Page 98 of Savage Vows
I reach out to every resource I have—guys who owe me favors, club managers, even a few cops willing to talk for the right price. I text Liam, telling him I need help tracking down Julianne, no questions asked. I even call in Bella, figuring Adriana needs someone she’ll actually listen to right now.
When Bella shows up, she stands in the doorway, confused and out of breath. “You wanted me here?”
I nod toward Adriana, who’s curled up on the edge of the couch, phone pressed to her ear, staring out the window. “Just…do your thing. Distract her. Keep her talking.”
Bella gives me a look as she steps into the living room. “You really don’t know how to ask for help, do you?”
I gesture at Adriana, who barely registers us. “Just—try, will you?”
Bella rolls her eyes and goes to sit beside Adriana, gently pulling her into conversation.
Hours crawl by with no news. The apartment feels tight, every clock tick too loud. I check my phone every minute. Nothing.
Then, just as dawn starts to lighten the sky, Liam calls. My pulse jumps.
“I’m downstairs,” he says. “I’ve got something. You’re going to want to hear this in person.”
I’m already moving, grabbing my keys. “I’m coming.”
Liam stands awkwardly by the curb, not meeting my eyes. I’m about to ask what’s going on when the back window of a sleek black car rolls down. My father’s face appears, cold and imperious.
“Get in,” he orders.
For a moment, I consider refusing, but that old reflex is hard to kill. Even now, after everything, I find myself doing what he says. I slide into the back seat. Liam joins me, his jaw set, eyes forward.
We pull away from the curb. My father doesn’t waste time.
“I have information about Julianne Petrova,” he says, voice clipped. “About where the little whore is hiding.”
I bristle but force myself to keep calm. “She might be in danger,” I say. “This is bigger than you think.”
He shoots me a look of pure disdain. “When did you turn into this man, Dante? I raised you for war, not for chasing after lost girls and soft causes.”
A bitter laugh builds in my chest. “Maybe you should ask yourself what you really raised.”
He ignores me, fingers tapping on the armrest. “You don’t even remember, do you?” He looks at me like I’m something he regrets. “Julianne. You saw her at that party, two years ago. You said you wanted her. You kept looking at her. I thought—why not give my son a gift worthy of the Volkov name? And what better way to humiliate the Petrov family than to practically make them beg to take my son as their daughter’s husband, the same family they made an outcast years ago.”
My father leans forward, his voice cool and satisfied, like he’s already won. “I know where Julianne is. If you don’t get to her soon, she’ll be dead. She’s gotten herself in deep, and it’s only a matter of time.”
My hands curl into fists. “Where is she?”
He smiles, almost kindly, which makes it worse. “I’ll only tell you on one condition. You let Adriana go. You divorce her, send her back to her family, and end this embarrassment. I’ll handle her future. You’ll walk away and do what’s expected of you. You have no other choice.”
My whole body goes cold. I can barely breathe past the anger rising in my chest. Adriana’s face flickers in my mind, every stubborn, brave moment, every quiet laugh. The thought ofletting her go, letting my father have any say over her fate, is unbearable.
“No,” I say, my voice flat and final.
His jaw tightens. “You’re making a mistake. You have to make a decision, Dante. Right now. Your wife, or your pride. You can’t have both.”
My father waits, letting the threat settle in the silence. I don’t look at him, but I feel the weight of his stare.
I shake my head. “You don’t get to make this choice for me.”
He leans in, voice low and cold. “If you walk away from this, Julianne will die and your wife will never recover. That’s not a threat. That’s just the reality of what you’ve built around yourself, son. You can’t save everyone, and you can’t have it all.”
Liam sits tense beside me, eyes darting between us, waiting to see what I’ll do. For a second, I feel the old fear in my chest, the same fear I had as a kid, but it’s gone as fast as it came. I think of Adriana’s stubbornness, the way she never backs down even when she should. Maybe I finally understand her.
I turn and meet my father’s eyes. “If anything happens to Julianne, you’ll never see me again. You’ll lose your son, and you’ll lose everything that goes with him. Do you understand?”
