Page 25 of Vows of Betrayal

As soon as he laid the second baby beside the first—the first one quieted.

Instantly.

Carlo gazed over at me. “See? Magic.” He winked at me, and I shivered. I didn't feel bad about doing it.

Carlo was extremely hot. I bet he made dozens of women shiver like that every day. Giselle was one lucky woman.

“Didn't I tell you to stay the fuck away?” Stefan's voice cut short the little flirty moment I had with Carlo.

Carlo straightened and set his hands on his hips. “Do you really think I'm letting my wife travel to the city with my babies by herself?”

Stefan didn't have a response for that, it seemed.

Apparently, Carlo did. “You look like shit.”

I had to stifle a giggle. Carlo wasn't wrong, though. Stefan really did look terrible.

“Thanks. You can go now.” Stefan brushed him off with his hand.

There was a minute of silence in the room where nobody said a thing. Not even the babies.

“The girls are worried sick about you. So are we. Dani's been crying. She wants to know where her uncle Stefan is.”

Stefan swallowed but didn't say anything.

“I'm sorry how things went down. But you know damn well you'd have done the same thing.” He pointed at Stefan's chest. “But that is not my fault. That is—our—fault. And you know it. I thank God every night that you were there to take it instead of my wife. You gotta stop this shit between us. We're brothers. This is not how things are supposed to be.” Then he pointed at his two sons in the stroller. “Like them. See? They can't be without each other. I need my brother back.” Carlo's voice cracked at the end, and I decided I'd been eavesdropping for far too long. I turned around and rushed out of there.

As soon as I stepped out into the hall, I saw Giselle standing there, leaning against the wall. She looked up and waved me over.

I walked down the hall wondering why she was there and not inside with her family.

She grabbed my arm with her soft hand. “They need to talk this out. It's literally ripping me up inside.”

I bit my lip and turned more fully to her. “I'm sorry. I don't mean to intrude. This is a family matter. I really shouldn't be discussing this.”

Her eyes flashed to mine, and she pushed off the wall and hugged me.

“Yes, you should. Stefan cares for you. And that's reason enough.”

My body froze, and I said, “He does not. I'm just—” I started to explain, but she cut me off.

“I was here that night,” she whispered. “I came back in to ask Stefan something and I saw you two in bed.”

I gasped slightly and tried to push away from her. But she held me close. “You two were beautiful together. Stefan cares for you. I can tell. Evie and I are looking forward to bringing you into the fold.”

Into the fold? Into the fold? What the heck did she mean—into the fold?

“With all due respect, Giselle. Your fold seems to include gunshots and gunshot wounds to the chest. This is not the kind of fold I want or need.”

She let go of me and backed up against the wall again. “That wasn't Stefan's fault. It was mine. And it won't happen again. That threat is—” her eyes dropped down for a few seconds and then back up to me, “gone.”

The look on her face when she said “gone” was full of—relief?

And probably a dozen other things.

Even so, I didn't want to know. This was not my problem.

“I think you have the wrong idea here. I can see how you'd be mistaken. But this—” I pointed in the direction of Stefan's room, “is not what it seems.”

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