Page 29 of Cruelest Vow

While he stiffened, he took several steps forward, stopping short just inside the door. When he spoke, I smelled whiskey on his breath, his drink of choice. “I’m also taking over the business in New York since you’ll be chained to your duties as wife and mother to be.”

The dangling, perfect carrot. Or perhaps I should say carat. My brother adored New York, serving as a playboy more than once. If he took over my beloved world, he’d fashion himself king of the world.

“Fuck you!” I spat. “Over my dead body.”

The glee in his eyes almost pushed me to doing something I’d eventually regret. “That too can be arranged. Be careful, big sis. You mean nothing to this family other than creating spawn. You better hope you have a son, or your worth will dwindle into the sewer. It would be a terrible thing for you to be sold at auction, although a former mafia princess would bring a significant amount of cash.” As he walked out casually, shoving his hands in his pockets, I blinked away tears, a cold shiver tumbling through me.

Then I strengthened my resolve. Blood wasn’t thicker than water. He would soon learn that my power was a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Another icy chill hit me the second I walked into my apartment. I pulled the Beretta I kept in my purse into my hand, flipping off the safety and scanning my living room as I listened for any indication of an intruder. I’d learned a long time ago to follow my instinct. Every single time I’d shoved the nagging voice aside I’d been sorry.

While I’d hated it at the time, my father had forced me to learn weaponry skills, requiring me to take defensive classes. The school I’d been sent to as a teenager had provided opportunities few my age had ever been given. I’d had my share of bumps and bruises, the instructors brutal, but I’d learned to protect myself and become an expert marksman.

I closed the door with a soft click, engaging the locks then moving in stealth-like formation through my apartment. There were no outward signs of any intrusion but the strange, almost sickening feeling that my private space had been invaded remained. I moved methodically, checking every closet and possible hiding place, finding nothing out of place.

After taking a deep breath, I noticed the bedroom door was slightly cracked. Had I left it that way? I never closed the door even at night for fear someone would gain an advantage. I pushed it open slowly, pointing my weapon at chest level. There were no gunshots, no assassins jumping out to kidnap me or worse.

Just quiet.

I moved further inside, allowing my eyes to take in every corner of the room. My bed was still unmade, the nightgown I’d worn crumpled on the comforter. I shook my head, convinced the interaction with my brother had given me the creeps. He’d never threatened me before, at least not to that degree. The sudden marriage arrangement along with Enzo’s arrival smelled of trouble.

Anger replaced apprehension and I eased the weapon onto my dresser, kicking off my heels. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater, heading into the bathroom to change. I was definitely opening a bottle of wine. Maybe two if I happened to get frisky. After undressing and dumping my blouse and skirt into the hamper, I reached for my washcloth and towel to scrub the makeup from my face.

The towel was damp, unusually so. Normally, by the time I returned in the evenings, my towel was completely dry. Granted, the humidity was high given the storm, but there was no way it should still be as damp as it was. Another chill skittered down my spine. I pulled the thick cotton to my nose, immediately tensing.

It smelled of musk and testosterone.

I wasn’t the kind of woman to panic under almost any circumstances, but the thought of someone being inside my apartment frightened the hell out of me. Had someone broken inside and taken a shower? That was ridiculous. Who would do that?

Laughing nervously, I tossed it on top of the hamper then glanced at the shower door. A lump formed in my throat as I pulled open the thick glass panel, peering inside. I had to be wrong. Everything seemed exactly as I’d left it. I threw another look at the towel, ready to close the door when water suddenly began to trickle from the showerhead, which it usually did twenty minutes or so after I’d taken a shower.

Then a spot on the front tile caught my eye.

I stepped inside, shifting the showerhead then raking my index finger though the red blotch. The second I pulled my hand to my nose, I grimaced. Blood. I’d shaved that morning, but given the location on the tile, I couldn’t imagine I’d splashed that far up from the corner bench.

Backing out, I pulled the towel to my face again, inhaling deeply.

Fucking Enzo. I’d bet money the bastard had broken into my apartment to snoop prior to dropping by my office. Goddamn it. While no one in my family had a key, that wouldn’t stop my brother from entering, his training including picking locks.

I was furious but confronting him would only make his visit that much more difficult.

What I needed to do was find the real reason behind his visit and it only had but so much to do with his attempt at claiming my CEO position.

What was my father really up to?

* * *

D’Artagnan

As she held the towel against her nose a second time, my balls began to ache. She was pacing the bathroom floor in front of the door, which was another indication she was furious. I hadn’t attempted to hide the fact I’d been inside her apartment. Perhaps I wanted her to question whether someone was watching her. I had no answer for the risk I’d placed myself in other than the obvious.

I wanted the woman, the cravings more intense as every hour passed. As she moved from room to room, going about the business of her evening, I remained where I was behind a console of screens, studying everything about her that I hadn’t learned from typical research. She’d changed into jeans and a tight-fitting sweater, which better suited her personality.

She’d been a tomboy of sorts years before, preferring to spend time around the horses than the piano lessons she’d been forced to take. While I shouldn’t feel sorry for her, the fact she’d been groomed since the day she was born had placed a heavy burden on her shoulders. She’d fought the strict regulations imposed by her father valiantly, but there was no escaping who or what she was.

A tool to be used to her father’s benefit.

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