Page 105 of Dangerous Vows

“If we make the right offer, perhaps,” Matteo says. His eyebrow furrows as he considers the idea.

“Smart men negotiate to end wars,” I add.

“It’s entirely possible that there is an opening. Or…” she says as she clicks to the next slide, and my chest tightens when I see what it is.

“Absolutely fucking not.”

Everyone looks at me.

“Julia, are you serious?” I bark. “You want to use Amara as bait?”

“She’s the connection,” she replies, calm as ever. “Miloš wants her to redeem himself in his men’s eyes. If we dangle her, he might bite—it will flush him out.”

“No way,” I say, shaking my head. “We find another way. She’s carrying my baby. We’re not risking her or my child to set a trap.”

“I knew you’d say that,” she says, as if it’s a crime.

“Then why bring it up?” I give her a look that shows her how pissed I am.

“Because it could work,” Matteo replies.

“Then wemakesomething else work,” I say.

The silence stretches across the room like an industrial haze.

Finally, Matteo speaks. “If Vukan wants something badly enough,he might offer us Miloš in exchange. We don’t use Amara. But we do open a channel.”

I look at my brothers before I settle on Matteo. “You really want to make a deal with the devil?”

He meets my gaze without blinking. “We already are the devil, Pietro. The question is—can wecontrolVukan? Will he do his part?”

I stare at the floor and begin to pace anxiously. All my rage burns low in my chest. I know we’re running out of options.

“Can we trust him?” Niccoló asks.

Matteo’s reply is sharp and tired all at once. “Who can we really trust?”

No one answers because we all know the truth.

This war’s getting bloodier by the day. We can’t fight forever. Wars cost everyone money and men, and the risk of a government crackdown.

“Every hour we don’t end it… is one more hour Amara stays a target. So yeah, I vote we open channels with Vukan,” I say. “What do we have to lose?” But I know all too well what we can lose. We can lose our loved ones, everything we own, and all the power we wield.

But if it goes according to plan, we’ll have the winning hand. It’s risky, but we’re out of options.

Vukan had better honor his word.

Because I will not let our enemies get close to Amara again.

And I’ll scorch the earth before I let them take what’s mine.

I return home filledwith hope-or a semblance of it, but then again, they say hope springs eternal, and perhaps it does.

I don’t know if it’s the winds of war or the fact that I can’t deny how I feel for another second. Because when I walk in the house and see Amara’s face, the only thing on my mind is burying my face in her tight pussy and fucking her into oblivion.

All my anger and hate are channeled into loving her, the essence of her, her pouty mouth, her brilliant smile, and her fiery retorts.

She’s dressed in a cable knit sweater dress. Her breasts look a bit larger, and she has a glow about her that I can’t deny.

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