Page 34 of Vicious Vows

“Do what? Help the man I…” I sighed. “Care about.”

“What is it you think I can do for him?”

“Do you know anything about his father’s situation?”

I shouldn’t be doing this, but I wanted to have a future with Marchello, and we couldn’t do that with all of these demons hanging over our heads.

“I know enough,” Lorenzo said. “It probably isn’t something you should get yourself involved with.”

“What if I can’t stop myself?”

The urge to help Marchello was my way of trying to protect him. If he expected me to accept who he was, shouldn’t he do the same for me?

“I’ll make you a deal.” He held out his hand and helped me off the barstool. “If Marchello comes to me and asks for my help, I’ll do what I can as a favor to you.”

“He won’t ask for your help.” That was the whole reason I was asking on Marchello’s behalf.

Lorenzo guided me toward the elevators. “Then maybe he doesn’t need it,bonita.”

He used to call meprettywhen we were kids. The endearment still created the same thrill within me.

“I’m going to give you some advice about a man like Marchello.” He swiped his keycard on the panel by the elevator doors.

Why did I have a feeling I wasn’t going to like what he was going to tell me?

“He doesn’t want your help. You have to respect that.”

“I’m trying, but you know how difficult it is for me to follow the rules.”

“This time you’re going to have to.” He ushered me into the spacious glass elevator when the doors opened. His two guards followed and stood silently in front of us. “Trust me.”

“I’m never going to understand any of you.”

“I think you understand us better than most women.”

“Maybe that’s a curse.” I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the advice.”

Even if it sucked.

“Hey, I tried texting you last night, but I must have an old number.”

“No.” I laughed. I was going to have plenty of texts to sort through if I ever got my phone back. “It’s the same number.”

“Why didn’t you text me back?” He pressed his keycard against the reader and entered a code into a keypad. “Should I be offended?”

“I don’t have a phone.”

“That can’t be right.”

You’re telling me.

“I had an accident. It kind of fell in a river.”

“How did that happen?” he asked.

“It’s a long story.”

* * *

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