Page 45 of Vicious Vows

Ricardo scurried out of the room.

I inched a little higher against the pillows. “He’s afraid of you.”

“As he should be.” Marchello sat with me on the bed. “How are you?”

“My body hurts. My hair is knotted. And do I still have last night’s makeup on?”

“You’re beautiful.” He leaned into me, clasped my hand, and gently kissed my dry lips. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t shoot me.”

“No, I didn’t.” He tightened his jaw.

“Do you know who did?”

“There were plenty of targets there last night.”

“Well, it sucks that I got shot, but I’m happy to think that you and Milo weren’t the intended victims.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“What are you saying?” Did he know who did this or not?

“It’s part of the job.”

“Maybe you should get a new job?”

There may have been a lot of dangerous people in the room last night, but were they all caught up in a mob war with a rival family? A rival family whose daughter he happened to kidnap?

I hadn’t spoken to my father since the day he betrayed me and sent Danny to come for me. That action of his was a bitter pill to swallow. It proved that my dad would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, even if I was the sacrifice.

As much as I wanted to forget him, I couldn’t. He was still my father. Despite his faults, I wanted to believe there was a way to salvage all of this.

“Would you like it if I were a car salesman?” Marchello let go of my hand, bringing me back to our harsh reality. “I can give you anything you want, but I can’t give you that.”

“Don’t you think about it sometimes? Like what would have happened if you went to college and chose another path?”

“No.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You knew who I was before you pursued me, but that didn’t stop you.”

“I’m not afraid of who you are.”

That wasn’t entirely true. I wasn’t afraid of him, but I was terrified of what could happen to him because of this stupid world he lived in. Bullets, enemies, territories, cartels, guns… Where would it end?

“You should be, because who I am and where I come from will impact your life on so many levels. It already has.”

“Do you want me out of your life?” I asked.

I had no intention of going anywhere, but hearing his answer might help me understand him a little better.

“Don’t you know the answer to that question already?”

“Considering you keep me with you under the guise that you kidnapped me twice, no I can’t really say with any degree of certainty if you want me here or not.”

“I see that getting shot has not tamed you in the least.”

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