Shiva (5 page)

“
Sorry
,
folks,
”
Lopez yelled over the whine of the engine.
“
A little learning curve.
”

“
More like performance anxiety,
”
the pilot grumbled
,
although even he threw a hand out and grabbed a hold as the helicopter nearly jumped forward responding to Lopez
’
s urging.

“
How long?
”
Lopez asked to no one in particular.

“
Thirteen minutes,
”
Talli answered.

“
Pshhh,
”
Lopez snorted.
“
I thought this was going to be some kind of challenge.
”

With the cathedral
’
s tall steeple nothing but a blip in the distance, Brandt was pretty damned sure getting them there on time was in fact going to be a challenge, but he didn
’
t bother voicing it. Lopez would just snort again and take offense.

Levont turned to Brandt
,
beaming.
“
Like I said. Off
—
”

“
You really think we
’
re done?
”
Brandt asked
,
shoving a package into the point man
’
s hands.

The rest of the men answered for him
.
“
Hell.
No
.
”

CHAPTER 2

═══════════
═══════

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

2:58
p
.
m
.
(
EST
)

Rebecca looked to Bunny as the younger woman placed a hand on hers. Rebecca hadn
’
t even realized she had been chewing on a very well
-
manicured finger until Bunny glanced to the digit.

“
Sorry,
”
Rebecca murmured, pulling her hand down from her mouth.

“
Hey, it
’
s your wedding pictures,
”
Bunny teased.
“
If you don
’
t mind a few chip
ped
nails, then I don
’
t.
”

Activity buzzed in the crowded hallway. It was like a hurricane of chiffon had been bottled in the passage. Rebecca couldn
’
t help but sneak a peak around the corner. The huge white altar was still unmanned except for the priest
,
who
,
for the thousandth
,
time glanced to his watch. Like the guy had anything better to do right now.

“
What are we going to do?
”
Holly asked, the teenager treble replacing her usual
“
I am older than I look
”
tone.

“
I don
’
t…
”
Mrs. Brandt
,
for once
,
seemed at a loss for words.

If Brandt did miss their wedding, Rebecca felt way sadder for his mother than she did even for herself. The poor woman had been through a sham marriage, embarrassing annulment
,
and now a no-show groom. Mrs. Brandt
’
s social standing might never recover in this bastion of Southern traditions.

Then something sounded overhead. Rebecca craned to look up the tall bell tower. She could have sworn she heard something on the roof. There it was again. Rebecca would recognize a man repelling onto a roof any day.

She looked over to Bunny
,
who smiled back. They were here. Their men.

“
Let
’
s get this wedding started,
”
Rebecca announced.

“
Deary, what do you mean?
”
Mrs. Brandt asked
,
clearly flustered.

“
Tell them to strike up the organ music,
”
Bunny ordered an usher. When he balked
,
she gave the young man a shove
.
“
Now.
”

Her voice had enough authority to override Mrs. Brandt
’
s shrill protests
,
and the guy was on his way. Guess surviving multiple RPG attacks could give a redhead some confidence.

“
There
’
s no time to explain,
”
Rebecca said to Mrs. Brandt as she adjusted her bouquet.
“
Brandt
’
s here
,
so get those bridesmaids down the aisle.
”

“
But there
’
s no groomsmen to lead them,
”
Mrs. Brandt protested.

Rebecca squeezed her soon
-
to
-
be mother-in-law
’
s arm.
“
This is a new century. Girl
p
ower and all. I
’
m sure they can make it to the altar on their own.
”

“
Oh dear
.
”
Mrs. Brandt sighed
,
clearly on the edge of tears.
“
This is not how things are supposed to go.
”

“
Just imagine if Vincent pulls this off,
”
Rebecca encouraged.
“
It will make the morning paper.
”

A flicker of a smile crossed Mrs. Brandt
’
s lips as the bridal march began, resonating throughout the church. The woman turned to her daughters
.
“
Girls, what are you waiting for
?
Y
ou know the drill.
”

Brandt
’
s sisters, clearly accustomed to taking orders from their matriarch, lined up expertly, ready to go. Holly was the first. All those teenage nerves disappeared as she stepped onto the red carpet that lined the aisle between the pews. The others followed
,
with Bunny bringing up the rear.

Next it was Brandt
’
s young cousins as the flower girl and ring bearer. Unfortunately
,
there still
weren
’
t
any men.

“
They
’
re still not here,
”
Mrs. Brandt hissed.

“
Just take your seat,
”
Rebecca encouraged, needing the woman to head down the side hallway and slip quietly into her seat up front.

“
Deary,
”
Mrs. Brandt said
,
overriding Rebecca
,
“
y
ou have to move your engagement ring to your other hand.
”

“
I hadn
’
t
—
”
Rebecca said as the woman pulled the ring from her left hand.

“
He
’
s got to have somewhere to put the wedding ring, doesn
’
t he?
”

“
I wouldn
’
t have thought of that,
”
Rebecca admitted as Mrs. Brandt put the ring onto her right finger.

“
That
’
s what family is for,
”
Mrs. Brandt said with tears in her eyes, although Rebecca felt they were tears of joy this time. At least she hoped they were.

“
Thank you,
”
Rebecca said
,
giving the woman a hug. There hadn
’
t been much said of Rebecca
’
s lack of relatives. She
’
d lost her parents in college
,
and they had been a small family to start with.

Finally
,
with Mrs. Brandt on her way, Rebecca looked to Mr. Brandt. The reedlike man in a dark
-
gr
a
y suit. How he got next to her
,
Rebecca had no idea. The man always seemed at the periphery of his wife
’
s entourage yet was there if you needed him. And Rebecca needed him now. The only other man that might have qualified to give her away, Dr. Archibald Lochum
,
had succumbed over a year ago. So Brandt
’
s father had agreed to do the honors
,
or at least Mrs. Brandt had offered his services.

“
Ready?
”
Rebecca asked.

He simply nodded.

If Rebecca thought his son was a man of few words, she clearly hadn
’
t met Brandt
’
s father. As a matter of fact, the guy could be mute for all she knew. But none of that mattered. Not as the wedding march played. She took Mr. Brandt
’
s arm and followed him from the shelter of the hallway and stepped out into the church proper.

Most brides would be greeted by the sight of their groom standing, waiting for their arrival. Instead, Rebecca had a church full of freaked
-
out guests. Anxiety, worry, and even a tinge of recrimination painted their faces. Rebecca
’
s belly started fluttering. Could she be wrong? Could this crowd be right? Would Brandt stand her up?

Then she remembered the look in his eye, his bloody eye, as Brandt proposed
—
for the second time. His fervent promise to her.

In that moment
,
Rebecca felt sorry for the doubting crowd. Clearly
,
they didn
’
t know the determination of her man.

* * *

“
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck
,
”
Brandt c
ursed under his breath as he hung onto the church
’
s ledge with his fingernails. This was the fifth
g
oddamned window they had tried to open, to no avail.

“
Sarge,
”
Lopez suggested,
“
w
e
’
re going to have to smash one.
”

Great. Now not only was he late for his own wedding
,
but he would have to destroy divine property.

“
Wait!
”
Davidson yelled.
“
I
’
ve got it!
”

As soon as the window popped open, the men poured through in various states of dress. Thinking ahead, Davidson had packed their tuxedoes. What they hadn
’
t counted on was having to get dressed on an extremely bumpy helicopter ride streaking over Charleston.

“
Boss,
”
Lopez said
,
“
t
hat tie won
’
t do.
”

Despite being the last one to be able to don his tux, Lopez was by far the most put together. Guess it wasn
’
t a surprise
,
though. It was Lopez
.

The corporal trotted backward
,
fixing Brandt
’
s tie as they hurried down the hall.

“
Enough,
”
Brandt announced as they reached the steps down to the altar.
“
She
’
s seen me far worse.
”

Talli chuckled.
“
At least you don
’
t have a bullet in your belly.
”