Page 15 of Vows in Violence

Rowan’s features soften. “Oh, Vivi. Yes. It's true. There is so much to tell you, but we will catch up as soon as we get you out of here.”

“But how are we going to do that?”

Rowan grins a cheeky smile. “It’s my turn to be resourceful,” she says, referencing the time I helped her evade her guards and explore New York. “We bought the property next door. We havebeen slowly chipping away at the wall here. It would’ve been better to have it closer to the house, but the cameras didn’t make that possible. The wall was as close as we could get, so we just have to cross the lawn. But the wall is ready to go. Completely. On the other side, Cassidy, Luca, and Enzo stand ready to take us down to the docks and get you on a boat to your home. We just need to get through this part. It's going to be scary. Very scary. But I know you can do it.”

I nod, drawing in a deep breath. “I’m going home.”

“Where you belong.”

Rowan reaches into her pocket and presses something. I hear the murmured sound of a phone ringing. It rings three times, and Rowan hangs up. Some kind of signal, then.

With no further warning, the wall at the far edge of the property collapses. Shouts erupt from inside of the house.

“Go!” Rowan grabs my arm, and we start running, Rowan pushes me none too gently toward the hole in the wall.

I can just make out shapes on the other side of the smoke-filled air, shapes of the people who came together to free me.

Freedom.

Home.

Away from Ivan.

Ivan.

Tugging my arm free of Rowan’s hand, I stop.

Rowan stumbles to a halt and spins around to face me, her red hair streaming behind her. “What are you doing?! We only have about a minute before they’re on us—”

“What happens if I leave?”

“What are you talking about? We have to go, Vivi!”

“What happens, Rowan? Ivan will come after me. There will be retribution. Fighting. People will die.”

Rowan draws up straight, her shoulders flattening out. She backs away a step, then another. “That’s our world, Vivi.”

“But I am his wife.”

“He forced you to be his wife. They're coming. Please, let's go.” She reaches for me but backs away another step when I remain standing.

“I made a promise. If I go, nothing is going to change.”

Turning from her outstretched hand, I run toward the house. I reach it just as the front door opens, and men begin to pour out. One of them grabs me roughly, sending me to the ground.

“I’ve got her,” he calls. “Mrs. Romanov is safe!”

Safe.

A single bitter tear gathers in the corner of my eye, but I blink it away. When I twist my head and look back at the wall, Rowan is gone.

Chapter 6

Ivan

There is no betrayallike someone breaking into your home. I've been stabbed by someone I considered a friend, backhanded by my father in front of the other mafiosos, and almost killed by an associate. Still, nothing compares to someone invading my domain while I'm not there. It violates the one space that is supposed to be safe from the rest of the world.

Tonight, my wife was almost taken, and someone on my staff helped her.

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