Page 17 of His Violent Vow

Theo had been immediately taken in for surgery. Kat had also been wheeled away to another room, so her stab wound and cuts could be tended to. That left Angelo alone in the waiting room. Well, he was never truly alone. Two of his men lingered on the same floor while two more waited outside, watching for potential enemies.

Angelo thought he would feel anxious, terrified for Theo who had taken a bullet to the gut and anxious for Kat, who had been through a lot tonight. Instead, a single emotion boiled inside him—wrath. Angelo had not felt this angry in a long time. He thought Tomas Barbaro would’ve learned his lesson after Angelo sent some of his men to mess with two of Tomas’s crews and steal some of his product.

In the end, that hadn’t been enough. It had become increasingly clear to Angelo that something permanent had to be done. Tonight, Tomas Barbaro just bumped himself to the top of Angelo’s kill list. Tomas didn’t know yet what an honor that was.

“Boss, here’s your coffee,” one of his men said. He approached him with the bitter-tasting liquid from one of the vending machines.

Angelo accepted the steaming beverage. It tasted like shit, but Angelo welcomed the caffeine. He had a feeling it would be a long night but he would entertain himself by planning Tomas Barbaro’s death. Angelo certainly wouldn’t make it easy. That bastard would die screaming.

****

“Will you be all right on your own?” Angelo asked Kat.

They were back at home, which was a relief because Angelo didn’t need to constantly watch for every shadow. After finding Kat in that bathroom, he became a little paranoid, certain another assassin would try for her life again.

It was illogical of course. Hiring those two professionals must’ve cost Tomas a pretty penny. Word of their failure had probably reached the asshole by now. Tomas had failed. That asshole should be ashamed of himself.

Angelo gently took Kat’s hands in his. Fury filled him at the sight of her bandaged shoulder and arms. The doctor assured him that the scars could be taken care of with surgery. They wouldn’t be permanent. In the first place, Kat shouldn’t have gotten hurt at all. Angelo started thinking of all the creative ways he could make Tomas Barbaro scream.

Fantasies were nice and all but Angelo had one immediate problem. He needed direct access to Tomas and that would prove difficult. For all of Tomas’s faults, the other Don was extra paranoid when it came to his personal security.

Hiring a hitman to take Tomas out seemed like the easiest solution. Angelo had access to killers who wouldn’t make the same mistakes Tomas’s assassins did, but it seemed a little too practical. After everything Tomas did, Angelo wanted to get his own hands messy.

Kat pressed forward and kissed him out of the blue. Angelo blinked at her, momentarily surprised. By rights, Kat should be angry at him after last night. The kindness and understanding in her eyes threw him off a little. She didn’t blame him for getting hurt last night. What had Angelo done to deserve such an angel?

“You’re probably blaming yourself for the incident last night. Don’t,” Kat warned him.“I have all my hands and fingers and I’m alive. Theo’s not dead either, thank God. I consider that a win.”

“You got hurt. That’s unforgivable,” Angelo said through gritted teeth.

“I’m your wife. That’s part of the job description, isn’t it?” She smiled up at him. Angelo couldn’t believe Kat was trying to make light of this dire situation.

Sudden warmth flooded his system. Hard to imagine he’d hold this much affection, this much tenderness for a woman who began as a stranger, a bargaining chip.

Love. Angelo thought he would never understand that word but this woman had changed him in profound ways he still didn’t quite understand. His predecessor liked to say love made one weak but Angelo didn’t think so. In fact, it was the exact opposite. When a man knew he had something precious to lose, he wasn’t afraid to do whatever it took to protect his treasure.

“I’ll be fine by myself, Husband,” Kat answered his first question.“I have the entire house to myself and I’ve seen the security detail. Isn’t it a little over the top?”

Angelo ignored her last question. Kat still didn’t understand that losing her would destroy him. The damage would be irreversible.

“You’ll stay put and rest today?” It wasn’t a question. Only a fool would attack her in his own stronghold.

“I will.” Kat leaned in and Angelo thought she’d kiss him again. Instead, she only said,“Give them hell, Husband.”

“Of course, Wife,” Angelo said with a smile. He took a few moments to admire the bloodthirstiness in her look.

Once again, he detested leaving her on her own, but Angelo had a murder to plan. So he took her downstairs, they had breakfast together, and kissed her goodbye. He did enjoy their moments of normalcy and domestic bliss more than he would ever care to admit.

Back in his office, Angelo was in a foul mood. Even his personal assistant and the rest of his staff sensed it, so they mostly left him alone. Theo was still at the hospital. He would recover but that would take time. Angelo drummed his fingers impatiently on his desk. He couldn’t focus on any of his work tasks. Dealing with Tomas had become Angelo’s number one priority.

Before he knew it, lunchtime rolled around. Before he could ring up his PA to get him lunch, his cell phone rang. It was Leo, one of his lieutenants.

“Sorry to disturb you, Boss, but one of Tomas Barbaro’s men just dropped by our office. He has a message for you.”

“What is it?” Angelo asked, surprised Tomas made such a bold move after attempting to murder his wife just hours ago.

“Don Barbaro wants to schedule an impromptu meeting today. I told the messenger that wasn’t possible but we’d get back to him after hearing from you,” Leo reported.

Tomas wanted to see him today? The fates must be kind to intervene because that very morning, Angelo had been trying to figure out a way to get close to the gutsy little bastard.

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