Page 117 of Relentless Oath

Ivan had killed Nico without a second thought, and he’d killed Matteo too. It was clear that he was trying to clear the playing field completely.

Even though Dario no longer wanted to be the head of his crime family, that didn’t mean that Ivan didn’t see him as a threat.

It was scary, but also expected. It was the world Dario had been born into.

Since the incident, he and Luis had done some digging. They found out that Ivan’s mother had an affair with Dario’s father. And that’s how she got pregnant with Ivan.

Being married at the time, she kept it a secret until Ivan found out when she confessed on her deathbed.

Ivan had grown up resenting his mother’s husband, who had always hated him. When he found out the truth, he came up with a plan to position himself to take what he felt was rightfully his.

Weaseling his way into Dario’s inner circle and learning more about the business and his brothers had been easy for him. It had all been perfect.

He’d hoped the brothers would eventually kill each other, leaving the empire to him. Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened.

He hadn’t counted on Matteo getting Nico out of prison. My presence had thrown a wrench into his plans, so he’d helped Matteo spread the rumors that Dario was no longer in control of his people.

He’d played both Matteo and Dario, feeding off their hatred for each other. And he had caused further confusion by trying to get me to hate Dario. He was the one who left the letter from Jason for me to find.

And now, according to Luis, Ivan had disappeared into the wind. No one knew where Ivan was.

I hoped he would stay hidden, but there was no guarantee that he would. It was scary to think that at any time, he might come back, but I knew we would be hard to find.

Dario was methodical and thorough in his approach to hiding us.

We had to trust each other to survive, and I found that I had learned to trust Dario completely.

It felt weird to say that, but I did. Now that I knew the truth behind Jason’s death, it was as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Every day seemed brighter. The unknown wasn’t so scary.

The baby was getting bigger, and I was due anytime now. I didn’t move around as much, because it was getting harder for me to walk.

The sciatica in my right leg was killing me, but besides that, I was happy.

I was happy waking up every morning next to a man that loved me. It felt weird still to think that way. I had been shocked when he said it.

He hadn’t said it again, and hadn’t pressured me to say it back, but sometimes I found myself staring at him when he wasn’t looking, wondering what it would feel like to not be so guarded.

I wondered what it would feel like to love him like he claimed to love me.

He was the brave one. I wasn’t too sure I could be as vulnerable.

I felt like I had more to lose, which was silly, but that’s how I felt.

It was morning, and I stretched as I sat up. He was next to me, reading a book.

I was surprised to see him in bed. He was a morning person, always up and about before I even had my daily orange juice.

“How are you feeling today?” he asked, not looking at me.

“Tired. Fat. Really fat.”

He smiled at me, putting the book down. “You’re not fat. You’re pregnant.”

“Same thing.”

He laughed. It was rare, and I always looked forward to it happening again. It made me feel warm inside.

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