Page 22 of His Violent Vow

Kat had been admitted and was now in a private room. They didn’t need to wait long for a doctor to check on her. Every staff in that hospital knew who Angelo was, and they were given VIP treatment. Angelo expected nothing less.

“Look’s like this baby’s not going to wait,” Dr. Adams said.

The next thing Angelo knew, they were in the delivery room. Kat asked him for ice chips and he brought them to her. Whatever his wife wanted at that moment, she had it. Angelo refused to leave her side even when the delivery started. Kat grasped his hand the entire time. Her labor lasted for fifteen hours.

Dr. Adams bundled a brawling pink baby in a blue blanket and handed the baby to Kat. Angelo and Kat looked down at their son. Their boy had inherited Kat’s chestnut-brown hair and Angelo’s green eyes. He was quite the stunner.

“He’s going to break hearts one day,” Angelo said.

A surge of unexplainable warmth filled his chest as the boy turned his tiny eyes at him. The baby let out a gurgle that sounded like a laugh. Delighted, Angelo leaned forward and kissed the top of his son’s head. He knew in that moment that he’d do anything for Kat and their baby boy. He’d slit the throats of anyone who so much as harmed a single hair on their heads.

Since he murdered Tomas Barbaro in cold blood, no one had been foolish enough to try to off Angelo and those he cared about. In the end, the Barbaro Familia had ceased to exist. Dust in the wind.

Some mafioso considered having a family weak, but Angelo believed in the exact opposite. Because he had more to lose, Angelo simply had to work twice as hard and be more vicious, so no one could take what he loved from him.

“Have you two decided on a name?” Dr. Adams asked.

“Yes, we’ll name him Enzo, after Angelo’s adopted father,” Kat said.

“Welcome to the world, Enzo,” Angelo told his son.

Epilogue

One Year Later

“We’re here, sir,” said Angelo’s driver.

Angelo opened his eyes, relieved to see the familiar sight of his home and grounds. He opened the car door and stepped out. For a moment, he enjoyed the remaining sun on his face.

Pretty soon, inky darkness would cover the heavens. Angelo had been in back-to-back meetings all day and that last one ended spectacularly in a mess.

Angelo loosened his tie and his fingers came away with blood. Not his, of course, but the sight of his favorite tie drenched in crimson irritated him. There were more splatters on his suit jacket and he sneered.

Angelo entered his home in a foul mood. Some of his men, including Theo, were in residence but they must’ve sensed his anger, because none approached him. Even members of his staff avoided him, save for good old Maria. The elderly housekeeper didn’t seem concerned Angelo looked like he came from a bloodbath.

“Shall I have the bath prepared?” Maria asked him.

“I want to see my wife and son first. Where are they?” Angelo asked.

Maria gave him a once-over. Judging by her disapproving look, she clearly preferred Angelo clean up first. He forgave the old woman for sometimes forgetting he was the master of the house, simply because she worked there most of her life. Most likely, she would spend her last moments in this house as well and her loyalty couldn’t be bought.

“In the garden,” Maria said with a sigh.

“Thank you,” he said, giving her arm a squeeze.

She made a tut-tut sound under her breath.“And yes, get the bath ready,”Angelo added.

Maybe he could convince Kat to join him. God knew the two of them could use some alone time. Since Enzo was born a year ago, Angelo had decided to prioritize his family over his business.

He stepped away from the limelight for a time, but some matters, his trusted lieutenants couldn’t handle alone, so Angelo had to take care of them himself—like the meeting with that upstart Don a few hours ago that ended in a massacre.

Angelo entered the living room and saw the double doors leading to the garden had been left open. He exited the house, stepping into the lustrous gardens. When he learned Kat loved this part of the house the most, he paid his landscaper extra to transform the garden into whatever Kat wanted.

Thus, a portion of the backyard was now a vegetable garden, much to Kat’s delight. She loved the rosebushes, so Angelo left them untouched. He found her seated at her favorite spot, past the fountain and at a bench next to an old oak tree.

Angelo remembered that late afternoon eons ago, when he found her sleeping in that exact place. She had been terrified of telling him the news that she was pregnant, because a murderer wanted them all dead.

In the present, Enzo sat on Kat’s lap, dressed adorably in a denim jumper and white shirt. Kat was reading him a book. It was rare to see their son so well-behaved. Little Enzo turned out to be a little hellion. Kat argued it was because her father spoiled his grandson too much. Angelo considered it harmless. Ever since Enzo was born, Aldo Marino had seemed to mellow out a little, and even became a little more bearable.

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