Page 17 of Vicious Vows

“Don’t ignore the question,” she said.

“I was prepared to tell you how I ended up with Marchello.” I sipped my drink. “Can’t that be enough?”

“He took you out of the dealership at gunpoint. Is that true?”

“Kind of,” I said.

“What does that mean?”

“If Marchello hadn’t taken me that night, I might be married to Danny right now.”

“Don’t be dramatic.” She chugged her mimosa. “I wouldn’t have let that happen.”

“How were you going to stop it?”

She couldn’t have stopped it. I was convinced of that after my father betrayed me and sent Danny for me at the safe house. My father was determined to make this alliance happen, no matter the cost.

“Daddy isn’t going to listen to either of us. He’s bent on this deal with Danny, and I can’t go back. Danny will kill me or worse.” A chill ran down my spine at the things he threatened me with. “If he finds out I’ve been with Marchello, this isn’t going to end well for me.”

“I knew it.” She poured herself another drink. “You fell for his brooding eyes and dark personality.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Yes, it was.” She bit into a grape. “I did the same thing when I was your age.”

“No.” I gripped the base of my glass. “Marchello is nothing like Daddy.”

“Are you sure about that?” She set her glass down. “Oh, baby girl, what do you think Marchello is going to have to do to keep you safe? What do you think Nico is going to do to keep his son out of harm’s way?”

“I try not to think about that.”

The last time I tried to intervene, I put us all in danger. I had to let Marchello handle this situation now.

“You’re going to have to think about it, because a storm is coming. They are all going to fight with everything they have.”

“Maybe not.”

She reached across the bar and took my hand. “Either the man you love is going to kill your father or your father is going to kill the man you love.”

“The man I…love?”

“Don’t pretend you’re in denial.” She squeezed my hand. “You were determined from the moment you met him. I saw it in your eyes at the dealership that night. You saw what you wanted and you went for it. Now, you’re stuck between him and your family.”

“Dad put me in this position when he ordered me to marry a madman.” I let go of her. “He had to know I would act out.”

“I don’t think he thought you would run into the arms of his enemy.” She pressed her lips together. “He was distraught over that.”

“He didn’t try to negotiate for me. Instead, he started a mob war.” I waved my hands in front of me. “Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m on your side.”

“It doesn’t feel that way.” I held back my tears. I had been doing such a good job of suppressing the reality of the situation. “When Daddy said I had to marry Danny, I was on my own. When I tried to negotiate a truce, he sent Danny for me. When Danny took me into the woods, he threatened me, knocked me out…shot at me.”

The damp and musty smell of that disgusting cabin filled my mind, and my stomach retched. The dust and dirt on the furniture that I had slept on still made my skin crawl.

“I’m sorry. I never wanted any of this for you.” She patted my shoulder. “You’ve been through so much, and I wanted to be there for you, but you know how difficult your father can be. I broke down and he forced me back into his house. When I found out Danny had you, I got word to Marchello. That’s how he found you.”

“I know you’re in a tough spot, but I’ve made my choice. I don’t trust Daddy. He’ll hand me over to Danny the first chance he gets.”

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