Page 53 of Vow of Silence

Benito’s lip twitches into a snarl. He releases Ivan from the hold, waiting until my detail takes a step away from the car to shove the Russian killer toward the house. Ivan stumbles.Aw, shit.I take a step back. The smile on Papa’s face is ridiculous, like watching a kid drawn toward the schoolyard fight. I sidestep when Ivan whirls on Benito, his thick arm locked and loaded, ready to lay my fiancé out. The crack of flesh-on-flesh echoes off the house as I duck, but Benito’s uppercut catches Ivan first. Papa’s pet retaliates quickly, managing to get my fiancé into a headlock. One flex of his muscular arm, and Ivan will break Benito’s neck.

“Cut it out!” I lunge toward the mess and smack Ivan repeatedly on the back of his close-shaven head. “Both of you.”

I’m caught in the chaos when Benito manages to get his foot between Ivan’s legs, pulling the man-mountain to the ground.

They wrestle and grapple, landing pot-shots on one another before the crack of a pistol permeates the air.

Everyone freezes, all eyes on Dmitry at the front door. “Enough!” He strides toward the two men, cutting Papa a disparaging look as he passes. “This is ridiculous.” With a hand on the back of Ivan’s shirt, he urges the assassin off Benito.

The look in my fiancé’s eye when he rises to his feet is nothing short of murder.

I reach out and temper his anger with my hand on his neck. Benito’s jugular vein pulses fast and firm beneath my touch.

“This isn’t going to resolve anything,” Dmitry scolds. “What’s the issue?”

“I must go with Nastasya,” Ivan explains, wiping blood from his lip. “But the mongrel won’t allow me.”

Benito tenses beneath my touch. I step closer and wrap my arms around his middle, attaching myself to his side like an anchor. Heated eyes stay trained on Ivan and my father, yet Benito moves his arm to curl it around me.

Such a tiny gesture that means so much.

“Why does Ivan need to be with her when she’s with her husband-to-be?” Dmitry asks Papa, gesturing to us as he does. “You expect Ivan to be there to oversee every kiss, every touch?” Our esteemed spy laughs. “A bit perverted, do you not think? If you can’t trust the man, then why the fuck would you marry off your only daughter to him?”

I wait with bated breath for Papa’s reaction. Dmitry is the only man who can stand up to my father without fear of violent retribution, but even then, he does it sparingly—and for good reason.

Papa steps forward, his flat palm striking Dmitry across the left side of the face. “You fucking come out here and tell me how to protect my daughter?”

“I tell you how to be reasonable,” Dmitry bravely answers. He doesn’t even give Papa the satisfaction of touching where he’d hit him.

“Do you wish to die?” Papa snaps, shifting his focus to me.

I frown, clutching Benito tighter. “What the fuck, Papa?”

“If you go with this man—unprotected—then that’s what’ll happen to you.” He glares at the seething Italian beneath my touch. “Their filthy kind are all words and no action. They don’t know how to fight like real men.”

A short huff leaves Benito’s lungs.

“Dmitry’s right,” I stress. “What the fuck do you want Ivan to do? Oversee us consummating our union to ensure Benny doesn’t get too rough in the bedroom?”

The shit-stirrer chuckles against my side. I relish the rare sound.

“Fine.” Papa throws both hands in the air. “Have it your way.” He switches gears to Benito. “If she comes back with a single scratch on her, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

Fingers pinched to his mouth, Benito blows my father a kiss, finishing with his middle finger unfurled.

God, I’ve missed his brazen attitude.

My father commands the room wherever he goes. He’s built his reputation carefully over the years, ensuring his name appoints the appropriate amount of fear before he needs to do a thing. And yet, here he is, belittled by the man I promise to marry.

It’s poetic, and it’s perfect.

I push up on my toes and lean close to Benito’s ear. He cocks his head to the side to welcome what I have to say. “I told you you’re still the same as I remember.”

He turns his head before I pull away, a soft smile on his lips. “Mm-hmm.”

Not a word. Barely a sound. But it’s the most erotic and captivating thing I’ve ever heard.

Satisfaction from the lips of a devil.

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