the car before it exploded.”
The chief holds up the cross, and the initials I’d had engraved all those years ago are still as bright as the day I got it.
“The prophecy is dead. The peace we all waited for was for nothing. Jamila Camarco and Raphael Marrocchi are not our saviours, nor have they ever been. So listen to me now. If social order isn’t upheld by the end of this day, measures will be taken by the Vita Police Force. The mayor has also given permission for us to use any force necessary. So be warned, we will use force and clear our streets of violence once and for all.”
She said one day one of us would kill the other, but I never truly believed we would. The only time I have shed tears has been for her. And as I stand here, rooted in place, a tear rolls down my cheek and drops onto my jacket.
“You’ve been trying to kill her for so long, but I now know why you never succeeded.”
I glare at my cousin, not caring to listen to what he has to say, but he carries on regardless.
“It’s because you couldn’t. You needed her, if only from afar, but you still needed her. I knew you were hiding more from me when we were kids, but I never questioned you. All the times you disappeared and wouldn’t say where you’d been, you were with her, weren’t you?”
Still, I don’t answer him. I can’t. It’s impossible to make my lips part and speak.
“No matter how you feel, the war has been won.”
His footsteps thud lightly against the carpet as he takes his leave, closing the door softly behind him.
The war against the Camarco’s may be over, but I’d rather dance in a war with her than acknowledge this hollow victory with her body growing cold.
Chapter Twenty-One
Raphael
“Where is she?”
“Calm down, Raphael, she’ll be here. Have more patience.”
More patience? I’ve been pretty fucking patient over the last fifteen months. The last time Mila kept me waiting, she showed up sporting a black eye from her father. The memory alone raises the fine hairs on the back of my neck. I tell myself he wouldn’t dare mark her three days before her supposed wedding to the mayor, that hundreds of people in the city will be standing around to witness. It would be bad form.
When the side door opens, she slips in without a mark on her face. I breathe out a huge sigh of relief.
She’s as beautiful as ever.
“See? It’s all about patience, Raphael,” the Father says with a smile as I take Mila in my arms.
“What kept you?”
“My father is leaving on business, and wouldn’t leave until he knew I understood my place over the next three days.”
Snorting, I drop my arms and take hold of her hand, leading us closer to Father Luke.
“The wedding to Mayor Rossi is set for seven p.m. in three days. On the morning of your birthdays, as the sun begins to rise, you’ll both make your way here, and I’ll be waiting with two witnesses.”
“Who are they?” Mila asks, always needing to know every detail.
“Sisters from St. Mark’s church. After they’ve signed the marriage certificate, I’ll be personally driving them out of the city to a nunnery where they’ll be safe.”
“And what about you?”
“Since I won’t be needed to conduct your marriage to the mayor, once I know the sisters are safe, I’ll be heading far from here until I receive word it’s safe to return. It’s best if you don’t know my location.”
Mila nods, but her worry concerns me.
I turn to face her. “Are you having doubts, Mila?”
“Of course not. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
“What worries you, then?”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of us.”
I must admit, the admission helps me relax. It has nothing to do with her feelings changing for me. Jamila Camarco is not only beautiful, but her compassion for others is what sets her miles apart from anyone else I know.
“The father and sisters will be safe, our mothers will be safe, my cousin—once he hears of our news—will back me, and everyone else is not our concern. If you’re not against us, you’re not in danger.”
“I can’t describe the feeling swarming in my stomach…”
“It’s normal,” Father Luke assures her, taking his place at the head of the alter. “If you weren’t fearful, you wouldn’t care. Now, Raphael, come and stand here to my left. Mila, take your place at the bottom