Page 75 of Deadly Vows

“Why?” I ask.

My father slaps me hard across the face, and I instantly taste blood in my mouth. But I don’t cry. I slowly bring my fingers to my lips, spitting the blood on the floor of the car as my father points his finger in my face.

“Do not question me, boy,” he snaps.

I make sure to drain my face of emotion. I feel no pain. I am strong. My father abhors fear and weakness. And it is my job to show none.

“I want her disposed of properly, only her fingers you keep to prove the job is done,” he says.

“And the girl?” I ask, looking at the young girl. She’s crying as her mother shakes her, trying to quieten her. She’s scared.

“Beat her. Instructions are to send her back to her father,” he says.

I furrow my brow. The instructions are strange and seem like they belong to a coward. He wants his wife dead, and his daughter brought back, but not without bruises. It doesn’t make sense to me. But I am not one to question my father. Not when a simple “why” gets my lip busted. I follow orders.

“Okay,” I say, getting out of the car.

The street is dark and as I look around, no one is in sight. She was obviously meant to meet someone here to help her and didn’t want to be seen. But what she doesn’t know is thather husband is already aware of her plans and has taken that possibility from her, along with her life.

I quietly cross the street, pulling my gun from its hidden place just as her daughter starts acting up again. She roughly grips her shoulders, hissing at her. And as she does, she gives me the perfect shot.

“Elise, I told you—”

I smile to myself as I hit her right between the eyes, her life evaporating instantly.

“Bulls-eye,” I murmur.

The woman collapses to her knees before falling against the pavement, pulling the girl with her. The girl shrieks, screaming at her mother as she pulls her hand from her grip.

“Mommy? Mommy!” She shakes her mother and doesn’t realize I am approaching until the last second. She jumps when she finally sees me, but doesn’t realize the danger she is in as she grabs my arm.

“Please help us! My mom…she won’t get up,” she sobs.

Her eyes are red and puffy from the tears streaming down her face. I don’t miss the innocence in her gaze as she looks at me. And as I step closer, she doesn’t see the butt of my gun careening towards the side of her head. She collapses instantly, and I kneel next to her, my eyes shifting to the blood pouring from a new wound on her temple.

I may have overdone it.

I check my watch and set my timer. I have four hours to dispose of her mother. I grab the girl by her collar, lifting her to look at her unconscious face. The blood drips from her temple to her brow now, forcing me to take in her innocent features, which cause me to hesitate.

Then, my father’s words flash in my mind.

So I ball my fist, putting any weakness out of my mind as I swing at her unconscious body.

Present Day

I jolt awake, my breathing heavy from the memory that always causes me panic. I quickly take in my unfamiliar surroundings, and I notice the needle in my arm and the leads on my chest. The monitor next to me shines an annoying light over the dim room, and I quickly rip the IV out of my arm. I hate being pumped with anything. It makes me slow and an easier target.

“Agh!” I moan as a headache scratches the inside of my skull. I drop my head in my hands, gritting my teeth as I try to calm myself down. I’m in the hospital. The last thing I remember is Elise’s panicked face after I was shot…then nothing.

I quickly survey the room, shock coursing through me when I see Elise lying on a small cot. Her arm is over the edge, hovering over the floor as she lies on her stomach. Her hair is pulled away from her face, revealing the scar on her temple that she doesn’t remember getting. But I do. Discomfort suddenly hits me as I recall my memory. She’s grown so much from the little girl whose life I changed all those years ago.

I recall her panicked expression as she tried to save her cousin.

She has no idea just how much her family hated her. The lengths her father went through to build his reputation and steal her future from her are despicable even to me. And he attempted the same with her brother. Now that the entire Trovoli clan is eradicated, it’s a matter of finding out who did this to Enzo and me. And more importantly, why?

It takes me longer than I would like to get out of bed while trying not to make a sound. But eventually, I successfully put my feet on the ground without waking Elise. If Elise is here, Romelo or Nicolai can’t be far. It takes all of my strength to open the door, and just as I suspect, Romelo is standing in the hallway.

He turns when he hears the door creak, shock appearing on his face when he sees me and not Elise stepping into the hallway.

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