Page 34 of My Solemn Vow
The boy gently pats Antonella’s thigh, and without breaking the conversation, Antonella wraps her hand around the boy’s and gives it a squeeze. He stands, patiently waiting. In less than a minute, when her conversation with Sean’s mother is done, Antonella turns to the little boy.
Her long dress restricts her movements, but Antonella shuffles the skirt and gets to a low crouch, despite wearing four-inch heels. In a lull of my conversation, I catch her talking the boy through the steps to tie his shoe. It looks like the bunny andtree method I used with Kerrianne. She then double knots it and gives him a low five.
You’d have to be blind in one eye and not able to see out of the other to miss the fact that she’s good with children. It’s appealing, and I don’t like how this observation makes my slacks tighter.Kerrianne doesn’t need a sibling.
Doesn’t she?My wolf thinks about how much fun it’s been to play and see the little raptor grow.
“Valor.” My name is said with a thick Irish accent.
I force myself to look away from Antonella. It’s harder than it should be. When I do, my uncle and the alpha of the Northern Ireland pack, Patrick Doyle, comes to stand beside me. Patrick, who is mated to my dad’s sister, Deidra, made a special trip for the occasion. A truce between families is monumental, and the effects are so widespread that it made waves all around the world.
“Patrick.” I shake his hand. “Good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you. Especially on such a happy day. Congratulations.” Perhaps scarier than my father, who can be straight faced through anything, Patrick smiles.
“Thank you, Patrick.”
Losing Sean and signing a meaningless truce don’t seem to lend to a happy day, but according to him, my father, and my uncle, we’re to be celebrating peace. So I let it go.
“It’s a shame about Sean.” He nods to the grave. “Of all people, I never thought a D’Medici would get the drop on him. Humans like that taking down a wolf with his skill set. I trained him myself since he was a teen. What we don’t know about this is aggravating, yet a moot point, I suppose.”
“Kerrianne was quite attached to him. I don’t know what to do.” I admit.
“I’ve got a few good wolves looking for a change of scenery. I’ll have them shipped over for you. Take your pick.” Patrick purses his lips. “I know it was your preference to havesomeone less familiar with the current pack. Makes ’em more objective.”
“Much appreciated. Now more than ever, I would like someone who sees everyone as a threat. The not knowing what happened and all.” I’ve always seen Patrick as an adviser of sorts, and I’ve never taken his generosity toward me, and Kerrianne, for granted.
“Whoever you don’t need here in the cities, we can move about the country to deal with the issue with the Bratva. D’Medicis really fucked the duck with that before the truce,” Patrick adds.
I wasn’t here and don’t know the extent of the information we have on the D’Medicis now, but what I learned while in South America is confirmed with his words. The D’Medicis married one of their women off to a Bratva heir.
Patrick rotates, turning to look in the same direction as me. It’s obvious he’s watching Antonella talk to Aunt Deidra, just like I am. “She seems to fit in. Deidra has taken to her. You could have gotten a much worse shake in this deal.”
He’s not wrong. Everyone seems so happy for us and genuinely accepting of her, but I don’t care for the observation. I haven’t come to a decision about her yet, and everyone’s assurances are falling into the unasked-for-opinions pile until then.
“Why are you so excited about this deal?” I examine him, trying to figure out the big secret I’ve been left out of.
“We need this truce to stick...” Patrick answers, adjusting his cap. “You and the D’Medici girl have given us a much-needed break. Your father negotiated a strong deal in our favor. The Italians think we took the short end of the stick by giving us this woman.” Patrick shakes his head and laughs. “The D’Medicis are backward on the deal with the Bratva. The craic is that the Russians wanted your bride over the one they received in negotiations. Though Nikolai is quite chuffed, Igor is bent over it.”
I raise a brow at that.Interesting.
Patrick draws a breath and keeps explaining what I missed while I was away. “Now the D’Medicis are buyin’ the shipment we couldn’t sell to the Syrians because they ended up with the Gardaí. The Bratva don’t have a place to send the shipment they stole from us.”
“And based on information I found while hunting... we know where they’re keeping it.” I see why Patrick is getting excited over the dealings.
“We can get those back, and my son can find a buyer so we turn a tidy profit.” He smiles.
“And now, two massive arms dealers are linked to the D’Medicis. If we play our cards right, it’ll no longer be a competition. We can control which wars we back.” Patrick pushes his shoulder against mine, trying to make light of everything and reassure me. “And you get a woman who will make a good mate. If for no other reason to like her, she was strong enough to tell Igor Popov no. Could be worse.”
“It seems a little too good to be true.” I try to express my concerns diplomatically and concisely. “She’s so willing to come and be part of our family. I’m supposed to believe this isn’t all a ruse?”
“Well, not everyone grows up with a silver spoon in their mouth that isn’t laced with poison.” Patrick raises an eyebrow. “You’re turning down a mother for your child?”
I can’t withhold my glare. I shouldn’t have shown my hand like that. But no one knows my daughter better than me. No one should have more of a say over her life than me. ‘She doesn’t need a mother’ is on the tip of my tongue.
“Don’t think ya can do both jobs. In our world, youngins need a woman who has been raised in this life. Your daughter could do far worse than to have a schoolmarm for a surrogate.” Patrick warns me. “You may not have picked Antonella, butwould you have ever picked someone? A head of the pack must have a family. Men like us aren’t meant to be alone.”
Schoolmarm?Makes sense if she was at the school when she called the truce.
