Page 7 of Fierce Vows

Rafe watches our interlude with a chuckle.Rounding the table, I take a seat on his thigh before stealing a crispy piece of bacon from his plate.A loud moan escapes me at the salty, smoky taste that swarms my tastebuds.

“You never make those sounds when I cook bacon for you,” Luca complains from the other side of the table, and I can’t help but laugh at his reaction.

“It’s because this isn’t store-bought bacon,” a woman replies as she enters the kitchen.

Dressed in a dark gray business suit, she cuts a formidable figure.Her dark hair is tied high on her head, a sleek ponytail hanging down her back.Her dark brown eyes are sharp as she takes in the three of us.

“You must be the chef,” Rafe says.“The food is delicious.”

“My sister is the chef, but I will pass along the compliment.”

Her posture is stiff, her lips a straight line as she stares at me.A moment of trepidation passes over me, awareness slinking along my spine before she bows her head.

“My name is Aurora.”Her gaze collides with mine before she continues.“I wish to pay my respects to the woman who killed my husband.”

Fuck!

I see Luca’s hand move toward the knife in the center of the table.Rafe has also adjusted beneath me, his hand resting on my thigh where I perpetually have a blade strapped.

“Which one was your husband?”I ask, my voice flat, never betraying an ounce of the fear that currently has me in a stranglehold.

Her smile is vicious, vindictive even.“The one who raped and beat me.”

We stare at each other, measuring each other up before I nod.“Have breakfast with us.”I gesture toward the seat beside Luca.

A different woman with similar features enters the room a split second later, placing a cup of steaming coffee in front of her sister before smiling at me and disappearing once more.I wait until both men relax a fraction before speaking to Aurora.

“Your husband was a rather high-rankingcapoin the Gallo Empire.Correct?”

“He was,” she confirms with a nod.

“And now that he is no longer in charge, what has become of you?”

She looks at Rafe from below her lashes.She is confident but she has been broken down so many times in the past, the perpetual fear of males is hard to hide.Will her words set him off?Will he hurt her if she speaks out of turn?I remember the feeling well, so I know where she is coming from.

“Don’t worry about him.My husband may be an impulsive asshole at the best of times, but he abhors violence against women and children.”

“I take offense to that,” he cuts in, pinching my thigh.

“Which part?”Luca asks with a grin.

“That she shouldn’t worry about me.If she intends to harm Willow, I will kill her.Morals be damned.”

Luca nods while Aurora watches us in shock.“I mean no harm to any member of the Gallo family.I want to help.”

This gets my husband’s attention.

“Help how?”

“When my husband died, all his businesses were left to my nephew, Eduardo Kinzali.But he doesn’t want them.He is more hands-on and prefers to be part of the action,” she explains.“My husband hid these businesses and many dealings from Don Armand.We don’t wish to proceed in this way.”

Rafe’s hand on my thigh tightens but I speak before he can say anything.

“Are there many businesses in Cyprus that are kept ‘hidden’ from the Don?”I ask using my fingers to make air quotes when I sayhidden.

“Yes,comare.”

I turn to Rafe for clarification on the word.“Godmother,” he says with a chuckle and an eye roll.

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