The Groom Read Online Free

pink, and peach tones of her living space, calm seeped into her
bones and slowed the adrenaline that was still singing in her veins. She
dropped her case onto the couch and moved over to the window overlooking the
street, watching through the sheer pink curtain as the black Mercedes pulled
away from the curb.
    Katrina held her breath until the
car had disappeared around the corner. Only after it was gone did she feel as
if the eyes of Victor Giordano were no longer on her. The fact that he knew
where to find her, even knew where she worked nights, gave her a sick feeling
in the pit of her stomach. She had given up a lavish lifestyle for a more
modest one that came complete with freedom from danger, the talons of drug
abuse, and peace of mind. As far as Katrina was concerned, you just couldn’t
put a price on that.
    After checking to ensure that her
doors and windows were all securely locked, Katrina relaxed and moved into her
tiny kitchen to stick a frozen pizza into the oven. She would rather have had
one of Angie’s double cheeseburgers, but the jackass that showed up to take her
to her father’s house hadn’t really given her a chance to finish it. Yet
another strike against Victor, Katrina thought sarcastically, and in her book
there couldn’t be enough of those. Her father could try to hide behind a veneer
of class and good taste all he wanted, but she knew his true nature, knew just
how cold-hearted and malevolent he was.
    Katrina locked eyes with the
picture of Carmine nailed to the kitchen wall, and she felt grief at the sight
of him. So much like Victor in looks, Carmine had been nothing like his father
in spirit. Why Carmine had always sought to emulate their father, Katrina never
understood, but he’d wanted nothing more than to be the jewel in the Giordano
crime family’s crown. Becoming their father’s right hand was his dream, and
Carmine had pursued it to the end. Katrina traced the heart on her hand as she
always did when she thought of her twin brother. Carmine’s death had awakened
her, jolted her out of the drug-induced haze she’d been living in since Thelma
Giordano’s death. Six months later, she was back on her
feet—barely—and taking her life one day at a time.
    Her fingers traced the ugly scars
marring the inside of her left arm, some of them healing, some of them still as
hideous as ever. They reminded her every day of how far she had come. Despite
Victor’s attempts at roping her back into a life of wealth, social status, and
worse—easy access to drugs—Katrina had no intention of going back.
    As she was pulling her pizza out
of the oven, her cell phone chirped in her purse. Katrina raced across the
living room and dug the phone out of her bag, knowing that it would be Angie
and that her friend would be worried.
    “I’m fine,” she said once she had
the phone pressed to her ear. “I made it home safe and everything. He just
wanted to talk.”
    “Talk about what?” Angie asked.
Katrina could faintly hear Jake’s voice on the other end asking if she was
okay. “She’s fine, Jake!”
    Katrina giggled at the exchange.
“Tell the Incredible Hulk I’ll be fine, he can calm down now. I don’t need him
to go into fight mode for me.”
    Angie breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good. Glad to hear he didn’t try to pull any of his usual tricks.”
    Deciding that her friends didn’t
need the added stress of knowing there might be a hit out on her, Katrina opted
not to reveal that little tidbit.
    “No tricks,” she said, trying to
sound chipper as she sliced into her pizza. “You guys worry too much, Ang.”
    “I think we worry just the right
amount. For God’s sake, Kat, your father is one of the most prominent top men
of the Italian Mafia. That’s nothing to piss at.”
    Kat rolled her eyes. “You forget
my mother was from Harlem, so there are also several unsavory gang members on
my black side of the family. Really, it’s a wonder I’m not worse off than I