Page 69 of Vicious Vows

“Don’t leave the penthouse,” I warned.

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Milo will make sure the guards know not to believe a word you say.”

“That’s great.” She yanked her arm out of my hold.

“If you manipulate Ricardo into allowing you to leave, he won’t live to see tomorrow,” I said. “Keep that in mind before you do anything stupid.”

“Okay then.” Milo ushered Lissia to the door. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Lissia exited the office without saying anything else. That was a first.

Milo leaned against the wall. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me?” I motioned toward the door. “What about her?”

“You threatened to kill her father.” Milo lowered his voice. “How did you think she was going to react? Did you think she was going to sayokay, cool. Can I buy a new dress for the funeral?”

“Her father tried to kill us, then he had the balls to come into our place of business and demand she leave with him.” I unbuttoned my jacket, removed it, and tossed it on the chair. “And she doesn’t know which one of us is right?”

“Neither of you are right.” Milo shrugged. “If I’m being totally honest.”

“That’s funny coming from you.”

“We do what we have to do. We didn’t make the rules and we sure as fuck can’t change them, but you need to get your shit together.”

“But I chose to be with her.” I loosened my tie, trying to reduce the tension in my body. “That decision might haunt me for the rest of my life.”

“It’s going to be a very short life if we don’t figure out what our next move is and fast.”

“Get Lissia out of here. Make sure she’s secure at the penthouse and that everyone understands she can’t leave.”

“What are you going to do?”

“While I’m giving her the space she requested, I’ll oversee Juan’s next shipment.” My blood vessels constricted with fury over her walking out on me.

“I’ll get back as soon as I can.” Milo opened the door. “We have two huge buyers coming in this afternoon. One of us is going to have to sign off on them.”

“At least the car business isn’t suffering.” I sat behind the desk. “At this rate, Dad isn’t going to have much to come back to.”

“We’re going to be fine,” Milo said. “It’s business as usual with Juan. Once we fulfill our obligation with Lorenzo, things should settle down.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right.” He smirked. “That’s why you keep me around.”

As Milo left to handle Lissia, I leaned back in my chair and stared up at the ceiling. There had to be a way out of this. There was always a way out. It might not be the fastest path or the one that made the most sense, but there had to be an answer to this problem.

Complications arose in any business, and Lissia happened to be my biggest hurdle right now. Dread filled my soul because I knew what direction we were headed in. I had a job to do. A family to protect.

The hardest part of all of this? After doing that job, I would have to stare into her eyes with the knowledge that I had betrayed her in the worst possible way.

The burner phone rang, as if on cue. I cleared my throat and answered it.

“Hello,” I said.

“Marchello,” my father responded. “Do you know how relieved I am to hear your voice?”

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