Page 12 of Vow to Me

I work for an online organization who specializes in stopping sex traffickers and rescuing their victims. The organization has special operatives who go to locations to save those who have been taken and take out the traffickers. The organization is in no way legal, but it’s not as if the cops do shit to stop them, so we take it into our own hands.

I’m not a physical part of operations, my hacking abilities allow me to trace the sales of women and children online and trace them back to the sellers and buyers. I also help set up the missions, erasing traffic cameras so the operatives stay out of sight, formulating the best routes for them to take and overall, just using my computer skills to help them.

After a few hours of work and unpacking my things in my new home, I hop in the shower and start getting ready for dinner with Luca.

To say I was surprised by his text is an understatement. I half expected us to live in uncomfortable silence and awkward small talk, not him taking me out for dinner. I style my hair down with loose curls and apply minimal eye makeup with a red lip before choosing a black satin dress paired with gold heels. The dress comes to around mid-thigh, it’s classy yet sexy and in no way scandalous, considering I have no idea where we’re going, I figured it was a safe choice.

I glance down at my left hand and see my wedding ring. It’s hard to believe I’m actually married. I’ve always known this would happen, but it’s different to it actually happening.It could be worse, Luca seems respectable enough, andJesus Christ, he looks good in a suit.When he asked for my number this morning, I had to stop myself from blatantly ogling him. It took all my strength to not maul him right then and there.

I’m not allowing myself to get too comfortable, though. For all I know, this could all be an act and he could turn out to be a fucking monster, like one I’d always imagined marrying.

After taking the elevator down to the lobby, I walk through and spot Luca waiting near the entrance. He’s still in the same suit from this morning and I can sense the moment he sees me, his gaze lights my skin on fire and has my senses in overdrive.

Holy fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever been this attracted to a man before.

As I reach him, he looks me over once more before his eyes meet mine.

“Bellisma,” he breathes. “You’re beautiful, Izzy.”

“Thank you,” I say, giving him a shy smile.

No man has ever pulled this reaction from me. I’m not fucking shy.

What the hell is wrong with me?

He takes my hand and leads me out to the car that waiting, he nods to the driver before he opens my door for me and waits for me to get in before closing it and rounding the other side where the driver opens the door for him. We make the short ride to the restaurant in comfortable silence, where I gaze out the window at the busy city.

Before long, we’re pulling up in front of an Italian restaurant. If I had to guess, I’d say this was one of his family’s restaurants. That becomes clear when the manager ushers us to our seats and greets Luca as though they’re well acquainted. Luca makes sure my back is facing the wall, another security precaution from him.

I’ve noticed my safety is a top priority to him. It’s nice to have someone to take care of me, considering the only person who was there for me after Mama died was Alessi, and since he died, I’ve been alone. Even if he is only doing it to prove a point to his men and any staff members, the point being that he’s a happily married man, I can live with that if he’s going to continue to put my safety first. I’ll take any—albeit small—wins I can get in this marriage.

“I invited you out to dinner because I figured we’re better off getting to know each other, and it might make living together easier if we can get along without any threats,” Luca says, his lips tipping up into a small smile.

“What do you want to know?”

“What is it you plan on doing with your days now you’re in a new city? Do you know anyone in the city? Do you plan on stabbing me at any point...” I chuckle. “Because if you could just give me a heads up, that would be great. I like to let my guard down at home. I’m not used to having a woman in my space, never mind a woman who could probably dismember me without flinching,” he continues, making me laugh.

I take a second to really look at him. He has a small smile on his face, making those dimples of his more prominent.Those goddamn dimples.His eyes are twinkling with mischief and there’s no coldness or hardness there that I’ve seen him have with others, even with his own brothers, his facial expressions are never this expressive, that I’ve seen anyway.

“I knowyouin the city,” I say, raising my brow, “but no, I don’t know anyone else here, and I plan on spending my days working. I work from my laptop, so I can work from anywhere. And no, dear husband, I don’t plan on stabbing you, that is unless you give me a reason too,” I say and shoot him a flirty grin.

Damn, seems like I'm now a woman who flirts without an agenda. What the fuck is he doing to me?!

We spend the next hour chatting while eating the best Alfredo I’ve had since my Mama was alive. We talk about how we grew up; Luca tells me about his brothers and about what his mom was like before she died. It sounds like Don Romano tried to give his boys a normal childhood, unlike most other heads of criminal organizations. I enjoy talking to him, it feels easy, like the conversation just flows with no effort whatsoever. Normally, I’d keepchatter to a minimum, that tends to happen when you hate most human interaction, I’d rather sit in front of a screen and work with numbers than ask my neighbor how her granddaughters dog is feeling after its recent trip to the vets or what-the-fuck-ever normal people talk about.

After dessert, Luca pays the bill and stands to pull out my chair, just as I start to stand, there’s a deafening sound of gunshots, along with glass shattering and screams.

Luca immediately grabs me and throws me to the floor with him on top of me and covering my body with his, once again looking out for my safety. It’s unnecessary but appreciated all the same.

As he gets up, I manage to get myself into a sitting position as he flips the table next to us so we’re out of the line of fire and pulls his Glock from his waistband beneath his suit jacket.

“Stay here,” he orders and goes to pass me a gun, but I shake my head and pull my own from the garter belt attached to my thigh. By now the place has emptied of patrons who must have run out the back patio doors and Luca’s men are shooting towards the roof of the building opposite us. Luca moves with precision, positioning himself so that he’s not in the line of fire as he observes what’s going on around him, processing which is the best plan of action to get us out of here alive.

Luca starts barking at his men, ordering a group of them to find the shooters while telling the rest of them to surround me. Within seconds, I have a horde of men circling me, ready to take a bullet that would be meant for me.

If only Mama could have been surrounded when she was attacked,I think to myself before shaking my head and focusing on what’s going on around me. Now is not the fucking time to be thinking about this shit.

The shots continue, so loud my eardrums rattle from the sound. From the precision of the shots and the angle coming in, I’d say it was a premeditated attack, probably a sniper, and not some careless drive-by shooting.

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