Cruel Vows

Maxim holds a hand out and I shake it. “Good to meet you, but we don’t have time for niceties.” His attention moves to the doorway where a man with brown hair and blue eyes enters, a young woman clutching to his arm.

Spartak looks like he’s seen a ghost as he stares at the woman, and I can’t help but notice the striking similarities between her and him. “I didn’t know Viki would be here,” he says, glancing at Maxim.

“Neither did I,” he admits. “Excuse me.”

They both leave us alone with Imalia.

“I’ve got to admit, I’m lost with who is who right now,” I say, laughing nervously.

Imalia smiles at me sympathetically. “Yeah, it’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get used to it.”

“What did he mean about his nephew wanting to wipe us all off the map?”

Imalia’s brow furrows. “Hasn’t Massimo told you why we’re here?”

Massimo’s eyes narrow. “I didn’t think Paisley needed to know.”

Imalia scoffs. “You didn’t think she needed to know, even though you are bringing her right into the heart of it?” She shakes her head. “What the hell?”

“Yeah, what the hell?” I ask.

He sighs. “There’s a plot involving the cartel to blow all three families off the map, literally.”

The blood drains from my face as I stare at him. “As in, blow us up?”

Massimo nods, a grave look on his face. “We’re handling it, though.”

My stomach churns as he walks away, leaving me with Imalia.

She gives me a shy smile. “I’m sorry to scare you with that, but he really ought to have told you.”

I nod, forcing a smile even though my insides are churning at the prospect of being blown up. “Yeah, he doesn’t tell me much.”

She shakes her head. “I hear my cousin forced you to be his wife?”

“Where did you hear that?”

“I have my sources.” She taps the end of her nose. “Is it true? As you seem rather at ease with him.”

“Yes... I—”

“You don’t need to explain yourself. I know all about unconventional relationships.”

“You do?”

She nods, her gaze adoringly fixed to the man who greeted us, Spartak. “My husband had me kidnapped and strung me up the first day we met.”

My eyes widen.

“It took a while for me to realize that we were perfect for each other, even though he saw it from the start.”

My stomach churns, as that’s exactly what Massimo believes. That somehow he just knew we were made for each other.

I can’t deny that when he kissed me in that bathroom the night we first met, I probably would have agreed with him. The raw, palpable connection we experienced was like nothing I’d ever felt before when I kissed a man.

It was what came after that I hated. The way he just took me as payment, as if I was nothing more than a commodity.

“It can be very confusing, can’t it?” She asks, as if reading my mind.

I nod in reply. “Yes, I can’t help but think there’s something wrong with me.”

Imalia sets a hand on my arm and looks me in the eye. “There’s nothing wrong with you. I promise.”

She seems so sure even though we’ve only just met, which seems odd. And then I notice the entire room turns silent and I glance over to the door to see a dark-haired, tan man, flanked by two other men in the doorway.

The man at the front draws his gun, setting my nerves on edge. I take a step back, wondering if this could be the end for me. Massimo said it would be dangerous and now I’m in a room with four mobsters and could easily get caught in the crossfire.

And yet all I can think about is that Massimo could die as the man points the gun straight at him. A heart-wrenching panic claws at my insides as I watch in horror, realizing at that moment that losing him would be the most devastating thing to happen to me in my entire life.