The Vows He Must Keep

Valerio sat at the top of the long marble dining table and surveyed the six men and three women seated around him. He told himself that he’d chosen to change the location of the meeting to his own home at the last minute because it would give him an advantage—not because he needed the option of retreat if he lost control. And he knew the board members wouldn’t be able to resist the chance to find out where he’d disappeared to. To discover if the rumours of his madness were true.

Just to keep a little mystery on his side, he’d spoken very little as they’d commenced their professionally catered lunch, and had given short, clipped answers to their many questions. But his unease had grown as the minutes had turned into an hour and there had been no sign of his fiancée.

Daniela was never late.

He wanted a single-minded focus on finding out who had pushed for Duarte’s death certificate, but now he could hardly concentrate.

After ordering one of his guards to find out where she was, he sat back and tried to focus his anger on discovering which of these people, with their greed and lack of patience, had put Dani in danger.

But of course no one else knew the truth behind the seemingly random events that had transpired in Brazil. No one who was still alive, anyway.

Angelus Fiero stood up from his seat near the top of the table, slicking back the neatly oiled salt-and-pepper hair atop his head. Valerio had never met the man in person before last night...

‘Marchesi, I’m afraid my flight plans have changed and I need to leave. I’m needed back in Rio sooner than I thought. But I believe I speak for all of us when I say that I?

??m very relieved to see you return to work.’

Valerio swallowed his final mouthful of crème brûlée, narrowing his eyes at the man with barely restrained menace. Around him, the other board members continued in their heated discussion about the success of their new Fort Lauderdale headquarters and their expansion throughout the Caribbean and South America.

Angelus Fiero had been their very first investor, back when they had started up and had needed capital to bulk up their fleet offerings. An old friend of the Avelar family, he had been trusted with managing the family’s affairs in Brazil after their move to England.

‘Please, allow me to see you out.’

Valerio stood, prowling slowly beside the table until he stood so close to the other man he could see a tiny vein throbbing at his temple. He had amassed enough experience over the past six months to know when someone wasn’t telling the full truth.

As they walked side by side towards the entrance hall, Fiero made small talk about the latest yacht designs. Valerio barely heard a word—he was too busy mentally cataloguing what he knew of the man’s character. He had briefly suspected Fiero’s involvement in the kidnap after he’d returned from Brazil and started his investigations, but he hadn’t found a single motive or link. The man was comfortably wealthy, he had no debts or enemies, and he didn’t stand to gain anything from Duarte’s death other than the headache of managing the company’s reputation and a slew of uneasy investors.

‘I was surprised that Daniela didn’t join us for lunch today.’ Fiero paused in the hallway to don his coat and hat. ‘She has to know that half of the board are pushing to have her voted out.’

‘Quite a stupid move on their part,’ Valerio drawled, ‘considering Daniela is about to become officially one of the wealthiest women in Europe, thanks to an anonymous push for Duarte’s death certificate to be released. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?’

Another man might have missed the sudden flicker in Fiero’s pale blue eyes. He masked it well, subtly clearing his throat and pasting a grimace on his face.

‘You should direct your suspicions elsewhere,’ he said. ‘I’ve been a good friend to this family.’ He shook his head in a perfect show of grief, placing one hand on his chest, where a small gold cross lay over his tie. ‘I have information that the death certificate is to be issued at the start of next week. Quite unusual, considering they never recovered the body...did they?’

Valerio felt his fists tighten, and nausea hit his stomach as memories threatened to overcome him. The old man knew something—he could tell by the way he narrowed his eyes, tapping lightly on his hat as he moved towards the door. There was no way to know if he was on the right track, but it was enough for him to place Fiero firmly back on the list of those possibly involved.

He said goodbye to his newly reinstated suspect, closed the door and took in the violent tremor in his hands that had already begun to creep up his forearms at two words. The body. The memories were coming hard and fast. The sharp smell of gunpowder was in the air... Blood soaked the ground around his feet.

He swore he could feel every pump of blood in his chest as he started walking, counting backwards from one hundred. He never knew when one of these bouts of dream-like panic would hit, and he’d long ago stopped trying to fight them off or cure them with whisky. Like his scars, he felt they were a permanent part of him.

He reached the nearest bathroom quickly, slamming the door shut just as black spots swam in his vision and forced him to his knees.

CHAPTER SIX

DANI SANK BACK into the alcove under the steps up to Valerio’s impressive villa and cursed under her breath. Angelus Fiero had just disappeared into a sleek black car and driven off—which meant she’d likely missed her chance to talk to him. The rest of the board would still be inside, though. Likely being entertained by their prodigal playboy CEO.

Adrenaline fuelling her, she barely waited for the door to be opened by a member of staff before moving quickly through the house, following the sound of raised voices. At a set of large double doors, she paused, pressing her ear against the wood.

‘I’m just saying the majority of our clients are male,’ someone was saying loudly. ‘They flock to us for the promise of the brand. The iconic image of two powerful, handsome playboys who never settle for less than the best.’

‘Duarte and Valerio were the dream team...’ A strong female voice sounded out above the others. ‘I can’t help but feel that Duarte’s sister’s talents are better kept...behind the curtain, you know?’

‘We can’t dispute the effectiveness of her marketing strategies—she’s had some great ideas,’ someone chided gently from further back in the room.

‘Yes, but what good are ideas in a company figurehead when she has all the charisma of a wet blanket. She’s boring,’ a male voice sneered, inciting a rumble of laughter that Dani felt pierce through the thin layer of bravado she’d arrived with.

Any belief she’d held on to that only a small portion of the board wanted her gone instantly disappeared. She felt her cheeks heat, her heart rate speeding up in the uncomfortable way she knew all too well. Old scars burst open. Damn them for making her feel this way. Damn them for seeing her brother as perfect and her as a poor replacement.