Page 134 of Bene

Their words still rung in her mind.

Still taunted her.

Vanna heard the music change beyond the closed doors—the church organ muted through the thick, darkly stained wood. The song that meant it was her turn to walk through the doors after the only person who went before her, a young girl from the clan who acted as a flower girl. Her gaze went back to the door, her veil shrouding her features just enough to hide the fact that she couldn’t smile, and she barely held back tears.

God.

She wanted to cry.

More than anything.

A part of her knew, though, Mario would like that too much. And besides, she had never been that woman. The one who cried her way through shit that was out of her control. No, she always fought her way through it, instead.

This wasn’t one of those times.

There was no escape.

The doors were pushed open from the inside, making them swing toward her and giving her a good view of all the people standing inside the church. Instead of focusing on their faces, she stared at the white satin aisle runner dotted with red and white rose petals.

She breathed deep.

Willed away the pain.

Prayed for the nausea to subside.

The music played on—it was her turn to walk. All she needed to do was take one step, and then another. Keep going until she reached the end. To where Mario currently waited with a burning gaze zoned in on her like he could read her mind and knew exactly what was running through it. How she was still trying to figure a way out of this.

Something.

Anything.

She could force herself to do this. She could.

What choice did she have?

But God …

She didn’t want to.

That made it harder.

Holding the bouquet tighter, letting her father’s rosary bite into her fingertips, she held the roses closer to her stomach. Her fingers brushed against the beaded bodice of her gown covering her still-flat abdomen, but just having that moment was enough to settle her nerves for the moment. She didn’t dare outright touch it.

Not with all these eyes—

“It’s a raid! It’s a raid!”

Vanna swung around fast at the shouting coming from behind her, the bouquet falling from her hands to the floor. Her father’s rosary spilling to the carpeted entrance of the old church as the man rushed past her, one of the soldiers the Detti boss had demanded watch the outside of the church throughout the ceremony.

He blew by her.

Still shouting.

Raid!

It’s a raid!

She didn’t care about him.