Page 25 of The Vow

“We’ve added you to the list, your name’s down on the charter-”

Carmelo groaned. This was him kissing goodbye to his hopes of making Police Chief at fifty. Armenian Mafia wifey, officially a member of an MC… this was already way out of his control, even backing out of the wedding seemed like it couldn’t reverse what was already in motion.

“The guys have seen me getting changed down at the precinct, we have showers there and stuff, they know I don’t have a tattoo on my back, Colt.”

“I know, I told Jovan it wasn’t on your back, remember? Dane will do a small one, somewhere where the sun don’t shine.”

“Brilliant,” Carmelo replied sarcastically. “Where?”

“Below your boxers. Your coccyx I reckon will be best for it.”

“My… fuck, isn’t that going to hurt? It’s all bone.”

“Yeah. You can take it, brother,” Colt said with a wink.

Carmelo blew out a long, low whistle. “So that’s what Dane is coming to do tonight, is it?”

“Yeah. Maybe a few others if you want, to make it seem more authentic?”

“Fucking hell. I’m not getting any more tattoos—the boys would notice, remember, I can’t just suddenly ball in all tatted up-”

“The Armenian men all have this tattoo, you might need to get that at some point, too, like a skull, with roses growing around it, and then the coat of arms of something, an eagle and a lion-”

Carmelo pursed his lips. “This just gets better and better, a mafia wife, a few gang tattoos-”

“It’s pretty badass, it’s an alright tattoo.” Colt shrugged, not thrown by Carmelo’s tone.

“So, what’s next, buddy, with Little Miss Mafia Princess?” Colt asked, settling himself down into a leather chair in the bar area, next to Carmelo.

“She’s… fuck she’s part of the Zakarian Syndicate, you know? She’s a blood sucking criminal like the rest of them-”

“She’s going to be in charge soon enough, Jovan wants to step away, he’s getting old and ill.”

“That doesn’t make it better, if anything, it makes it worse, she’s… part of the problem, you know? The problem I swore, as a cop, to fight. Crime, injustice… I can’t see my way ahead with this.”

Colt pursed his lips thoughtfully. “People do what they do because at some point, they had no choice. Her family came over from Armenia with literally nothing. They built something-”

“From the hard work of others, by intimidation, lying, stealing-”

“When you’ve got kids to feed and put a roof over, any morals or doing what you feel is right goes out the window, buddy-”

“I took an oath to serve society, Colt! They get guns from Afghanistan, Colt, they distribute them illegally-”

“We are the ones who do the deliveries, I know,” Colt said, flatly.

“They control the drug supply-”

“Yeah, rather them than the Mexican Demonios.”

“I swore to protect against violence, against oppression… there’s the racketeering, illegal gambling, robbery, extortion-”

“Carmelo, buddy, Jovan and his family and the hundred fifty others or so that make up the Zakarian Syndicate, they came to America and were immediately treated like shit. They were the victims of other gangs, they had people jeering at their accents, their names, theirforeignness. They stuck together to protect themselves, to defend themselves, to claim back a little bit of what was theirs. And they’ve turned it into a highly organized, sophisticated brotherhood, and she is going to be the leader of that brotherhood. That doesn’t happen often brother, let me tell you. That her father is comfortable leaving her to run things, that the rest of them are comfortable to follow her… that says a lot about her character. You want to fight for a better world? She does, too. You want equality, liberty, justice? I’d bet my bottom dollar she does, too. She’s strong, she commands respect, she’s brave, she doesn’t put up with shit, so you better fix up…”

“I took an oath… I said I’d keep my private life unsullied-” Carmelo’s voice trailed off, sounding more like a teenager moaning now.

“No offense, buddy, but your private life is very much ‘sullied’ by all the fun you’ve had in the past in this very room…” Colt threw him a crooked smile.

“Anyway, no offense buddy but she can’t be held accountable for all the stuff her family has ever done. We can’t choose our family, right?”

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