Page 24 of My Solemn Vow
My entire body screams at me.I shouldn’t do this. This is wrong.
Before he can stop me, I have the muzzle pressed into his chest.
The violence has to stop somewhere.
“I’m calling the truce.”
“Antonella.” He draws my name out in warning but takes a step back from me and the gun rather than trying to snatch it out of my hands.
Berto has seen me shoot. He knows I’m not afraid to pull the trigger when I need to.
He lifts his hands, not in surrender, but on instinct, as one should when faced with a gun.
“Let me take the girl. No one will know you tried to stop this. It’s not too late to be less of a disgrace.”
“Call Gregorio.” I keep my voice level. “I’m calling the truce.”
“You’re making a mistake.” He shakes his head. “They killed three of our men this week alone. It’s a child. It’s nothing,” he says, trying to peddle his rhetoric like some sort of shady market merchant, downplaying the negatives.
“Call Gregorio D’Medici.” I snap each word, further cementing my decision and the separation between us.
How can he be this way? I grew up with Berto. This isn’t him. It can’t be.My heart is beating faster than the ticking seconds of the clock.No, this might not be the Berto I thought I knew, but he’s still my family.
I talk as fast as I can without stumbling over my words. “Ifyou want to shoot me to get to her, then you better have an explanation for why you killed me in cold blood. Her grandparents are on their way to collect her. They’ll find me dead and her gone. When they figure out you took her, you’d have killed a D’Medici and taken a Cavanagh. It will be obvious what happened here.”
“You’re a coward,” Berto spits. “Too soft for this life. You’re lucky Sarena was a good fit for Nikolai. My father is ready to marry you off against your will. Maybe he’ll get his wish with your antics.”
I’ve never known Berto to be so cruel, not to me. Mean, sure, but today is a whole new low, even for him.
“Maybe so, but I’m the one with the gun. Make the call.”
Please, God, don’t let me be wrong. Let them love this child enough to spare her life and mine.
I draw deep breaths, locked in a staring contest with Berto.
He hangs his head and dials before holding the phone up to his ear.
My classroom door opens behind me, and Berto leers at her.
I reiterate my stance and move my finger to the gun’s safety, a threat Berto notices but Kerrianne can’t see.
Trying to be comforting even though my voice wavers, I softly say, “Go back inside, Kerrianne.”
She gasps. “You’re not supposed to know that name.”
“I know, but you’re gonna have to trust me that it’s okay.” I don’t dare turn to face her because it would give Berto my back. “Go back inside and close the door. Your grandparents are coming.”
The door closes behind me with a soft thud, and at the same time, Berto says, “We’ve a problem. Antonella is...” He runs his tongue across his teeth, pausing to give me one last chance before finally saying, “Antonella has called for the truce.”
I can’t hear my uncle on the phone, but I know whatever he’ssaying isn’t good. Especially when Berto says, “Yeah, she’s squeamish over the Cavanagh heir.”
I bite my tongue before I argue with him. Kerrianne is hardly someone he considers to be a legitimate heir. I want to yell, to smack him and remind him of that. He should be ashamed of himself for coming for a child like this.
Which is it, Berto? Are women heirs, or are we chattel to be married off? Am I a disgrace or a brave soldier?
But I don’t say it because I know the answer. Besides me with this gun right now, no woman in our life will ever be taken seriously.
My actions scream ‘women are weak’ and ‘women are too emotional; they form bonds to children they don’t even know’ and back their argument. It will further their belief women have no place in this business.Ihave no place in this business.
