Page 118 of Vicious Vows

“Will you continue to go after Marchello?” I asked.

“If he tells you no, he’s lying,” Marchello said. “He has to kill me to make up for the botched attempt on my life in Miami.”

“Your father must be so disappointed with you,” my dad said.

Don’t go there.

“Nico is proud of him,” I blurted out. “You don’t know anything about his relationship with his dad, but I can tell you it’s a fuck of a lot better than mine is with you.”

“Is that so?” My dad grabbed my arm and pushed me into Marchello, smacking me into his solid chest with a harsh thud.

I looked up at Marchello with wide eyes. Did he just growl? His face contorted into a snarling beast as his eyes darkened with fury.

Milo hurried into the room, and the rest of the guards blocked the doorway, aiming their guns at my father like a trigger-happy firing squad.

“You shouldn’t have touched her,” Marchello said.

“You should have killed me when you had the chance.” My dad stared at me as he cocked his gun.

“No!” I shouted. “This stops now.”

I faced Marchello with my back to my dad. If Marchello fired, he would hit me in my heart. If my father pulled the trigger first, he would shoot me in the back. Talk about irony.

Betrayed by the man who gave me life or have my heart shattered by the man I drew breath for.

“Which one of you is going to end this?” I asked. “Because you’ll have to do it with me standing between you.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

Marchello

Lissia wasa tornado full of destruction in a designer dress and heels way too high for this particular occasion. She would be the death of me, and for some reason, I welcomed it.

I allowed her to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, because I thrived off her energy. The good, the bad, and the agonizingly insane. Together there was no stopping us. But I also knew keeping her by my side could be a deadly mistake for my family.

With Lissia between me and her father, I couldn’t get a clean shot, and if I couldn’t, neither could any of the men standing behind me. I couldn’t risk Lissia’s life. Not for my father, not for my family.

When I lowered my gun, relief entered her worried expression.

“You’re retreating.” Gian laughed. “Your father will be so disappointed to know you brought an army with you and you still couldn’t carry out his order.”

Not in front of her. Not today. But it would happen one way or another.

“What is the matter with you?” Lissia’s voice cracked. “He’s doing this for me. Why can’t you do the same?”

“Because I’m not weak.”

Gian’s words were meant to provoke me, but I fought to stay in control of my trigger finger.

“Can’t you see how much we mean to one another?” Lissia asked. “How much I love him?”

“There is no accounting for your poor judgment,” Gian said. “You’re out of chances.”

“She doesn’t need any chances from you.” I took Lissia’s hand and gazed into her eyes. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll never betray you.”

“That means you’ll have to keep me alive.” Gian smirked.

Lissia reached for my hand and stood by my side, like the queen that she was. My beautifully vibrant and defiant soulmate.

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