Poisoned Rose (Dark Roses #1) by Nathalie Saade

later the two were wed.  They were married for thirty two years and had three sons and a daughter who never wanted for anything.  My father was a good man.  He was generous, kind and honorable.  He valued loyalty, honesty and respect above all else, and those are the values he instilled in his children.  Our loss is Heaven’s gain and while we will spend the rest of our lives missing him, our father raised us and so we shall follow in his footsteps.’
                  Johnny’s yellow eyes scanned the gatherers before he stepped down from the pulpit.  She sucked in a breath.  Her brother’s warning could not have been clearer.  Organ music from the interior balcony filled the church and an Italian opera singer began the first notes of Ave Maria in soprano. When the song came to an end and the final notes sang out, the pall bearers picked up the coffin and walked back down the aisle.  She held her mother’s hand and stole a glance at her as they made their way out of the church.  She hadn’t shed a tear.
                  The trip to Oak Hill was drawn out by the silence in the limousine.  Once the procession reached the burial site, Johnny started humming under his breath and bouncing his leg as he glared at the mourners from inside the car.  Vince placed a hand on Johnny’s knee and squeezed.  Johnny’s head whipped around to stare at him but once his eyes locked on Vince’s he calmed down.
                  As a family, they joined the guests gathered around Tony’s final resting place.  The priest began the final prayer and she noticed from the corner of her eye the sun bouncing off something shiny across the plot.  Distracted, she looked over to find the offending object and discovered it was a large gold family crested ring worn by a man she knew well.  He radiated such power that she was surprised she hadn’t noticed him earlier.  Mario was dressed in a full length black wool coat that was unbuttoned, showing his expensive black suit underneath.  His hair was so dark it was black and he had a thick salt-and-pepper moustache.  He demanded attention, but to Aurora he was a mere afterthought.  Standing behind him was Hawk, and that all too familiar feeling barreled into her the way it always did.
                  He was beautiful, his black shirt stretched tight across his huge chest, the start of his taught pecs visible as his shirt opened into a V.  The sun was at its finest and Hawk had his sunglasses on, but she wished he would take them off and glance her way.  He was staring at a spot behind Honor’s head as they whispered to one another.  Halo turned and hissed at them, causing Hawk and Honor to stop mid conversation.  Yet the moment Halo turned back, Honor leant towards Hawk and they continued.  Aurora wasn’t offended at their behavior.  They would never disrespect her father.  Their reason for talking would be to distract themselves from their emotions.  She had no doubt they were in pain, they’d spent most of their childhoods in her parents’ home, and she found herself wishing that she and Hawk could comfort each other.  At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be held by him, and just as she started daydreaming, her mother let out a gut wrenching shriek and started sobbing.
                  Aurora covered her mouth with one hand as her mother continued to weep, watching the coffin being lowered into the ground.  Vince wrapped his arm around their mother’s shoulders and led her back to the limousine as the crowd began to disperse.  There would be no catering after the burial, Johnny and Vince refused to surround their family with strangers for any longer than was necessary.
                  By the time they got home it was after eight and their aunt met them at the house, letting them know that she would take care of their mother.  Aurora started to make her way up the stairs but her brothers