Page 89 of Convenient Mafia Vows

Sienna tries to sit up when she realizes that it’s me. Her wrists and ankles are bound; her hair is greasy and matted, and her eyes are raw, dark circles smudging her gaunt cheeks. As she slides back against the wall, using it to prop herself upright, I spot the legs behind her.

It’s Mason. But he isn’t moving.

“Oh my God, Mason!” I lunge sideways and land on top of him, expecting him to roll over and say my name, but he’s lifeless. “Mason?” On my knees, I lean over his face, panic hurtling through my veins at his gray skin and blue lips. “Mason, wake up. It’s me, Victoria.”

Using my shoulder, I smooth his hair away from his face and spot the blood, matted and dark, on his scalp.

Tears streaming down my face, I look at Sienna who is watching me with dark, sunken eyes. “How long has he been unconscious?”

“I don’t know.” Sienna is crying too.

“Are you hurt?” I can’t see any blood, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t hurt her when they brought her here.

She shakes her head. “I’m scared, V.”

“I’m so sorry.” I crawl over to her and brush my face against hers in lieu of a hug. “This is all my fault, Si. I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen.”

“None of this is your fault.” Her voice cracks, and I can see that the skin around her lips is dry and cracked too.

“Have they been giving you water?”

Sienna’s eyes flit to a spot behind me at the same time as I hear raised voices. I roll awkwardly into a sitting position, blocking Sienna as if I can protect her with my wrists bound.

“I’m done here.” A young guy with raven-black hair who I assume is Ivan Petrov, raises his hands and walks away from Olivia Dragonetti across the room.

I think this must be a warehouse. It’s a huge space with a high ceiling. The high windows are so grimy and weather-stained that they let in minimal daylight. Boxes and cartons are stacked up on tall metal shelving against the walls, and there’s no furniture, but I can see a forklift pushed up against the far wall. I scan the room for the way out, my stomach twisting when I realize that it’s at the other end of the building.

“Ivan, get back here!” Olivia screeches.

Ivan keeps walking. He raises a hand over his shoulder in a kind of salute, but my heart seems to freeze when I hear the click of a gun. He halts at the same time, and I instinctively shuffle backwards, shielding Sienna with my body.

When Ivan turns around to face Olivia, he has a gun in his hand too. “Seriously? You really want to do this?”

“You give me no choice.” Olivia shrugs. She’s holding the gun with both hands, arms outstretched. “We’re in this together, remember?”

“Were. Wewerein this together. I didn’t sign up for abducting Caleb Murray’s wife.” He glances my way, our eyes meeting briefly. “I want out. You do your thing, but don’t expect me to go along with it.”

Olivia laughs, the sound bouncing off the walls. “Very funny. I’ll tell everyone that this was your idea.”

“Be my guest and go right ahead.”

Ivan makes a circular motion with his gun, and my breath hitches in my chest. I don’t know the first thing about guns, but I’ve watched enough movies to know that you don’t mess around with them.

“You think no one will believe me, but they will when I tell them about your boyfriend.” Her expression is smug, and I’ve never wanted to punch someone in the throat more than I do right now.

I expect Ivan to laugh in her face and tell her that everyone already knows, but instead, his face pales. His hair flops forward over his eyes, and he tries to flick it back with his elbow.

“Thought that would get your attention. You wouldn’t want Daddy to find out, would you? Not when you’ve tried so hard to keep it a secret.”

She’s a nasty piece of work. I don’t know why Ivan needs to hide his relationship, but I’m angry that she thinks she can get away with using it against him. I’m angry at Ivan for allowing her to manipulate him so easily. And I’m angry at both of them for dragging innocent people into their fucked-up, messy lives.

I want Ivan to tell her to go fuck herself. But he doesn’t. He stands there with a gun in his hand and a defeated expression on his face like all the fight has been sucked out of him.

“That’s what I thought.” Olivia lowers her gun. I don’t even know where she got it from, but she isn’t taking any chances and keeps it in her hand. “Watch her while I go speak to Caleb.”

My pulse races, and I feel sick when I hear her say Caleb’s name out loud. It sounds all wrong when she says it, like she has no right to his name because it belongs to me. Which is ridiculous when I have no right to it either. But if I am growing his baby inside me, I at least deserve the opportunity to tell him.

I watch her walk away and disappear through the door at the far end. Ivan watches her too. As the door swings shut behind her, he raises the gun, aims it, and says, “Bang.”

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