Page 8 of His Violent Vow

“You wouldn’t understand,” she said with a hiss.

“Try me,”Angelo urged.

Kat stubbornly shook her head. Angelo gave her a thoughtful look and didn’t press her again. He didn’t need to, because soon enough he rose to his feet.

“My new bride and I will be retiring to our rooms, but please enjoy the rest of the evening. Champagne and food will never run out,” he announced.

Angelo offered Kat his hand. She stared at it for a few moments, then grasped it. There was no use delaying this moment any further.

Feeling dazed, Kat allowed Angelo to lead her past the chatting guests. They held the reception in the hotel’s scrawling gardens. Kat almost felt claustrophobic as they retuned inside the building.

Two of her husband’s bodyguards automatically flanked them. The four of them crowded in the elevator. Angelo fixed his handsome gaze on her. It was a little unnerving, and yet Kat remembered how empowered and wanted she felt the night before. Too bad everything had changed.

Damn him and his deception. Kat would never forgive him for that. This was all probably a game to him, wasn’t it?

Maybe he was the sort of bastard who enjoyed toying with a woman’s emotions. Perhaps he even got off on it. What kind of monster had she agreed to marry?

They stepped off the elevator. Angelo reserved the Presidential Suite for them. Her husband waved their guards away. Their room was at the end of the hall.

Kat noted there were only three suites on this floor. They would probably be occupied by Angelo’s trusted men. She had a feeling her husband was paranoid about security.

One of the doors nearby opened and a lean, dark-haired man emerged. Angelo stood in front of her. His entire body tensed and the two bodyguards behind them started drawing their guns. What was happening? Angelo was blocking her from whoever appeared, shielding her from harm.

“Who are you?” Angelo asked in a curt voice.

Curiosity won over Kat and she peered over her husband’s broad shoulder. She sucked in a breath. The dark-haired man clearly didn’t work for her husband, because he had a gun pointed at Angelo. An assassin, on the day of their wedding?

“Don Tomas Barbaro sends his regards, Angelo Vitale,” the assassin said with a smirk.“First, I’ll get rid of you, then your young wife.”

He fired and Kat screamed. Angelo grunted and she knew the bullet found its mark. Her husband whipped out something small and metallic hidden in his suit—a revolver.Angelo pulled the trigger before the assassin could pull off another shot. It hit the killer right in the chest. The killer’s gun went off, the bullet going astray. Thankfully, neither Kat or Angelo was hit.

Angelo fired again and this time, a small black hole appeared between the assassin’s eyes. The man toppled backward, the sight nearly comical. This was real, Kat thought a little nervously.

“Boss, I swear we had this floor secured,” said one of Angelo’s men.

“Clearly, something went wrong,” Angelo gritted out.

He turned and Kat glimpsed the icy expression on his face. She hadn’t seen this side of him the night before. This must be the mask he wore when he conducted business. The rage imprinted in his eyes frightened her a little. Angelo barked new orders. Finally, he noticed her standing to one side, trembling like a leaf. Her gaze slid to the corpse bleeding out on the expensive carpeting. Oh God. She wished this was all a figment of her imagination.

He gathered her close and Kat had no urge to push him away. Her fears about their first night together as husband and wife suddenly felt inconsequential and silly. Reality finally sunk in.

Kat’s heart thundered. She couldn’t believe it. One of Angelo’s enemies had sent an assassin after them. They could have died tonight. Angelo’s men checked the three rooms.

“Clear,” one of them announced.

“Tomorrow morning, I expect answers for this lapse in security. Tonight, I don’t want anyone bothering me,” Angelo said.

“Understood, Boss,” answered his underling.

Kat allowed Angelo to guide her to their room. She gripped his arm, not wanting to let go. How sad that she could only find solace in the man she hated. Angelo led her to the bed and they both sat.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” she whispered.

Kat assumed he would brush it off, that he would tell her to get over it, because this was Kat’s life now. Her father would do exactly that. Angelo did none of those things.

“My men made a mistake,” Angelo admitted.“But they’ll rectify it soon enough and find out what went wrong.”

Cold rage still blazed in his eyes and Kat didn’t know what possessed her to touch his cheek. He had stubble the night before but he’d shaved for today.

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