Page 73 of The Agreement

“He wouldn’t have left me, you know?” Celeste tried to get up but gasped at the pain that shook her body.

“He was…mine. I knew…he wouldn’t…have left. But if…you died...”

“Except you hit the wrong person. Friends will always help friends, Celeste. Besides, Vinny’s going to be a father, he wouldn’t have turned his back on me and he would have shunned you for killing me.” With those parting words, and without blinking, Val took aim and shot Celeste one more time. Once the bullet hit its mark, Val dropped the gun, her hands shaking ,and ran over to Luciana, whose skin was already turning pale. “No, no, Luciana, I need you!” Val looked over the woman as she gathered here in her arms, the blood pooling from a shot in the chest and Val knew there was no way to save her. Her tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at her best friend of many years, not knowing how she would survive without her.

“It’ll be…okay…Val.” Luciana coughed and Val held her a little tighter, not knowing how to say goodbye to her friend.

“You can’t leave me, I need you, God do I need you Luc!”

“I trust…Vinny to…protect you…both.” Luciana coughed again and Val wiped the blood away that trickled from her mouth. “Name…the baby…after…me…huh?” Val nodded; she wouldn’t dare name her baby anything other than her best friend’s name. “Love…you…Val.”

“I love you too, Luc. Thank you for always being there, even when I thought I didn’t need it.” Luciana nodded and squeezed Val’s hand, coughed one more time, and Val heard the last shuddering breath of her best friend. She hugged her a little tighter and closer, her tears mixing with the blood that was running down now. She couldn’t imagine not having her best friend around, but she vowed that she would show her little baby how amazing their namesake was.

~ Chapter 56 ~

Vinny heard the ding on his phone to alert him to his alarm being shut off at the house. He slid his phone out, checked the notification, and then checked the time, his brows crinkling. Val and Luciana had left about 15 minutes ago; there was no way they could have made it home that fast, even with no traffic, to have turned the alarm off. And he didn’t recall Val getting the app to do it from her phone. He paused as he walked back up the stairs to the VIP area, his mind turning over it.

That wouldn’t have been like her anyways. He had always noticed that she did it once she walked through the door as if it was something she had learned to do as she grew up. Which he could understand, probably got in the door before her parents did. He shook his head and walked through the doorway, stopping as both Salvatore and Frankie stopped before him.

“What’s wrong with you?” Frankie asked.

“The alarm to the house just went off and I don’t think the girls could have made it home that fast.” Salvatore took a sip of his drink and lifted a brow.

“You think something is going on?” he asked.

“I don’t know what to think honestly. I can’t afford to leave, it’s my damn club.” Frankie groaned as he sat his drink down.

“Fine, I’ll go check on her, but you’re letting me drive your car, asshole,” Frankie mumbled, holding his hand out for the keys.

“I’m not asking you to, you know? I’m just saying, it’s odd.” But Vinny shrugged as he dug into his pocket for the keys. “Why do you want my car anyways?”

“Cause it’s a remote start and I can get the ac cooling it down before I even get in the car.” With that, Frankie clapped him on the back and made his way down the stairs. Once he got to the main floor and walked out of the employee exit did he reach out to start the car. The ball of heat, fire, and loudness was the last thing he was expecting and the blast flung him back into the building and against a wall.

“What the fuck,” he heard someone scream and heard the door bang open again. “Are you okay, man?” Frankie shook his head and stared up at Vinny for a moment before nodding.

“Yeah, just really knocked me on my ass. Who left?”

“Salvatore,” Vinny said, helping him up, “thinks he saw someone running from the window.”

“You all got here fast,” Frankie told him as he leaned against him. “A bomb?”

“In my car, that was meant for me.” The door slammed open a few minutes later and the two men turned to look at the men filling the doorway. Vinny’s eyes glanced from Salvatore, who was huffing from chasing the man in his hold; Dante. “Why am I not surprised?” Vinny muttered.

“What do we do with him, boss?” Vinny smirked at Salvatore’s question.

“The club will be clearing out. Take him downstairs for the moment then the integration will begin.”

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Vinny walked through the door, his eyes blazing as he stared at the man currently tied to the pillar of the basement. He wasn’t sure if he was all that surprised to see him or not. He had seen both the anger and the annoyance flash in Dante’s eyes at his engagement party to Val, so he knew that Dante wanted his wife, he just really underestimated the man before him in the lengths that he would go to get what he wanted.

He wasn’t new to bloodshed, or to hurting people, or trying to get information. But this, this was on a different level and he knew that he couldn’t just beat the shit out of him. However, he did know that Dante wouldn’t be making it back to his parent’s house alive and that was likely to start a new war but that was one he didn’t mind fighting. He was also sure, no matter how irked his father was with him over their eloping; his dad wouldn’t be pleased knowing Dante was behind all of the attacks.

“Frankie,” Vinny called, glancing at the man as he stepped up. “Call my dad; tell him I have the culprit.”

“Yes, boss.” Frankie walked out of the room and Vinny dropped to the balls of his feet before Dante.

“Why were you helping Celeste?”

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