Page 1 of Ruined Vows
1
BIANCA
SISTER, SOLDIER, SACRIFICE.
The war took its toll on us, both in terms of men and money, as well as stress. I’m relieved that’s over. Now we can get back to living.
Now, there is peace.
Vincenzu, my uncle, disappeared after a human trafficking ring was exposed. Stefano, is the new don of the Moretti empire, and he’s just as evil as his brother.
After my brothers removed the Serbian leader, Miloš, his younger brother, Vukan, took over.
Vukan Petrovic.
Ugh.
Even now, I regret the moment our paths crossed. I wish I could forget him.
But I can’t.
The man has a godlike physique, brooding gray eyes, and a chiseled chin.
And it pisses me off is that he got the drop on me at the warehouse. I was going to save the day—again.
But he ruined it!
No one gets the drop on me—no one.
I owe him for that.
I tried to fend him off, but his chest is like Kevlar—impenetrable.
I couldn’t knock him off his feet—that’s how solid he is. He’s older than my brother, Matteo, but Vukan’s looks are misleading.
He’s surprisingly agile, and I’m sure, deadly.
No matter how hard I fought that night, I was no match for him. Hell, I barely landed a punch. I definitely didn’t hurt him.
And whatreallypisses me off is that I got the feeling he was, well,amused.
I remember that night. The night he held me, and I couldn’t move— how his muscular forearms, covered in ink, wrapped around me when bullets flew. His arms were strong and held me like a vice grip. I could barely breathe. And escape was impossible.
He was different. He held me tighter than he needed to—his chest was an unyielding wall. He smelled like aged tobacco and musk mingled with the faint trace of cedar. And that’s when I knew I had met my match.
The smell of gun powder singed my nose, but he held his position. The gunfire didn’t faze him. He had me in his grip, against his body. It was well,intimate.
It’s as if we were meant to be together. The way we just fit was unnerving and made me uncomfortable.
He was too close, too knowing, and too god damn sexy.
And those eyes, the steely, cold gray eyes that didn’t blink.
It makes me shudder to think of what they’ve seen, what he’switnessed.
And when it was over?
His gaze didn’t leave mine. It’s as if we had an intimate moment, but we’d never met.
