Cruel Vows

“Yes, do you love my brother?” she asks.

Her expression turns furious. “Are you fucking kidding me? Do I love a man who only last night kidnapped me as part of some unlawful deal with Axel King and then locked me in his room all day?” She crosses her arms over her chest. “A man who says I have no choice but to marry him.”

Mia’s eyes widen, moving between me and her. “Is this true, Massimo?”

I wave my hand dismissively. “Semantics, little sis.”

“That’s fucked up,” she says, shaking her head.

“Finally, someone with some decency,” Paisley says.

Mia smiles at her and I’m surprised to find Paisley smiles back. Perhaps they’ll get on after all. Mia has never enjoyed doing what she is told, either, so they have one thing in common.

“Come on,” Mia says, hooking arms with Paisley. “I’ll introduce you to everyone else and get you away from my crazy brother.” Mia shoots me another disapproving glance, before stealing my fiance from me.

Leo and Luca have been listening to the entire conversation, and once she is dragged away by Mia, they move toward me.

“Couldn’t find a willing fiance, hey?” Luca teases, shaking his head. “And I thought there were women lined down the fucking street to marry you.”

Leo chuckles. “You should have known Massimo would never pick such an easy target.”

I glare at the two of them. “She will accept her new position soon enough.”

“Admit it,” Leo says, raising a brow. “You love a bit of a fight when it comes to women, and always have.”

“Fuck you,” I say, ignoring his comment despite its accuracy. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

Mia introduces Paisley to everyone in the room, announcing to each and everyone that Paisley isn’t there by choice and doesn’t want to marry me.

Father stands and clears his throat, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “As you all know, this Sunday we are here to celebrate Massimo’s engagement. And, as Mia has announced to all of you, Paisley isn’t here by choice.”

“Damn right I’m not,” she says.

The entire table gasps softly, hearing her interrupt my father while he’s talking.

He clears his throat and allows it to slide. “However, Massimo has made his choice and the famiglia needs stability.” He glances at me. “Massimo needs to produce an heir and have a family of his own. It’s about time.”

“No fucking chance,” Paisley says, standing. “I’m not having a kid with that psycho.”

Mia grabs her arm and drags her back into the seat next to her, whispering something in her ear.

Paisley pales and falls silent.

“Anyone else wants to interrupt me when I’m speaking?” Father asks.

The silence is almost deafening.

“Good.” He claps his hands. “We shall eat. There’s no question that Massimo and Paisley will be married.” The stern look he gives my fiance makes her pale.

I grind my teeth in irritation that Paisley is sitting opposite me rather than by my side, where I can reach her.

“So, is she a good fuck?” Leo asks, making me growl.

“She’s a virgin, if you must know.”

Leo’s eyes widen. “A virgin? How do you know you want to marry her if you haven’t even fucked her?”

“Believe me, I know.”

He shakes his head, looking confused.

Dante, my father’s underboss, is siting to my left. “Massimo, I’ve been wanting to discuss this deal with the bikers you made. All is in place, but how do we deal with any problems?”

“Problems?” I ask.

He nods. “They’re renowned for cutting the product, which could implicate us.”

“How did the Irish deal with it?”

He shrugs. “They had lower end clientele, which meant they got away with it. We don’t want to lose our more lucrative clients because of rumors.”

“Keep ahead of the rumors and clarify any cut product isn’t our fault. It’s not down to us what our clients to do with the product.” I run a hand through my hair. “Make it clear we value client confidentiality.”

Dante nods. “It’s a solid plan, but it may not fly with the cops if people die.”

“I’ll meet with Axel and tell him that if he cuts the product to a dangerous level, supply will stop.” I sip the glass of wine at my place setting. “He’s desperate for the product and won’t jeopardize this deal.”

“Good idea. It would be prudent to give him forewarning and hope that stops him from turning our product into shit.” His eyes narrow as they dart toward Paisley. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing with this one?”

“Are you questioning my choice of wife?”

“She seems too fucking headstrong.” He shakes his head. “I mean, she interrupted your father twice. I’m surprised he didn’t put a bullet through her head for it.”

I down the rest of my wine at the mere thought of such beauty being blown apart because of something so trivial. “She’s new to this world, but she’ll learn.”

“I hope for both of your sakes she learns fast.”

My attention lingers on my wife to be as she laughs at something Mia says, more at ease than I’ve seen her since I kidnapped her. Perhaps this dinner will do her good and help her loosen up to the idea of marrying into my family.

Dante is right, I’m playing with fire choosing a girl like her. A girl that doesn’t belong in our world, but there’s no part of me that was ever going to give her up. Not once I saw her, as I knew she belonged to me.