Page 53 of Promised Vows

Nodding, she let me help her to her feet.

“This isn't over, sweetheart. Trust me. It's not over." Dimitris stalked over to the guy and hit him hard enough that his head flew back. His knees buckled and the two men holding him let him crumple to the floor.

Anna tensed, her fingers digging into my arm.

“Take him to the warehouse. I'll take her home, and then meet you there," I said as I walked out with Anna.

My brother nodded and motioned to a couple of his guys. They’d have Lorenzo loaded up and waiting for me by the time I got Anna settled.

Ares held the door for us, and as soon as he shut it, she launched herself at me again. “I’m sorry. I should have told you I was meeting Papa.”

“I knew.”

She leaned back. “What?”

This had a good chance of backfiring on me. I steeled myself, knowing that her safety was worth more than her momentary happiness. “I had guards assigned to watch over you. I knew you were meeting him.”

Her lips puckered in a pout while her eyebrows knitted together. “I guess you trusted me about as much as I trusted you.”

“It wasn’t about trust. Your father is in a feud with your brother. You may not want to be in the middle of it, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t bring you into it. I wanted to make sure you were safe. After the first couple of times you met with him, I assigned men to make sure you were protected. Lorenzo had them murdered. That’s the only reason he got close enough to take you, and for that I’m sorry.”

With a heavy sigh, her shoulders rounded. “I should be grateful, I guess. I still don’t like that you didn’t tell me, but I guess that goes both ways. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about meeting Papa.”

Rubbing her back, I replied softly, “It’s okay. Tell me what happened.”

Her lips turned down in a deep frown. “Lorenzo held me at gunpoint. I didn’t want to go, but there was a toddler in the shop and he said he’d kill her.”

“He would have, so you did the right thing.”

“He said I’d been promised to one of the Morettis by my papa, but that Jason had stepped in. He said his family was taking what was theirs.”

Still no answer as to who she was promised to. Gabriele, maybe?

“He said he was going to force me to marry. That I’d do it on my own or they’d drug me.”

This was Lorenzo’s last day on earth. That he would even suggest doing something like that was repulsive.

“I’m sorry. That had to be scary.”

Anna's fingers twisted in her lap. "Do you think... do you think Papa would have really given me to one of them?"

Shrugging, I replied, “Maybe. If he thought a union would strengthen your family, which it would have.”

Anna wrapped her arms around herself, a shudder running through her body. "I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

My heart clenched. "The wedding," I said, the words tasting like ash. "If you need time, or if you want to... to call it off... I'd understand."

She scoffed. “No, I don’t want to postpone it.” Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she took a deep breath. “Papa said he wasn’t coming and that I didn’t have his blessing.” She looked at me. “If Lorenzo is telling the truth, then how could Papa have been so hypocritical? I wouldn’t have wanted to marry that man.”

“You didn’t want to marry me,” I quipped.

“That was before I found out you were a good man.” She chewed her lip. “Lorenzo isn’t.”

A good man. “Anna, you need to understand who you’re marrying.”

Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not..." I swallowed hard. "I'm not a good man."

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