Page 8 of Solemn Vow

“They’re just men, Marlena.”

“You said the same thing about the Delany brothers. You remember how close you came to getting killed when you touched what was theirs?” I remind him.

If Jimmy’s uncle, the head of the Agosti family, hadn’t stepped in and made things right, Jimmy could have been six feet deep before it was settled.

Jimmy doesn’t like people knowing he’s the big boss’s nephew. He says it gets in the way of his ability to make a name for himself. But when he gets himself into a jam, Uncle Michael is the first person he calls.

He laughs. “Yeah, they weren’t appreciative of my talents.”

“Talents? You tried to steal their mother’s Lamborghini while she was in it, Jimmy.” He can’t be serious. He’s a thief. And not even a good one.

“Whatever.” He points his fork at me. “Right now, you should be thinking about how you can help me instead of fighting me. I mean, you don’t want Luxe Strands to find out about your little history, do you? Considering the Donato family owns the place, I’d think you’d want to keep your previous job history with Michael Agosti a secret.”

The Agosti and Donato families have been at odds with each other for decades. Even though the salon is owned by a relative outside the powerhouse that is the Donato legacy, if it gets backto Nicole Donato that I’ve worked for the Agosti family in any capacity, she’d have to throw me to the curb.

But worse, I’d be blackballed in the city. I’d never have a chair at a worthwhile salon again.

“Jimmy. I can’t afford this.” All I want to do is wring his neck. I’ve been dealing with him for months. It started out with him trying to get me to join his crew again, and when I turned him down, he demanded a payoff. And then another one. Each time it’s more, and it’s more frequent. And when I try to ignore him, he dangles the threat of talking to Nicole.

He got me through a rough few years, taught me how to stay under the radar, and helped keep me from being sent into the system. I’d felt bad for him, and now I’m paying the price.

“All right. All right. I get it. I’ll give you a break. Two grand in two weeks. Or—” His eyebrows rise. “You can help me with a little project I’m working on.”

I’m not going to like what he’s going to suggest. It’s a freight train coming right at me, and I have no way of stopping it.

“What’s the project?” I curl my fingers into my palm, pushing my fingernails into the skin.

“I got an order. Some of the guys that work with me, they’re new to the game. Luxury cars aren’t their thing.”

“I told you. I’m done with that. All of it,” I say when he pauses.

His eyes narrow and he leans back from the table, dropping his fork onto the plate.

“All right then. Two grand in two weeks.” He waits a beat. “Or I send photos to Nicole Donato of that time out in Naperville. Remember that Porsche?”

My hands go cold.

It was a cherry red Porsche meant for Vincent Donato’s goddaughter’s sweet sixteen birthday. Michael sent us way out to the western suburb to lift it right out of her driveway the night ofher birthday. After it was stripped, he sent us back out there to return it.

The most dangerous job he’d sent us on was getting that empty shell of a vehicle back onto that driveway.

“You have a photo of that?” I try to sound cynical. He’s been in jail since then.

He swipes his phone alive and turns it to me. The photo’s already open.

Me and the Porsche with the license plate showing as it sits on the tow truck picked to pieces.

“How much, Jimmy? How much until this stops?” I’m shaking on the inside, but my voice is steady.

Them finding out I worked with Michael will get me fired. This could get me killed. It was a personal insult, what Michael ordered. It would be a personal message to get rid of the people who completed the job.

It’s been years since I knew the temperature between the two families, but unless it’s cooled off, Vincent could use me as a message to Michael. Paying Jimmy may be the only way to get out of this.

“Well, I was going to take it easy, but then I found out you’re connected to the Petrov family. Your little friend married one of them. Which means you have access to cash.” His smile makes my stomach roll.

“For the last time. I have nothing. My friend married into the Petrov family, not me.” My teeth might break if I clench my jaw any tighter.

He’s beyond reason. He’s seen a cash cow, and he wants to cash in.

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