Page 63 of Scarred King
“Thank you and congratulations,” Liam says as we cross the path and reach an enormous lawn with round tables set out on one side, a dance floor in the middle, and small bar tables on the other side.
“It’s lovely here,” I murmur, and he holds my hand, striding towards the bar. We pass men and women dressed in exaggerated elegance, who stare at me curiously. “Liam, everyone’s looking at me,” I whisper, taking care to stand up straight.
“Maybe because you’re beautiful,” he replies indifferently and stops at the bar.
“Maybe because I’ve crawled out of my grave,” I whisper back.
He ignores my comments and orders drinks. “Don’t look so nervous.” He hands me the wine glass. “Smile.” He raises his glass to mine and kisses my cheek. The contact sends a spark through my body and heats me up. I blush and hold my glass tightly.
“Will there be a ceremony?” I ask, sending fake smiles to anyone passing us by.
“No, this is the party. The ceremony’s over.” Liam shakes a man’s hand politely and exchanges a few words. "Son of a bitch," he mutters angrily, as soon as the man leaves. He puts his hand on my back, leads me across the dance floor and pulls out a chair at one of the tables. The familiar faces look at me with amusement.
“So, Elena, how was it in the grave?” Tommy asks with a smile and rubs his red eyes.
“Yeah,” Mike laughs and plays with his fork. “You look pretty good for a dead woman.”
“That’s enough,” Liam quietens them.
I sit there nervously. All this talk about me being dead or in a grave stresses me out and makes me feel bad. Anyway, I’m tired of faking smiles for all the weirdos watching me.
“Are they here yet?” Liam asks looking to both sides.
“They just arrived.” Ralph points with his knife at three other familiar faces, and my stomach turns. Carlito is walking in the middle, Giovanni and Mariano by his sides. They're walking towards me.
“Oh mama…” I mutter hysterically, and Liam puts his arm around my shoulder.
“Good evening,” Carlito says with an evil smile and looks straight at me. No one at the table answers, and I start to shake.
"I heard you lost some friends today," He fakes a sad tone and his two sons smile with pleasure.
"Then I understand you still haven’t heard that you lost some friends as well," Ralph grins and wipes a knife with a tablecloth.
The boys’ smiles vanish and Ralph mutters, “Too bad we had to take a break to come here. I’d like to hear some more pussies cry before I—”
“Is everything all right here?” I hear an unfamiliar voice and turn my head to see a thin, attractive man in his fifties standing there, wearing a white suit with a Yarmulka on his head.
All the men stand up and I do the same.
“Ilan,” Liam says and hugs him. “Congratulations, man. You were so good at being a bachelor, isn’t it a shame to give it up now?” They both laugh and the Italians quickly convey their congratulations and leave the table. As soon as the three other men at our table have congratulated him and moved aside, I stretch my hand out to him. He brings it to his mouth and kisses it gently.
“It’s time I meet the girl who’s set our streets on fire,” he lets go of my hand. “You certainly stand out in this landscape,” he spreads his hands to the sides and laughs.
“Congratulations,” I mumble in embarrassment and sit down. Ilan nods. He sits down next to Liam and leans towards him.
“You know that we can’t take sides,” he says apologetically. “We're in a rough spot with all the media talking about gun trafficking.”
“I know,” Liam nods in understanding.
“But it’s about time that someone would take those fuckers down once and for all,” Ilan’s voice grows edgy. “You won’t get a second chance. If you don’t take them down now, they’ll just grow stronger.”
“I know that, too.” Liam sips his drink.
“Good.” Ilan stands up, glances at me and places his hand on his Yarmulka. “We’ll do what we do best.” He smiles mischievously. “We’ll pray for you. That always helps.” He goes over to a young woman in a white dress and embraces her.
The music starts to play faster, and a lot of couples are moving to the dance floor, surrounding the bride and groom and dancing in circles.
“Do they sell the white powder as well?” I ask curiously.