Page 67 of Convenient Mafia Vows

“Caleb, hear him out.” Victoria sits forward so that she doesn’t miss anything. “You want her to believe that she’s in with a chance.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “She has never been in with a chance. If she doesn’t get it after ten years?—”

“But don’t you see?” There’s excitement in Victoria’s voice now. “Her brain obviously isn’t wired the same way as other people’s.”

“The closer it gets to the wedding reception,” Kyle joins in, “the more desperate she’ll become.”

“Which will spark Ivan Petrov’s fury at being used.” Even Mom is on board with this now. “She’ll be on her own when she realizes that Caleb and Victoria are happy, and that’s when she’ll get careless.”

“Abigail will be at the wedding reception.” I already know that my input is washing over their heads.

“We’ll be waiting for her,” Terry says. “It’s the only way to make sure her father understands what a monster he has raised, and it will offer us a way out from the Petrovs when they have to confess to Ivan helping her.”

“I don’t like it. Too much can go wrong.”

“Oh, Caleb.” Mom smiles. “Too many things can go wrong every minute of every day. It’s the world we live in. It never stoppedyou before.” She gives Victoria a sideways glance. “Wouldn’t you agree, Victoria?”

“I know Olivia is…”

“Crazy?” I suggest. “A nutjob with psychopathic tendencies?”

Instead of being deterred, Victoria smiles. “But maybe this is the only way to get her out of your life for good. And you have your family on your side.”

Her tone is gentle, but I sense the wistfulness behind the comment. I don’t know her history, but it’s obvious that Victoria has been the one holding her family together. Perhaps she is more like my mom than anyone realizes.

A sudden image materializes inside my head: Victoria, twenty years from now, sitting around a table with our sons, reminding them that family is everything, and that together, they can rule the world. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s so vivid, my breath hitches in my throat, and I find myself nodding in agreement.

“Good.” Mom and Victoria exchange glances, and I don’t know how the meeting slipped into their hands so easily, but I feel as if they ganged up on me. And won. “I think this calls for a toast.” Mom clinks her empty glass against mine.

I top up our drinks—including Kyle’s—and we toast our futures.

Victoria’s bottom lip disappears behind her top teeth, and I make a mental note to tell her not to do that in public unless she wants to risk me ripping her clothes off and fucking her with an audience.

“What about Sienna and Mason?” she asks. “Do you think Olivia has something to do with their disappearance?”

“I’m already on it.” Terry sets his glass down on the table; he has barely touched his drink. “The Petrovs have been keeping a low profile while Ivan was off the scene. Expanding their business into computer equipment.”

Computer equipment?

My face must reflect my bewilderment because Terry grins. “My sentiments exactly. It’s a front for something else—my guess is weapons or drugs.”

“Or both,” Kyle suggests.

“Or both.” Terry inclines his head. “Either way, storage capacity within the city is at a minimum. I’ve put out feelers to locate their warehouses. With Ivan involved, it’s as good a place as any to start looking.”

19

VICTORIA

Warehouses filledwith drugs and weapons. It’s like something out of a movie, but Caleb and his family don’t even flinch when they speak these words out loud. My heart aches to think that Sienna and Mason are mixed up in this because of me.

I was angry with my brother when he didn’t come home after the fight with Killian. I blamed myself for always being around to pick up the pieces so that he never bothered to learn from his mistakes. But now, I realize that he is missing because of my involvement with Caleb. Because of me, Abigail doesn’t have her father around.

What if… I can hardly bear to think about the worst-case scenario, but what if he never comes back? How will I live with myself?

“Why are you sad?” Abigail’s voice penetrates my morbid thoughts.

We’re on the rooftop decking of Caleb’s penthouse apartment. After the meeting, Caleb stayed with Kyle in his office, and I didn’t question it. Instead, I spent the rest of the day withAbigail, playing video games on the tablet Caleb gave her, and getting beaten by a five-year-old every time.

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