” asked Father, gesturing to one of his men, who quickly made his way to a large globe, which contained numerous bottles of alcohol. Within two minutes, the coffee table wasn’t empty anymore, and as Lucrezia picked up her glass, Seth wondered if he should do the same.
“They do look good together,” said Luciano with a wide grin, which stretched the scar on his lips.
Seth definitely needed that wine if he was going to get through this day.
“Seth has spent a few years in America, and he seems to have only benefitted from it,” Father added. “Cheers to the approaching bond between our families.” He raised his glass, and all others followed.
Luciano drank up his wine with a smile. “We have some things to discuss, Dino. Maybe the young couple should go for a walk, get to know each other?”
Seth’s stomach plummeted, and he picked up the wine, despite Dom’s disapproval burning a hole in his hand from across the room.
Father nodded. “That is a good idea. I don’t want to bore your daughter to death.” He smiled and acknowledged Lucrezia with a gesture.
This was Seth’s cue. He got up and only a moment later remembered he was dealing with a woman, so he gave her his hand and helped her up. He was to officially pop the question in the garden, even though the whole ordeal was already agreed to anyway.
“The weather is especially nice for a walk today,” Seth said the only thing that came to his mind. What were they supposed to talk about? Swap recipes?
“Quite chilly though. I’m happy I took my gloves. My fingers get cold easily,” she said, gently brushing her fingers over his arm as they moved toward the French doors.
“You look very elegant. My mother always liked to wear gloves to formal occasions. She was even buried in them actually,” he said before realizing that his mother’s funeral was probably the worst topic of conversation he could ever choose before proposing. And sure enough, Lucrezia’s eyes widened, and she stumbled over the threshold, saved only by Seth’s arm.
The other men must have missed it because all Seth heard from inside was, “Acerbi, get back here. We’re practically family anyway.”
Seth couldn’t help but have a look over his shoulder, even though he and Lucrezia were already leaving. “I’m sorry to have brought that up,” he muttered, catching a glimpse of Domenico retreating into the shadows. It felt odd to leave him behind, as if he were going out into the wild without his trusted guard dog. In this case, Lucrezia was the wilderness. If he slipped and said the wrong things, she could be just as dangerous as any spy.
She sighed and patted Seth’s arm. “Don’t worry about it. You must be as stressed as I am.”
Seth took a deep breath and managed a smile. “Yes. I wasn’t expecting all of this when I came back from the US. But the moment I saw you, I had no regrets.” The words came out of his mouth so smoothly he wanted to rub his tongue with bleach in an act of self-punishment.
Predictably, Lucrezia bit her lip, blushing. “Thank you. I’m not disappointed either. The pictures didn’t do you justice,” she said as they walked through a peaceful vine tunnel in the garden. It seemed that the gardener had a day off, as there was no one around.
She was as sweet as a fresh meringue and made the conversation flow all the way to the grand old gazebo at the end of yet another alley made out of shrubbery.
When Seth got down on one knee, he wished he had drank more wine.
Tags: assassin, book, crime, forced marriage, gay, mafia, novel
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