"Are you ready?"
She nodded. "Are you?"
He took her hand. "More than ready. I never thought I'd ever have you, Giacinta. Never. I couldn't even imagine a woman as perfect for me as you are."
She ducked her head and allowed him to secure the long, sheer veil in her hair. Heart pounding, she stepped out the door with him. The priest was patiently waiting. Hand in hand, they followed him into the small chapel. Just inside the entryway, the priest stopped and turned to them.
A man stood to one side of the priest. He was tall and broad-shouldered. His hair was long. Very long. He wore it pulled back in a very tidy tail down his back. His arms bulged under his suit jacket. Tattoos drifted up his neck. His eyes were a piercing green. Not silver, but green. Still, she recognized those eyes. Prakenskii eyes. Beside her, Lissa heard Casimir's swift intake of breath and knew he had recognized those eyes.
"Viktor." He barely breathed the name. Stunned. Shocked. His voice sounded choked.
Viktor was the most intimidating man she'd ever seen in her life. That was saying something when she knew six of the seven Prakenskii brothers. Even dressed in his suit, he looked more a dangerous, badass biker than a businessman. She doubted that he could ever have changed roles the way Casimir did. Even so, emotion played over his face for just a moment, the green in his eyes going dark. He hooked his younger brother around the nape of his neck and dragged him close, right into a deep hug - something she almost couldn't believe someone so scary-looking would do.
"How?" Casimir asked as he straightened, his hand still firmly clasped in his brother's as if they'd both forgotten they were also shaking hands.
Viktor jerked his head at the priest. "You needed a koumbaros, one to watch over the two of you for the rest of your lives. He sent for me." The smile faded from his face. "This is your woman?"
"Giacinta Abbracciabene, my brother, Viktor," Casimir introduced, reaching once again for Lissa's hand. He brought her fingertips to his mouth. "She's the one. My woman." He put her hand in Viktor's.
"Little sister," Viktor said. "It is good to meet you. Let's get this done and we'll have a few minutes to visit before I have to go. I have to be on a freighter in a couple of hours." He squeezed her hand, his eyes searching her face before he put her hand back in Casimir's.
Her heart pounded. She had the feeling that he could see into her soul and if she didn't measure up, he'd slit her throat right there on the spot. In front of Casimir. In front of the priest. Right there in the church. He'd do it without hesitation and walk away, never looking back.
"Your woman is beautiful, Casimir."
Casimir pulled Lissa closer to him. "She is," he agreed.
"I'll need the rings."
Casimir handed Viktor the wedding rings. "Your being here means the world to me, Viktor," he said. "I don't know how..."
"Means the world to me as well," Viktor said, cutting him off.
He sounded like he was stating the stark truth. Lissa felt her throat close, a huge lump there. Tears burned behind her eyes and she blinked rapidly, not wanting to mess up her makeup, but so grateful that Casimir had his brother there. His oldest brother, the one he - like all the others - worried about the most. None of them had heard from him for a very long time. He was operating deep undercover and hadn't surfaced in so long they were all afraid something had happened to him.
The priest began the ceremony, reciting Bible passages and blessings. He then made the sign of the cross while he held the rings in his palm, declaring the betrothal. Holding the rings in his hands, he pressed first Casimir's forehead three times and then followed suit doing the same to Lissa's forehead. Viktor took the rings from the priest and exchanged them three times between Casimir and Lissa, symbolizing that the weakness of one would be offset by the other.
Lissa's ring was slipped onto the third finger of her right hand. It was a beautiful, ornate band, matching the thicker band that was Casimir's. His ring was put onto his finger next. They stood for a moment, Lissa smiling up at Casimir, her heart in her eyes. She became aware of Viktor watching her closely. She couldn't blame him. He wanted to know that his brother was really going to be happy with the woman of his choice, but still, the direct dark green gaze was disconcerting.
Casimir held Lissa's right hand and the priest handed them both a lit candle to be held in their left hands. Casimir leaned down to whisper in her ear while the priest continued his blessings as they approached the altar. "We hold hands for the rest of the ceremony, golubushka, to show we are one."
Viktor leaned down from the other side. "The flames from the candles show you are both willing to receive God's blessings."
At the altar, with the priest holding his hand over their joined hands, Viktor presented them with crowns of orange blossoms and other beautiful flowers mixed with semiprecious stones. The garlands were joined together by a white ribbon. "These crowns stay with you for life," Viktor whispered to Lissa.
The priest took the crowns and placed one on Lissa's head and the other on Casimir's while the two of them faced the altar. Viktor switched the crowns three times between the couple in the age-old ritual symbolizing unity.
While the priest read more Bible passages to them, Lissa looked up at the man who was joining his life to hers. He was absolutely confident, following the priest's every word, his hand firmly in hers.
Wine was next, each drinking three times from a shared cup. "The cup represents life and symbolizes sorrow and joy that the two of you will always share from this day forward," Viktor explained. "As you drink from the cup, be reminded that you will divide your sorrows and your joys will be doubled."
Lissa liked that he explained the various ceremonies. She knew enough Russian to understand the priest, but she wasn't familiar with the wedding rituals and what they meant. The priest spoke rapidly in his native language, making it harder to follow, so the explanations were very welcome.
Viktor and the priest led Casimir and Lissa around the altar three times. She noted that both a Bible and a cross were prominent on the altar. Everything clearly was done in threes. Viktor sang three hymns softly, his voice rich and deep, as they took their first steps as man and wife together.
The priest said a few more prayers over them, ending with the traditional, ancient phrase "May you live."
He shook Viktor's hand and then Casimir's before he faded away, leaving the three together.
"I've got a villa for the night," Casimir said. "No one will be there but us. Do you have time to visit?"
"I'm sorry," Viktor said, shaking his head, his voice tinged with regret. "I took a chance coming. I have to be on the freighter before it sails. No one knows I'm in the country. Officially, of course, I'm not. I've got some friends taking me back, but they won't be able to cover for me for long. I don't dare miss my ride." He put his hand on his brother's shoulder as he leaned down to brush a kiss on Lissa's cheek. "Lazzaro has a small room set aside where we can visit for a few minutes."
Casimir held tightly to Lissa's hand as they followed Viktor down a narrow hallway to a small room with four chairs and a coffee table. Other than those five pieces of furniture, the room was bare. Casimir helped Lissa to remove her
crown and veil and sit in the most comfortable chair before he sank into the one beside her, taking off his crown as well.
"You haven't checked in with anyone, Viktor." Casimir knew it sounded like a reprimand - and it was. "All of us were worried. We weren't even certain you were alive."
Viktor shrugged. "It couldn't be helped. In the beginning, when I first joined the motorcycle club, I was watched all the time. I've managed to work my way up in rank and I'm trusted far more than I was, but my target is very paranoid. He used to ride with the club all the time, but now he's elusive. I've managed to slowly get my people in place and they have my back, so it isn't as dangerous as it was in the beginning when I was out there with no one, surrounded by a hundred enemies."
Casimir swore in Russian. "We would have come."
Viktor nodded. "Precisely why I didn't tell any of you what I was doing. Of course you would have come. I didn't want that for you, for any of you. You're the last one to find his woman. Tell me about the others."
"You're the last one to find his woman," Casimir corrected. He didn't want Viktor to give up his life because his brothers were settled.