Page 36 of Brutal Vows

My personal feelings are irrelevant. She’s mine, but that won’t stop me from protecting my family from her.

I pull up to the security guard post in front of her parking lot, reach into the backseat, and plop her purse into her lap. She takes it and pulls out whatever identification the pudgy old man needs. He looks between her and the card a few times before giving me a skeptical once-over.

“I never thought I’d see the day you brought a man home, Miss Loretta,” he says. “Isn’t your car already in the lot?”

With red staining her cheeks,mia gattinaleans over me and offers the old man a wicked smile, but by the tightness in her eyes, I know the man is about to be squashed under her dainty heel.

“Of course it is, Gary. I wouldn’t take that crappy thing to a bar, and I’m kind of insulted you think I’m that much of a cold-blooded bitch.”

“That isn’t what I meant, miss! I swear! With how often your sister brings men home, I thought… anyway, I’m sorry you feel insulted. It won’t happen again,” he stutters.

I slip my hand upmia gattina’staut back and cup her nape.

“I’d ask if you want me to take care of the geezer for you, but it seems you’ve got it handled all on your own,amore mio,” I growl.

The old man’s pupils shrink as he deciphers myverythinly veiled threat. Loretta shifts her gaze to mine.

Her ashen pallor and distant expression send alarm through me.

I guide her back into her seat, take her card from the guard, and park the car.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She shakes her head and rolls her shoulders as though she’s getting ready to spar.

“Nothing. Let’s get this over with,” she grumbles.

Not willing to push her further when the possibility of her hiding crucial information in her apartment could crumble our already rocky foundation, I exit the vehicle and open the trunk. She swings her purse onto her shoulder and waits by the hood while I yank the bags out.

Despite her awareness of her surroundings, she keeps her gaze trained on our path, staunchly ignoring me as she scansher key at the door. She leads me into the building, through the foyer, and to the elevator without so much as a glance.

We ride up to her floor in silence, but the guard’s words replay in my mind.

“I thought you said you don’t live with your sister,” I say as we exit the elevator.

Her shoulders rise and she spares me a glare out of the corner of her eye.

“I don’t.”

“Meaning?” I prod.

She sighs, stops in front of her door, and gestures across the hall.

“That’s her apartment. This is mine,” she says.

I quirk a brow.

Mia gattinais full of tricks. They may not be as vicious and deadly as her stepsister’s games, but she omits the truth well.

She didn’t lie when she said she doesn’t live with her twin, but she wasn’t fully honest, was she? Not once did she mention being neighbors. They share the same hall. The same workplace.

Her sister’s indifferent text messages hit harder with this new revelation.

Loretta scans her keycard and opens her door. A light clicks on, illuminating the foyer.

She swings the door wide and props it open with her back before gesturing inside.

I shake my head, grab her braid, and push her in front of me. She hisses and stumbles across the threshold.

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