Page 86 of Brutal Vows

“Maybe we should wait a few more days,” I say.

Ermanno slips his arm around my waist and tugs me against his side. Emotions clog my throat when he weaves his massive, scarred, and tatted fingers through mine and brings them to his lips.

“There’s nothing wrong with your hands,gattina. You won’t dirty the baby,” he says.

“I know but—”

“You’re aware Nico is the father, right?” he rumbles.

“Yes, I’m aware, but—”

“You know his hands have done way worse than you could ever imagine?”

“That’s not the same!”

He nibbles on the base of my thumb and hums.

“How is it different?”

I clench my jaw and breathe through my nose as I search for the right words.

How do I explain to him how much of a mindfuck it is to torture a replica of yourself? Even though there’s no longer a tie between me and my twin, I’ve still known her my entire life. We still look alike. I still have memories of when she was good to me.

Even though I haven’t used violence since that initial punch, queasiness grips me every time I think about her strapped to the cold metal table with my IV lines in her arms. Drugging someone you thought you loved your entire life and coercing information from them against their will isn’t something a normal person would do.

It’s something a villain does.

Whatever gory, brutal things Ermanno and Nico did were never against their kin. My sins seem so much worse in comparison.

The elevator dings and the doors open, but Ermanno crowds me into the corner and blocks me away from the world with his bulk.

“Serenity’s brother killed their uncle for touching his wife. Do you think he’s too evil to meet his niece?”

I skim my hands up Ermanno’s front and curl my fingers into his lapels as I search his eyes.

“Uncle by blood or marriage?”

He sighs as understanding softens his expression. He cups the back of my head, highlighting the tightness of my braid, and tilts my chin up with a finger.

“It doesn’t matter,gattina. You can’t betray someone who has already turned their back on you, so you’re not evil.”

Despite the intensity in his eyes, doubt niggles at me. He digs his fingertips into my braid.

“You proved your love and devotion to a worthy family, and by getting the answers we needed, you protected the Russo family,” he says.

The guilt gripping my heart loosens. I inhale through my nose and enjoy his masculine scent. The new parents requested we forego strong fragrances, so he isn’t wearing his cologne. I like it. A lot.

“Nico trusted you to get those answers. He never once doubted you,” my big, muscular brute murmurs.

I trace his lapels to his collar and dip my fingers underneath, needing the skin to skin.

“Serenity adores you and sees you as her sister. No blood tie needed.” He trails his thumb across my cheek before dropping it down to my lips and rubbing along the seam. “She chose you as Perla’smadrina. She wouldn’t like you feeling guilty for protecting her newborn,” he rumbles.

I suck his digit into my mouth and give him a gentle bite.

His pupils expand, shrinking his grey irises as I flick my tongue over the tip of his thumb.

“Fuck, Loretta, be careful, or I’ll pin you against the wall and fuck you in the elevator,” he growls.

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