Page 67 of Promised Vows

“I know the exact moment I fell in love with you.”

“Oh yeah? Deets, please.” I chuckled.

“When you got in the cab.” He kissed my nose. “You own me, sweetheart. I love you.”

Chapter Thirty

ARI

Dimitris strode inside my room. “Anna?”

“She’s in the room two doors down.”

My love was visiting with her brother. Their relationship seemed to be on the mend now that Jason was being honest with her. I understood him. That drive to keep her innocent had kept me up since her father was shot.

The bullet had punctured his spleen, and in minutes, he’d bled out. She watched him die and that’d been the last thing I ever wanted for her. I didn’t want death touching her, and in that regard, I failed her.

He shut the door. “We managed to grab a couple of the guys guarding the building. One’s already dead.”

“Learn anything interesting?”

“No, and I’ve told Lex if he doesn’t get anything by the end of the day to take care of him.”

I cleared my throat and winced. That song didn’t lie. All my bones were connected, and it hurt to do almost everything. I’d confessed that to Anna a week ago. Seven days longer than I’d ever wanted to be in a hospital, but the doctors were insistent that I stay put.

“That story he told about his granddaughter? I’m not sure it was entirely true.”

Dimitris cocked his head. “He lied about that too?”

“Marco calls the girls he molests his granddaughters.”

The color drained from my brother’s face. “I saved that…” He grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and twirled it in his fingers. “I didn’t save him. It was a setup.”

Nodding, I replied, “Yeah, a good one.” With the reservations I’d had when I put the file together for the meeting our family had with Gabriele and Jason, I’d kept the information mostly about Franklin. He’d been the subject of that meeting. All Gabriele got was Franklin’s connection to Marco.

“That’s why Marco is still alive. Gabriele didn’t lose him, he’s hiding him.”

“That’s my suspicion. We need to find that hideout. Get Thea to do her thing,” I said.

“All right.”

A knock came from the door and the handle wiggled. “Ari Kalantzis, if you’re not resting, I swear…” A muted growl of frustration traveled through the door.

My brother laughed and crossed the room.

Anna barged in and stopped short. “Oh, I’m sorry. I can come back if you’re?—”

“Nah, we’re done.” Then he did something I’d never seen him do. He hugged her. “How are you doing?”

Her personality had infected my brother. There wasn’t a doctor or nurse who didn’t smile by the time they left my room. That was the sunshine I’d worked to protect. The guilt lifted a little when she did that.

“I’m okay. Did he behave?”

Dimitris tossed a glance my way. “No, not even a little bit. He was trying to do sit-ups.”

My mouth dropped open. “Liar! I’ve lain right here the whole time.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I believe him.”

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