Page 110 of Ruthless Oath

“I’ll never go with you.”

“Are you sure about that?” He reached behind his back and pulled out his gun as he prowled toward me. “I think I have the upper hand in this ridiculous situation you’ve gotten yourself into.”

I stumbled back, trying to get away from him, but the odds were not in my favor.

“Don’t run.” He pointed his weapon at me. “The chase will only make it worse for you.”

Twenty-Five

Marchello

Fear wasn’tan emotion I was familiar with until now. I didn’t get this far in life by hesitating or being afraid of anything or anyone.

Whatever Lissia had gotten herself into, she wasn’t going to be able to get herself out of. It wasn’t that I didn’t think she was a capable woman. I feared for her because of who she came from.

Her father was a dishonorable piece of shit who wouldn’t think twice about selling her out if it benefitted him. I didn’t expect Lissia to know that or even see what could happen, but if she chose to trust Gian, she would find herself in a bottomless pit she would never be able to climb out of.

The kind of trouble I wasn’t sure I could get her out of.

What was she thinking? All she had to do was stay put and let me figure this out.

If she went back to her father, he was going to marry her off to Collins. No matter how many tantrums she threw or how many escape attempts she made, she was going to suffer. And when Collins found out she wasn’t the virgin she was before she came to me, there would be hell to pay.

After reviewing the security footage again and searching the property with no sign of her, my initial thoughts of her knowing who was in that car were becoming more of a reality.

“None of this makes sense.” I barreled through the front door to the safe house and glanced around the foyer. “Where the fuck did she go?”

Milo followed me into the house. “Chello, you saw the footage. She left here willingly.”

I didn’t want to believe what my brother said. There had to be another reason.

“One of our men could be compromised. If they are working with Gian, that could explain how they took her,” I said, but I didn’t want to believe that either. My father had always been spot-on when it came to vetting who we trusted. There was always a chance, though. Everyone had a price.

“I only let a small group of our most trusted people know this location,” he said. “You know none of them would have betrayed us. I want there to be another possibility, too, but I’m not seeing it.”

“How could she have pulled this off?”

“That car we saw on the camera found her because they knew where to look. She must have given up the location.”

“Why would she do that?” I circled the foyer like a caged animal. “She was safe here. She was safe with me.”

“You’re upset, but you have to think rationally.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It doesn’t make sense.”

“I get that you care for her. I feel for you, man, but you have to look at the facts,” Milo said. “She walked out of this house and went to the person she had come to get her. There’s no other explanation. This was deliberate. She knew what she was doing.”

“Whatever she planned, she didn’t think it through. If she had, she wouldn’t have gone back to him.”

“Her father?”

“Collins.” I gritted my teeth. “He’s going to make her pay for being here with me.”

Ricardo came rushing into the foyer. “Marchello, I—”

“Shut your fucking mouth.” I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. “How could you have let this happen?”

“Marchello.” Milo came toward me, but I held up my hand to stop him. “This isn’t helping.”

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