Page 68 of Forced Vows

I slide my knife along Lion's throat, leaving a shallow, painful cut in the blade's wake. No point in wearing a knife that isn't nice and sharp.

He squeals like a pig, and I shove him toward Shaughnessy. "Get him out of here before he ruins the party decorations with his blood."

"What the fuck?" Shaughnessy's voice is filled with fury and offense, but he modulates it, so he doesn't draw more attention to us.

"Relax. He'll live. This time." I let the warning hang in the air between us. I put my arm out to Róise. "Come on, Aphrodite, you've got presents to open."

"You live up to our middle name, God of War. And that's not a compliment." She takes my arm though and I lead her away from Shaughnessy and Lion.

"Come on, gentlemen, you are making a spectacle of yourselves." That's my brother.

I know I've got a lecture coming later, but he will always have my back. And I will always have his. Which is why I am going to marry an Irish mob princess.

That and, the idea of another man claiming her makes me want to kill someone with fire.

Chapter 24: RÓISE

"Oh, wear the pink jumpsuit. Please, Rosy." Fiona presses her palms together and looks at me with puppy dog eyes from where she's sitting on my bed.

Miceli is taking me to the shelter to pick out a kitten. Miceli. Not his sister-in-law, which is who I assumed would actually accompany me when I opened the present at my birthday.

My fake boyfriend who will one day be my very real husband is not the type of man to give a coupon for a trip to an animal shelter as a gift. Did he even know the shelter exists before my birthday party?

I don't think so either.

"Come with us," I say, pulling the jumpsuit off the hanger in my walk-in closet. "You can wear something pink too."

"I don't know." Fiona chews on her thumbnail.

"You know you want to. There's a whole litter of kittens. You can get one too and they can play together."

My cousin's eyes cloud. "Until you move out."

"That's eons away." I strip out of the yoga pants and oversized black t-shirt I put on after my shower this morning. "We're not even officially engaged."

"I don't want to horn in on your date," Fiona tries again.

But I know my younger cousin wants to go. She loves animals and Uncle Brogan won't get mad if Miceli gets her a kitten from the shelter too.

I think.

If he does get angry, I'll tell him it was my idea.

"It's not a date." It's an obligation Catalina created when she got me the pale pink princess cat bed and slapped Miceli's name on the card.

"Pretty sure it is."

"I promise it's not." Even if it will be the first time the Italian underboss and I go anywhere together since signing the contracts.

He didn't even pick me up for my birthday party he was supposedly throwing for me.

"Come on." I give her my best lost kitten look. "It won't be crowded. You know how mob guys are. Miceli will have the shelter cleared before we get there."

"He's Cosa Nostra. Maybe they do things differently."

"Want me to find out?" I ask.

Allessio will know. I still have Miceli's number blocked on my phone. The underboss made the plans through his soldier. He didn't ask, but I couldn't give him a hard time about that because I blocked his number.

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