Revenge Vows: A Forced Marriage Mafia Romance (Ruthless Mafia Sinners)

Why do I feel so relieved seeing her? She shouldn’t be here. It’s terrible that she is here. But why does my heart skip a beat at the sight of her?

I notice that she has more color in her face. She’s wearing a dress that hugs her figure better than the ones I got for her.

She still has the ring on her finger. My ring. Does it mean anything, or am I just a pathetic man who is willing to let himself fantasize about the impossible?

I want to take her in my arms, hold her tight, fall to my knees, and plead for her forgiveness for every bit of pain I have ever caused her.

How is it possible to regret everything, yet regret nothing?

Despite the cloudy thoughts in my head, I know that the most honorable thing I can do is to walk away.

“Antonio, please wait!” she calls out.

I hear the tap of her footsteps following behind me as I walk into the house.

“If you could just give me a few minutes,” she pleads, desperately following me as I walk through the empty halls of the house into my study.

I stop suddenly, and without warning, I turn to face her. She almost bumps into me.

“I told you,” I say to her. “Once you step into this house, you become my prisoner again.”

Our faces are so close that she steps back. Her whole being trembles. She is afraid of me.

Why wouldn’t she be? I am the monster who has kept her captive like an animal. I am a man whom she detests.

“You know about Giovanni and me already, don’t you?”

I smile to hide the bitterness boiling up inside me.

“So you’ve come to apologize?”

“No, I have come to be by your side, Antonio.”

I stare at the darkness in her eyes and let out a laugh. “Alyssa, in a few minutes, this house will be invaded by men who kill with no conscience. I am in no state to have a damsel in distress in my care.”

I see the tears well up in her eyes.

“You bastard!” she spits at me.

I grin. “Now that’s the Alyssa that I know. Donatello will lead you out back. You’ll have to call another Uber to drive you home. I advise you to hurry. Things are going to get nasty fast.”

“I was going to kill you,” she calls out as I walk toward my study.

There is a stab in my heart. It’s so painful that I stop in my tracks.

“So many nights I stayed awake imagining how it would feel to sink a knife into your chest and watch you bleed out.”

Why are there tears in her voice? I dare not look back. If she wanted to kill me here and now, I deserved it. “The thought of killing you was the only reason I held on for so long, Antonio. You took everything from me.”

“So why didn’t you do it?” I ask.

“What?”

“So many nights I lay in your arms unsuspectingly. You had the perfect chance every time I gave you more freedom.”

She has to leave. I must make her leave.

“You were just too much of a coward to go through with it, weren’t you?”

I face her, and our eyes meet. Tears fall down her face, and she wipes her eyes. “You’re right. I let you fuck me into submission,” she scoffs through her tears.

“I am not here for you to tell me how much of an idiot I am, Antonio. I know that so well. There are no words you throw at me that I haven’t thrown at myself on the drive here. So shut up and listen to me.” She inhales. “One of your brothers—just one—works for Giovanni.”

It’s a sinking feeling I have felt in the pit of my stomach for the longest time. I wish that I didn’t feel that a confirmation of my worst fears would be so humbling.

“From the look in your eyes, you already suspected, didn’t you?”

“I can handle my own house. Thank you, Alyssa.”

She grabs my arm before I can move.

“This is a losing game. He knows every step you will make.” She stares into my eyes with an unspoken plea.

“Come with me. Let’s run away together.”

I snatch my hands away. “Like a coward.”

“A wise man knows when a battle can be won.”

“Go now, Alyssa, before it’s too late.” In painful irony, no less than a few seconds after the words leave my mouth, two deafening shots erupt from the courtyard.

Fuck!

I grab her hands and pull her into the study despite her cries of protest and her pleas. I sweep away half the books on the shelf and press down on a metallic lever hidden there. The shelf moves to the side.

“Do you have your phone with you?” I ask as I shove her into the dark space behind the shelf. She nods shakily.

“Antonio, please hear me out—”

She is interrupted by another round of shots.

“Listen to me, Alyssa, and there is a flight of steps behind you. Follow it. It leads directly outside the mansion.”

I pull out the smallest pistol tucked into my waist belt and push it into her shaky hands.

“No—I can’t do this, Antonio.”

“There are only three things you need to remember.”

“Aim, plant your feet on the ground, and squeeze.”

“I—can’t.” Our eyes meet, and another shot goes off.

I push the lever up, and the shelf slides back into place, blocking her from sight. The gunshots are raining down at this point, and I know Giovanni is here and he is baiting me.

I grab another gun from the drawer in my desk. I step outside, and I am blinded by smoke from something that has been set on fire. I wave away the smoke, stepping over the sprawling bodies on the steps. I can’t decide if they are my men or Giovanni’s.

“Look who decided to show up to the party?” comes a familiar, scathing voice.

Through the smoke, Giovanni’s face appears. He has a smile plastered on it. It is the smile of a man who has me right where he wants me.

“I didn’t think you would go through with your ridiculous plan,” I respond.

He chuckles. “You know me, Viper. I am a man of my word—well, when it comes to killing you, I am. In other instances, not so much.”

The air is beginning to clear now. I meet his gaze.

“What do you want, Giovanni?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. How can our friendship work if you won’t even listen to me now?”

“Cut the crap.”

He laughs. “If I were you, Viper, I would be nice to me.”

He snapped his fingers, and behind him, Donatello appears, looking defeated. There is a gun pressed to his head.

“I thought you would train your brother to be a bit stronger, but then again, how was he going to know that half of your men work for me?”

He kicks Donatello behind the knees, and he falls to the ground instantly. Then he turns his attention to me with an evil grin playing over his lips.

“I want the document, the one I asked your whore to steal. By the way, where is she? Don’t tell me she ditched you. I’ll lose all faith in marriage.”

I inhale sharply. “You talk too much,” I say.

His eyes widen, and the grin is wiped off his face.

“What?”

“You talk too damn much—so how about we do this: you turn around with your goons and act like today never happened. In return, I’ll choose not to blow your brains out. How about that?”

“That doesn’t sound like a fair deal to me, Viper,” he says between his teeth, cocking his gun. “Especially when I have your brother in my pocket.”

I chuckle. “Oh? Him? I think I can manage without him.”

I smile at Giovanni as the light leaves his eyes. He reaches into his pockets and throws something.

Instantly, thick smoke is everywhere.

“Do it now!” Donatello calls, appearing beside me.

From my belt, I retrieve a grenade and toss it at Giovanni and his men, who were now firing aimlessly into the cloud of smoke.

“To the house!” I scream at Donatello.

We run into the house as the shattering explosion rocks the ground behind us.

“How on earth did he fucking pay off the men? I swear they all just fucking turned on me!” Donatello gasps as we run into the house.

“Where is Bunny?” I ask as we head into the study.

“Why do we care about him? You and I were going to handle this, weren’t we?”

I head to the safe with our most important files and punch in the combination.

“Talk to me, Antonio. We had a fucking plan, didn’t we? There are men in every room of the house waiting for your order to open fire.”

The safe opens, and I grab a bag on the shelf inside. “We are going with plan B: evacuation.”

“You have to be kidding me. Don’t tell me this is about that woman. You sent her away already, didn’t you?”

“No, this isn’t about Alyssa! It’s an order. Now let’s go!”

My words aren’t entirely true. This is about Alyssa. As Giovanni spoke, her words rang in my ears. He was too confident, too smug.

He looked like a man whose net was cast, and he was certain about his prey. Donatello’s face is clouded in anger and disbelief as I zip up the bag.

“We will go out through the basement. Signal the men that we have a change of plans.”

He sighs. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“This isn’t the time to be difficult. Let’s go now!”

He pulls out his gun, cocks it, and slowly points it at me.

“Don’t move,” he says.

Something about his attitude has changed.

“Quit playing around.” I clench my teeth.

“You can come in now,” he calls.

Before my mind puts it together, Giovanni steps into the study with his men.

“He has it. It’s in the bag,” Donatello tells them.

Giovanni’s man approaches me to take the bag. A quick punch to his gut sends him reeling. I hear the other men cock their guns.

Giovanni chuckles and turns to Donatello. “Maybe you should take the bag from your dearest brother.”

Donatello sighs. “What a bother,” he mutters, coming over to me.

“What on earth are you thinking?” I ask as he yanks the bag out of my hands, obeying Giovanni. “Is this some sort of joke?”

Donatello hands the bag to Giovanni, who grins at me.

“It’s not a joke, but it’s a nightmare—for you.”