Page 15 of Beautiful Villain
I blinked.“Are you not going to shoot me for that?”
They exchanged looks.
“Nah,” one said.“He likes you.”
“I don’t know whether to be flattered or terrified.”
A chair scraped back.“Sit,” the man said.“You’re making Dunn nervous.”
“I am not nervous,” Dunn muttered.“I’m focused.”
“You’re sweating,” the man corrected.
“I’m Larry,” he added, then gestured around.“That’s Dunn.That’s Enzo.And that feral puppy is Angelo.”
Angelo beamed.
I sat carefully.
“So,” I said.“Minions?Henchmen?Loyal band of morally questionable brothers?”
“Lieutenants,” Larry said.“Minion has a yellow connotation.”
“Want in?”Dunn asked, sliding a card toward me.
“I don’t know the rules.”
“That’s fine,” he said.“Neither do we.”
I smiled, heart racing.
For what it was worth, if I was going to be a complication, I had every intention of being a happy one.
6
Archie
Iknew something was wrong the moment the music stopped—and didn’t start again.
The organ cut off in the middle of a note, harsh and sudden, like someone had yanked the plug from the wall.Silence rushed in first, thick and shocking.Then the noise followed.Chairs scraped against the floor.People shifted.Voices rose, confused and uneasy, whispers spreading fast from one pew to the next.
I kept my eyes fixed on the door.
I expected to see my bride.Veil in place.Head bowed.Exactly where she was meant to be.Exactly on time.
But the aisle was empty.
At first, my mind refused to accept it.It had to be a mistake.A delay.Maybe she’d tripped.Maybe someone had stopped her for one last touch-up.Any second now, she’d appear—breathless, embarrassed, blushing.The guests would laugh it off.The music would start again.But it didn’t.
I turned slowly, scanning the church.People were standing now, leaning toward one another, their whispers sharper the longer the silence dragged on.I couldn’t tell what I was seeing on their faces—curiosity, concern, or something closer to pity.
There was still no bride.
And with every second she didn’t appear, the silence grew louder, heavier, pressing down on the room like a warning no one wanted to say out loud.
“Where is she?”I asked, as George Gregory came floating down the aisle towards me.
Gregory’s mouth opened.Closed.Opened again, like he was buffering.
