Page 44 of Vows in Violence

I’ve never considered myself a coward, but for the first time, I’m happy to allow someone else to deliver the bad news.

I nod at Angel and step out of the room, giving them privacy. Standing in the hallway, I hear Vivi’s cries and the sound ofAngel comforting her. Each sob pierces through me, a reminder of the pain our world inflicts.

After a while, there’s a knock on the door. I open it to find Angel standing there, his face a mask of resignation.

"I’m ready," he says quietly.

One of my men hands me a bag. The group, including Vivi and Lulu, takes the elevator to the main lobby. The sisters each clutch one of Angel’s hands the entire way down. As the doors part and we step out, the lobby of the hotel bustles with activity and sparkles with luxury and beauty, kind of a surreal middle-finger flung at our turmoil.

Nothing should be this lovely on this occasion.

No one speaks, but I’m sure we appear like a funeral procession with our glum faces and the girls’ eyes swollen from crying.

Two cars wait for us, both from the garage still intact at my burned-out house. Angel and I take the first one, while Vivi rides in the second with Lulu and two of my men.

We drive across the Hudson and into New Jersey. Night envelops the city, but the lights of the buildings chase it away until we pass through. We drive until we reach a field outside of a small town.

Angel and I get out of the car and walk outside of the beams of light. We go far enough into the dark that our eyes adjustto it. Near a treeline, we stop. Angel could try to run, try to take advantage of the poor visibility to outstrip my gun, but he doesn’t. He simply stops walking and turns to me. His hands rest at his sides, and he gives a sad smile, accepting his fate. I raise my gun.

"You’re really going to let me do this," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Everything that I have done has been to protect my sisters," Angel replies, his tone calm and resigned. "Now, both of them are in the middle of a war I started. At least I know that both of them are with men who will protect them. I know enough now to see that I am not that man."

I shake my head, disbelief and frustration mingling in my chest. "After everything you have survived, this is your end? The great Angelus Valachi gunned down in a field?"

"Syphilis killed Capone. It could be worse," Angel says, a hint of dark humor in his voice.

I lower my gun and reach into my pocket, pulling out a ring of keys. I toss them to Angel. He catches them automatically, looking confused.

"You will wait until we are long gone before you do anything," I say firmly. "In the trees is a car waiting for you. I had Damon leave it. It’s a clunker, but it will get you where you need to go. There’s enough cash and clothing to take care of your needs for a bit, but you’re going to have to find a way to earn your own way in the next few months. You will leave New York City. You willstay gone. Only your sisters and I will know that you live. If you come back, I won’t be able to stop the others from killing you."

Angel stares at me, a mix of shock and gratitude in his eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you helped me get my wife back. And you helped Damon escape once, as well. We can consider the score even," I say simply.

I raise my gun and fire it straight into the air. The sound echoes through the night, a signal that the deed is done. "Go, Valachi. Don’t ever come back."

I turn and walk away, leaving Angel in the dark. As I make my way back to the car, I wonder if this is something that will come back to haunt me. God help whoever Angel meets in the future; he won’t be an easy opponent.

Chapter 17

Vivi

Our Lady of Pompeiifeels different this morning, or maybe it’s just me. My gaze roves the vast chamber as Ivan and I enter, a sense of curiosity blended with resignation seizing me.

It feels…like a stranger.

I can’t help feeling like I don’t belong here.

I’ve been a member here all my life, even though I haven’t attended much in the past few years. With Mother in rehab and my siblings, as far as I knew, dead, there simply didn’t seem to be any point.

And yet, it always felt like home and comfort when I did manage to make it through the doors.

I’ve been in more frequently lately. Recently, the church has served as a focal point for some of the most important events in my life, as well as in those of people like me.

People who don’t lead the kind of lives that would allow them to be seated here every Sunday and Wednesday.

We are not the devout.

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