Page 1 of His Violent Vow

Chapter One

“Come on, Kat. Get out of the car and stop moping. Let’s not waste a single moment,” Eve insisted.

Katharine “Kat” Marino reluctantly allowed her best friend to tug her out of the red Porsche. God, but she hated her new car, both the brand and the color.

Her father called the Porsche her engagement present. Of course Eve and her other friends cast envious looks the first time she used it.

The car was her father’s way of buying her off, as if a vehicle could make up for his latest betrayal, one she would never be able to forgive him for. Goes to show how little he knows his own daughter, Kat thought. Unlike her father and the men who worked for the Don, Kat never liked adverting her wealth or her family name.

Her father often remarked that Kat took after her quiet and gentle-natured mother. A mother she had never known, because she died when Kat was three. It didn’t take long for Kat to figure out that her mother didn’t die from cancer. Death was commonplace when one was associated with the Marino Familia.

Privately, Kat always knew her father was disappointed he had a daughter and not a son. A son could learn the ropes of the family business and carry on the Marino family name. A daughter was only good for being used a bargaining chip to seal an alliance.

Eve had to literally drag her toward the club. She didn’t want to be here at all but Eve and her other friends took the trouble to arrange a last-minute celebration for Kat tonight.

Hellfire was a recently opened club in the city, hard to get into, according to Eve. Kat ought to be thankful, according to Eve, because she knew one of the bouncers.

Eve pulled her past a long line of unhappy people. The huge and inked bouncer at the front gave Eve’s scantily-clad body an approving nod. He barely gave Kat a second look, which was fine by her. Being Max Marino’s daughter taught her early in life that Kat preferred to be invisible.

They were soon allowed in. Loud electronic dance music assailed her ears. Eve and she had to push their way through a throng of people. Kat immediately became claustrophobic. She preferred hanging out in cafes reading or taking long solitary walks at the local park. Kat immediately wanted to turn tail and head home. Eve must’ve noticed the look of discomfort she wore, because she gave Kat’s hand a tug.

“Gina and Marie reserved a table for us. There they are,” Eve said.

The other two young woman waved them over from a corner table, one that had an unobstructed view of the dance floor. Still feeling overwhelmed, Kat took a seat.

She didn’t miss the muscle-bound man hovering a few feet from them. A familiar face. Gina or Marie’s bodyguard? The only reason Kat didn’t have her own shadow tonight was because Eve had someone miraculously convince her father that Kat would be safe among friends.

Her circle of friends was naturally composed of other young women who were daughters of her father’s most trusted allies. Kat wasn’t particularly bothered by that fact. Eve and the others might be a little reckless and didn’t share the same interests at times, but they possessed good and loyal hearts.

“Kat, it’s your last night on earth as a single woman. Lighten up a little, we’re here to have fun,” Gina pointed out.

Eve volunteered to get Kat and herself drinks, and to top off Marie and Gina’s glasses.

“I hear your husband-to-be is to die for,” Marie pointed out.

She had a dreamy look on her face. Kat disagreed with her. Angelo Vitale, the man her father arranged her to marry, was a monster among men.

He’d gone from her father’s most reviled enemy to her fiancé in a span of a few weeks. Kat had never even met the man or known what he looked like. Sure, she had the internet and social media at her fingertips but Kat found the less she knew of her future husband, the better.

When Kat first heard about the arrangement, she stormed into her father’s office. Despite her quiet personality, Kat was not a doormat. She raged and insisted she would never marry a stranger, one who boasted a kill count even higher than her father. In the end, her father silenced her with a haunted and miserable look. The last time she’d seen him look so defeated was at her mother’s funeral.

“Just do this for me, Princess,” he had said and she melted like butter on a hot day.

The old bastard knew which words to use to pierce her right in the heart. He had not called her Princess in a long time, which said plenty for his unbalanced state of mind.

“I’ll go see if Eve needs help,” Kat said.

Gina and Marie continued gushing over her husband-to-be, ignoring her completely. It seemed Angelo Vitale had worked hard to present a pristine image to the press.

Kat had heard her father curse the young Don’s name so often, she knew his good-boy image was nothing but a facade. Angelo Vitale had been personally responsible for putting plenty of good men six-feet under, men who were loyal to her father. Some of them had wives and children, people to look out for. She couldn’t even begin to imagine standing next to that monster in a church, wearing an expensive designer wedding dress, surrounded by an audience who knew their marriage was a complete farce. A quick bandage on a grievous wound created by her father.

Kat finally spotted Eve at the bar, unsurprised to see her flirting with the handsome bartender. Kat was about to offer to take Eve’s tray of drinks to their table, when she bumped into a stranger by accident.

“Sorry,” Kat blurted unthinkingly.

“There’s no need to apologize,” came a smooth and deep voice.

Kat looked up. It must be the effect of the lights or the loud music, but Kat was momentarily mesmerized by the gorgeous behemoth standing before her. He had short coal-black hair and sharp green eyes. He also had a well-muscled body under his well-tailored suit that must have cost a pretty penny.

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