Page 16 of Devious Vows

Turning around, I pull my shirt over my shoulders, tossing the wet, bloody fabric onto the floor before grabbing a fresh one off of the counter. Leaning back, my arms cross over my chest, watching Donatello deliver another bone-crushing blow to Reggie’s side. He coughs up an alarming amount of blood, but Donatello doesn’t let up, sending a right hook into his jaw before he’s even done hacking. Donatello steps back, his eyes finding mine.

We both know he won’t live much longer, even if we stop now. His eyes rise to where my father sits in the upper loft, waiting for the okay to stop. When he doesn’t get one, Andrea and I share a look, my teeth grinding when Donatello is forced to lay another nasty hit on Reggie.

My father is quite the vindictive bastard and I know he won’t call it quits simply because he’s still mad that I dared to voice my opinion about Reggie during their meeting. As if I haven’t earned the right to have a say in any Famiglia business yet.

Biting my cheek, I watch Reggie’s head snap back, if possible, more teeth falling to the floor. There’s a loud wheezing coming from his direction, a puddle of blood gathering at the legs of his chair, pooling around his booted feet. Andrea and I share another look, my feet moving forward at the next hit from Donatello. My hand grabs his arm before it makes another swing, stopping him. Donatello’s face snaps my way, slowly lowering his hand at the look on my face.

“I didn’t tell him to stop, Remy.”

My eyes seek my father’s. “He’s had enough, Capo Famiglia. He’s earned his chance to live.”

Smoke billows from his cigar, his foot lightly tapping as he looks down at me from the loft. “I wondered when you’d speak up.” He snubs out his smoke, his movements lazy, unbothered. “You had so much to say the other night.”

Biting my cheek to keep from saying anything that would put myself or the others into more hot water, I watch as he rises, buttoning up the front of his suit jacket. “Maybe it’s my fault,” he starts, taking his time walking down the stairs, his polished shoes lightly tapping on the cement flooring as he walks nearer to me. “Maybe I’ve gotten too lenient in my old age.”

Schooling my face I feel my stomach drop, hands clenching so tightly I can feel blood dripping from the open wounds on my knuckles. Donatello moves back, out of view, as my father stops before me, a small wave of his fingers bringing forward a redheaded woman, tied and gagged, tears streaking her cheeks as she’s dragged to sit next to Reggie. My heart pounds in my ears, teeth biting the inside of my cheeks until I taste the metallic tang of blood.

My father’s eyes meet mine, the amused arch of his brow making my hands tremble with rage. “Shoot them.”

With a hard swallow, I pull my handgun from the back of my waistband, pulling the trigger without letting myself think. Moving like the mindless drone my father wants all of his men to be.

Crack. Crack.

The gunshots ricochet around the warehouse walls, echoing in the following silence. My jaw clenches as I put it away, eyes on my father instead of Reggie or his woman sagging in their chairs.

His voice is indifferent to the scene, cold. “Your time will come to make the decisions. But it isn’t now.” He flicks his fingers at me with a slight twist of his lips. “Now, go. You’ve done enough.”

Leaning against my car, I wait outside for Donatello and Andrea. My father didn’t dismiss them like he had me, and they had the unfortunate duty of body cleanup. Pulling a cigarette out, I light it while eyeing Delaney through the living room window. She’s talking to someone but I’m not sure who.

“Stressful morning?” My eyes snap over to Bev as she heads my way, heart thumping at the husky sound of her voice.

I love the sound of her voice.

Blowing smoke into the sky, I smile at her, crushing the cigarette against the side of my SUV before stuffing it in my pocket. “Something like that.”

She’s wearing my favorite pair of denim cutoffs, no doubt by accident, and a cropped hoodie. Her long, dark hair is wild around her face as if she let it air-dry. Ignoring the look she gives me, I scoop her up and plop her on the hood of my car, gaze dropping to look at the freckles on her cheeks darkened by the summer sun.

She tries to scoot back so we aren’t flush, but I pull her back to me, running my palms up her thighs. “Isn’t it a little early to be busting knuckles?” she asks after giving up on getting away, snatching my hand to look at the new marks left from my brass knuckles. Her brows dip down as she lightly runs a finger over them, seeing the fresh blood through the bandages.

Running my thumb over her hand before she lets it drop, her eyes find mine. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

My gaze drops to her lips, and I watch as her bottom one slips through her teeth. Instead of cupping her face and pushing my fingers into the silky dark strands of her hair, I pull out another smoke. Stepping back, I light it, watching her legs lightly kick where she stays seated.

“Sometimes it’s good to talk about things—”

“Drop it, Beverly,” I bite out, interrupting her, the look on her face immediately making me regret it. “Shit, Bev.” I snub out my smoke, watching her shift to jump down from the car hood. I reach for her, but her hand knocks mine aside.

“No.” She smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s fine, Remy. You said you didn’t want to talk about it, I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

Jumping down, she starts to walk away from me, but I grab her arm, tugging her back. Her hazel eyes look blue in the sunlight as they find my face. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

I feel her loosen beneath my hand, her mouth softening, accepting my apology. “No, you shouldn’t have.”

Chuckling at her, I lightly pull her to me, pressing a kiss to her hair. “My meeting is about to start,” I say, hearing a car pulling in. My thumb brushes over her lips at her frown, smiling when she lightly pushes my hand away.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she looks past me and at Donatello coming to a stop. “I guess that’s my cue to leave.”

I hum, watching as she turns for the house. “What are you doing later today?”

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