I know the man is trained. He might be over fifty, but he has years of fighting behind him.
I crack the muscles in my neck, the corner of my mouth lifting when he takes in a ready stance.
The church has cleared out except for the priest, the members of the Cosa Nostra, the Priesthood, andmoyaMalen'kaya Roza.
Greco lunges at me, but I move to the side, stepping close to a row of benches. He lets out an impatient growl, coming at me again. Grabbing hold of the back of a bench, I twist my body into the air, delivering a double kick to the side of his head.
Greco sprawls over the floor as I land on my feet.
Chuckling, I taunt him, “Come on. Don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming. Are you getting old?”
I wait for him to get up. He shakes his head, then glares at me. “You’re still wet behind the ears, Vetrov. I killed long before you were a sperm in a ballsack.”
I give him an arrogant smile. “Yeah, but were you trained by Demitri Vetrov and Alexei Koslov?” I shake my head. “I didn’t think so.”
Darting forward, I use the weight of my body to plow into him. Grabbing hold of his sides, I lift him into the air for a moment before slamming him down on the ground. Straddling the fucker, my fingers wrap around his throat, and squeezing on a pressure point, it makes it easier to keep him in place.
My fist slams into his nose, causing blood to spurt from him. His eyes tear up, his mouth gaping open so he can breathe.
“You touched my woman,” I grit out between clenched teeth right before my first meets his face again.
While he’s dazed from the punches, I slap his cheek. “Come on, old man. I didn’t hit you that hard.” I slap him again. “Christ, can you even get it up anymore? Do you have to take Viagra?” I let out a chuckle as his features start to tighten with anger from the serving of humiliation I’m giving him.
Slap.“Not so strong when you have to fight someone your own size.”Slap.I lean forward to get into his face. “You’re a pussy.”
He grabs hold of my left arm and twists hard while using his entire body to roll over. I quickly jump to my feet, and as Greco gets up, he pulls a knife from his pocket. Jumping, I spin into the air, kicking the knife from his hand before my other foot slams into the side of his head.
As the fucker drops, I let out a disgusted growl as I kick him in the stomach.
He coughs and wheezes as he struggles to his feet, and says with a smirk, “My only regret is that I didn’t fuck her raw.”
Everything inside me stills as I stare at the man who tried to steal Rosalie from me.
Greco manages to take a couple of steps back to put some space between us so he can recover from the blows I dealt him.
Darting toward the fucker, I grab hold of his shoulder and twist my body around his. Wrapping my legs around his neck, my hands grip the sides of his head, and using all my strength, I break his neck. Greco immediately drops, and I land with him dead at my feet, his eyes wide open.
Taking a step away, I savor the moment.
“Are you satisfied now?” Parisi asks.
My eyes flick to his, and not bothering to answer him, I walk to my friends. I take my guns from Luca. I stalk back to where the priest is standing, horror etched onto his face.
“Kneel,” I bark to the priest who dared to fucking pronounce them husband and wife.
Against Rosalie’s will.
He drops to his knees, and as he begins to sign the cross, I press the barrel of my gun to his head. “Please,” he begs.
“I’m a sinner, Father. You’ll find no mercy with me.” I pull the trigger and watch as his head snaps back before he slumps down.
Glaring at Parisi, I mutter, “Now I’m satisfied.”
As I walk to Rosalie, I shove my guns into the waistband of my pants.
Her lips are parted as breaths rush over them, her eyes locked on me with an expression I’ve never seen. Inches from her, I lift my hands and tenderly frame her face. Staring deep into her eyes, there’s finally peace in my heart.
“Take me home,” she whispers.