Black Wedding by Emma Luna

Walking down the stairs, I feel myself gripping onto Liam, who feels equally as tense. As I look down below the giant chandelier, I can’t help but feel intimidated by the sheer grandness of this place. It is legitimately like an old fashioned dance hall. Like the rest of the house, it is bright, airy and covered in marble. However, the features in this room all appear gold, like it’s been made to look more opulent than the rest of the house.

There are round tables set up with chairs covered in bright white tablecloths with black runners. In the centre of the tables are the most beautiful arrangement of black flowers. There are so many different shades of black with the odd splash of white and green to help the black flowers stand out more. I notice that there are black and white calla lilies in the bouquets as well as black roses. The arrangements allow the room to shine, and I can’t help but think this looks like a wedding reception. I also make a mental note to take a picture of the centrepiece bouquets because I would love to have that when I get married.

When I finally stop taking in all the details around me, after noting where the exits and the bar and food are, I finally allow myself to be in the moment. The noise of the applause reaches my ears, and I belatedly look at all the people standing below. There must be over two hundred people, and all eyes are on us.

I instantly notice the people who work either for or with Desmond because they are all dressed in the same black suit with a black shirt look that both Desmond and Evan are wearing. They look like a mini-cult that are all following their leader, but it’s good for me because it points out who my potential enemies are. Everyone else in this room is still an unknown, and I notice Liam scanning the room and analysing the threat in the same way I am.

Desmond steps forward as we reach the final step with his hand outstretched to help me down. I reluctantly hold my hand out to comply, plastering a big fake-ass smile on my face and trying not to cringe as his skin connects with mine. Then, keeping hold of my raised hand, he leads us to the centre of the dancefloor, where Von is waiting with a microphone. As soon as we arrive, she immediately stands by Desmond’s side and gives him the microphone. Now that we are in position, I try to pull my hand away, but he simply tightens his grip on me.

Liam, noticing my tension, squeezes my other hand in reassurance and softly begins massaging the back of my hand with his thumb. It’s such a delicate touch, but the sensation is incredible. It instantly relaxes me, at least, as much as I can be with where we currently are.

“Welcome, everyone, and thank you for coming to help us celebrate the engagement of my youngest son, Liam, to his beautiful fiancée, Brianna,” Desmond announces loudly. He uses the microphone to point to us as he announces our names. He pauses slightly to wait for the applause that starts after my name. Given he doesn’t drop the microphone, he clearly has more to say.

“My wife, Siobhán, and I are so thrilled to be gaining such a gorgeous new daughter into the family. Most of you know that Liam is no longer an official member of this Family, but that is strictly business. When it comes to personal family matters, we will always be there for our children. Even when they choose to marry the enemy,” Desmond adds with the most sadistic chuckle. The laugh is replicated by all the people wearing identical suits to him, but the joke falls on deaf ears to everyone else. Which sadly means Desmond feels the need to carry on and talk more, much to my chagrin, and Liam’s too if his slight groan is anything to go by.

“For those of you that don’t know, this little firecracker is Brianna O’Keenan, daughter of London boss Vernon. When she and my son marry, together, they will take over the running of the London firm. So, I want to clarify to everyone here tonight that the O’Keenan’s and their businesses are off-limits for now. Bree and I have talked, and we have come to a mutually agreed-upon truce. I obviously cannot guarantee that one day that will change, but their wedding will go ahead undisturbed for now. Is that message understood?” he asks the room, and a chorus of ‘yes’ rings out around the room. I then notice that Desmond nods towards Evan, who, along with two other men, leaves through the service entrance door. I know Liam saw the same thing because his thumb stops massaging my hand and his whole body becomes tense once more. His muscles coil the same as mine, and we are both preparing for whatever it is that Desmond has planned.

“Now, the reason I ask you all to confirm this is because I did put the word out this morning, only to find that one member of the Family decided to go rogue.” Evan comes back through the service doors as he speaks, followed by two men dragging a barely conscious, bloodied man into the party. As I turn to see where they are taking him, I notice a couple of men setting up some plastic sheeting on the dance floor behind me.

“What the fuck is going on?” Liam whispers towards his father, but I’m not even sure he hears him speak. He is too busy glaring at the man being dragged in, his dark eyes taking on a whole new vicious look. He releases his grip on me to step towards the man being dragged into the room.

“This is Lucas, he works for me, and has a desperate need to move higher up in the Family. He thought that taking his own initiative would impress me. He was wrong.” He then turns to Lucas, forcing Liam and me to step back so he can approach him. The plastic sheeting crumples loudly under Desmond’s footsteps, and the silence around the room is deafening. I notice some of the people closest to the dance floor begin to step back.

Liam looks around, and when he finds Finn with his sisters, he subtly tells him using hand signals to take the sisters out of the room, which Finn quickly does. I’m glad Liam was able to get them out of here. Nobody should have to witness whatever will happen here, but young girls are a definite no. Sadly, there are many other teenagers who look around Ryleigh’s age here with their parents, and I watch as some of the parents try their best to shelter them. Everyone knows that shit is about to go down, but leaving is not an option. Liam warned me that Desmond is a bit theatrical, and if he sees people leaving he would take that as a personal insult. Desmond and the people he has working for him would identify weakness straight away. This party does not need to escalate any further, and I already saw how trigger happy Desmond is.

“Lucas...tell Bree and my son, Liam, what you had planned,” Desmond says into the microphone. He addresses the crowd instead of speaking directly to Lucas. This is all a show for him, and we are his little puppets playing a game.

When Lucas doesn’t answer him, Evan punches Lucas straight in the abdomen, and with a loud groan, he falls forward, bending at the middle as his legs try to give way beneath him. If the two men weren’t holding him up, he would have collapsed to the floor to wrap his arms around his stomach. But, instead, the painful area remains exposed only for Evan to punch him again in the same spot. I start to step towards them, but Liam holds me in place. With a subtle shake of his head, he makes it clear I shouldn’t interfere.

Lucas starts to talk, but amongst the tears, blood, and sweat, it’s really fucking difficult to work out what he is saying. “I-I didn’t...I didn’t know...about the rule,” he cries.

Desmond steps right up to Lucas and finally lets go of my hand. He uses his now free hand to fist into Lucas’ hair and pulls his head back. Lucas has no choice but to look up at all the guests, and with the microphone Desmond has thrust into his face, there is no way everyone won’t be able to hear him.

“I’m...I am s-sorry. I planted a bomb under Liam’s car. I didn’t know….” His words trailed off at the end, becoming a bumbling apology mixed with more bodily fluids than I usually like to see when people are talking.

The sadistic smile returns to Desmond’s face. He theatrically stands forward, his arms wide as he addresses his waiting audience. “See...he admits to disobeying my order. However, his reasons for doing so are irrelevant. If my security team had not seen him planting the bomb and managed to safely disarm it, not only would my son and Bree be dead, any other members of my family that were close by could have been caught in the crossfire. Including me.”

Liam’s face slowly morphs from one of concern to anger as his eyes darken and his brows wrinkle. Rage vibrates through his body, and I can feel the tension in his hand. I try stroking him with my thumb the way he did mine, hoping that has the same soothing effect as it did me. Sadly, it doesn’t, and I know his mind will be overcome with thoughts of what could have happened if Lucas’ plan had been successful. I know exactly how he feels because that rage is overcoming my body too.

No longer am I standing here feeling sorry for the bloody young man in front of me. Now, as I stand here thinking about his blatant disregard for my life and the safety of people I care about, the blood lust starts to ascend. The idea of someone hurting Liam alone makes me crazy, but when I think that he could have harmed Freya, Ryleigh, and Finn, I become murderous.

“Normally, I would be only too happy to take care of this problem myself, but I think Brianna deserves a chance to show you all the type of leader she plans to be. So, Bree, the floor is all yours,” Desmond states as he hands the microphone over to me.

“Bree, I can sort this out if you want?” Liam whispers into my ear, but we both know that would be the worst thing I could do. That would be telling people that I need Liam to do all my dirty work, and they instantly will have no respect for me as a leader. But, I made a promise to Desmond that I would earn his and everyone else’s respect, and this is the first step in doing that.

“Do you have a gun? Obviously, I don’t have anywhere to keep one in this dress,” I joke, making sure to smile at the audience as I used my hand to direct all eyes to my dress.

The idea of having people perving over my body in this dress is not a pleasant one. Still, I have never killed someone in front of a room full of people before, let alone ones that are judging my every move. Whilst I am like this, I can school my face, making sure to replicate Desmond’s sadistic smile. The more of a psychopath they think I am, the less likely they are to challenge me. But when the time comes for me to end Lucas, I have no idea if I will be able to school my features for the performance. The majority of the men in the room are the people that matter in our world. If they are too busy looking at my body to notice my face, then that’s precisely the kind of distraction I need.

I know I could have gone for the gun Liam told me to use, but I had a reason behind that. Firstly, I have no idea how the rest of the party will go, given we have got off to such a bloody start. So having an unused, concealed weapon in hand that nobody knows about can only be a good thing. Also, it helps me to see who offers me the use of their gun. Not only because it tells me who is carrying and where, I can also get an idea of who wants to show loyalty to me. It has to be someone who trusts me because if they give me their gun, it leaves them unarmed and vulnerable. You only do this if you trust that the person you are giving the gun to won’t turn around and shoot you.

I expect to get one or two responses, so both myself and Liam recoil in shock when around twenty men step forward. Evan shouts at everyone to get back and to stay off the dance floor. The men who are charging forward instantly stop and fall back into place with the guests they came with. While, much to my surprise, Evan takes out his gun, takes hold of the barrel, and offers the handle of his weapon to me.

“I assume you know how to use this?” Evan asks sarcastically, causing Liam to snort in response.

“She is probably a better shot than you are, Ev,” Liam jokes, and I’m shocked to hear the use of a nickname. Liam soon masks his face again, blanking off all emotions that flashed forward for a short time. It was like a little glimpse of the past, what the boys were like when they were younger and how they had fun together. Evan must see it too because, for the first time since I met him, I see a genuine, full-faced smile. It’s initially a bit unsettling to see him looking happy instead of the broody asshole he usually is. It actually lights up his face and makes him look much younger than his twenty-six years.

Taking the gun off him with a smile, I hand the microphone over to Liam, so I can check the barrel of the gun. I run through all the safety features, making sure to take some deep breathes too. At the same time, I consider what the fuck I am doing. I hold my hand out for Liam to give me back the microphone, remembering that this is a performance after all.

“Lucas. You don’t even know me. So tell me...why do you want me dead? Explain it to me,” I ask casually, and I hear chuntering from around me. They think I am weak; what they don’t know is I have a plan.

“I was just following orders! I have nothing against you personally,” he cries and once again, the muttering happens.

“And who gave you that order?” I ask with a smile, holding the microphone out, ready for his response.

“Well...it was my boss Jasp that told me, but I’m sure he got it from high up,” Lucas sobs, fresh tears rolling down his face as the room explodes with jeers. Lucas obviously didn’t realise that he just ratted out his boss in front of the entire Family. Well...I say he didn’t realise, he did as soon as people started shouting at him. I can’t help but smile as my plan plays out perfectly.

“Desmond, did you inform this Jasp person that you had put an amnesty out for my family and me?” I ask Desmond, making sure I keep my performance as theatrical as he did.

The room that was only a second ago filled with mutterings and taunts was now deathly silent. You could have heard a pin drop as I held the microphone in front of Desmond, waiting for his reply.

“Of course, I passed on the information,” Desmond growls, just as I expected him to.

“Is Jasp here tonight? Jasp, please step forward.” The room is silent as people look around for the person who should be stepping forwards. All eyes go to a group of men standing off to the side, and it is painfully obvious which one is Jasp. He looks like he must only be about twenty years old, and there’s a good chance he may have just pissed his pants. But I can’t show any mercy.

I wait for several long minutes for him to step forward, but he doesn’t. Not until Desmond’s loud command rings through the room. Without using a microphone, his instructions for Jasp to move forward could be heard by everyone, and it’s clear Jasp’s refusal to step forward angered Desmond.

“Jasp, hi. Thank you for coming forward...eventually. What I need to know from you is whether you told Lucas here that I was off-limits or not?” I ask, and I hear a slight chuckle coming from Liam, who I am pretty sure has just worked out my plan. Other than that, the room remains silent.

“I...I think I told him,” Jasp mumbles into the outstretched microphone, clearly unsure of what answer he should give.

Unfortunately for Jasp, there is no good answer here. If he says he told Lucas, he let the attempted assassination go ahead and didn’t warn someone. Or if he didn’t tell him, then he failed in his duties. But personally, I was hoping for lucky option number three, which would have been him telling me that he didn’t know. That way, I would have had proof Desmond didn’t plan to instigate the truce. So I am genuinely shocked to find out he did.

“So, what you are telling me is that you knew I was not to be harmed, you passed that information along to Lucas, and yet he still went ahead with the plan anyway? Did you know about his plan?”

Jasp’s mumbles his denial about knowing anything about the assassination attempt. Having heard this, Lucas calls out that Jasp is a liar, and it echoes around the room. Blood sprays from his mouth as he shouts about Jasp knowing everything and that he told him to go ahead with the plan anyway. It was already in motion, after all. They planned to deny knowing the kill order had been rescinded.

“Well, I think that is evidence enough for me. Jasp, please, will you stand with Lucas,” I sing, the fake sadistic smile back on my face.

Jasp doesn’t move, instead choosing to look over at Desmond. Desmond looks baffled and stares at me like I’m a book he can’t quite read yet. This is a prime example of why you should never underestimate someone. I give Liam the nod, and that is all the instructions he needs to grab the young man and drag him over onto the plastic sheeting. Jasper, obviously feeling brave, tries to bite Liam’s arm. Liam quickly pulls his arm back and punches Jasp in the gut. He doubles over, and his groan fills the room. He is lucky Liam hasn’t done more damage.

“Bree, what the hell are you doing?!” Desmond shouts at me in the lowest whisper his voice can produce. He doesn’t want anyone to see him questioning me and my methods, but he doesn’t like how things are going.

“You told me to handle this however I would normally, so that is what I am doing,” I reply sternly before turning my attention back to the audience. My hard-faced, sadistic smile, bitch face is ready.

“As far as I am concerned, both of these people not only risked my life but the lives of Liam and his family. That is a crime that cannot be forgiven. Lucas, for planting a bomb and threatening our lives, I have no choice but to sentence you to death. Jasp, for failing to stop an attack you knew about and disobeying your boss’ orders, you are sentenced to death.” I rush the words but make sure to state them clearly and with purpose.

As soon as I say the last word, I hold my gun up, aim and fire two shots. The first hits Lucas dead in the centre of his brain, and the second leaves a matching hole in Jasp’s head. The screams and pleading that started as soon as I told them their sentence became silenced in an instant. The crowd also becomes deathly silent, following the initial shock of the gunfire. As I look out over their faces, I see a mixture of shock, horror, sadness, but mostly I see fear. By killing Jasp too, I proved I will not stop at the person responsible. I will punish anyone who even plays a part in the plot. Tonight, while I may have scared the shit out of many guests, there are also quite a few with whom I just gained some respect, and that is the most significant achievement.

Handing the gun back to a shocked Evan, I give the microphone back to Desmond, who looks at me like he has just seen the real me. The genuine smile he has on his face is scarier than the fake sadistic one. As soon as I hand it over, I walk straight over to Liam’s side and take hold of his hand. He instantly begins to stroke his thumb over the back of my hand again, trying to calm my racing heart and my nerves.

“Well...at least we know Queen Bee has a fucking great aim. Let’s get that trash out of here boys, please. Now, the party can really start. The buffet is open in the adjoining room, the bar is free-flowing. So eat, drink, and for fuck’s sake, dance. Start the music!” Desmond shouts, and as soon as he does, music fills the air and people begin their mingling.

It’s funny how people can go straight back to the party and pretend like everything is perfectly normal. Like it is a very regular occurrence to have two bodies removed from the dance floor. I watch as they roll up the plastic sheeting, making sure no blood seeps out onto the dance floor. I know I probably should feel some hesitation or sadness that I took two lives just now, but I don’t. They were a threat to Liam and me, and they clearly did not respect the truce. Therefore, they would always be a threat. I feel much better knowing I took care of them myself.

“Well, that was unexpected. You just went up in my eyes, Queen Bee. Some of my boys can’t shoot as good as you did,” Desmond praises me, and all I do is smile. With a slight nod of the head to indicate he is done with our conversation, he walks away to begin his socialising.

“Wanna get a drink?” Liam asks me.

“Fuck yes, a bloody strong one, please,” I reply, and his responding chuckle warms my heart. I love hearing him laugh, particularly in this house, as this is definitely the place laughter went to die.

Liam leans in and suddenly presses his lips against mine. Using a hand on my lower back, he plasters his body against mine. I deepen the kiss, making sure my tongue sweeps along his, savouring the taste that is all Liam. I hear some whooping and catcalls that pull us out of our kiss, a clear sign we had taken things a little too far than what’s allowed in public.

As Liam slowly pulls away, he kisses my neck before whispering in my ear, “That was so fucking hot, watching you in charge like that. You have no idea how hard I am for you right now.”

I feel his words deep in my core, my pussy getting wetter at the thought of his cock straining to be free, right here, in front of everyone. I can’t wait for this fucking party to be over so we can get to the entertaining part of the night.