Vow to Protect: A Dark Mafia Arranged Marriage Romance

by J. L. Beck

  “I had another idea in mind,” Kai says, knowing he is playing with the nitrogen vapors of my patience right now. Fucking ballsy bastard.

  He continues without prompting because if I speak to him one more time, I might deck him. As much as I want to let things go, I can’t stop seeing the jagged cut of her dress and the bruises on her skin, and my rage returns.

  “I might have a guy in the old man’s security. It’s an angle I’ve been working at for a while, and it seems, with all the changes lately, payments have been slipping, and some of his staff is unhappy. After seeing what happened to Valentina, a large chunk of them are.”

  I grip the chair again, digging my nails into the leather to ground me. “They saw her like that, and they didn’t do shit to help her? Stop it? Stop him from hurting her so brutally?”

  Kai realizes he took a misstep in bringing it up. He tries to backtrack. “The security contact was with him in New York, so he was unaware of what was happening at the house.”

  I shake my head and walk out of the room. Not for one damn second do I believe the security at the house and the security with Val’s father didn’t stay in constant contact. They chose to look the other way, and for that, they’d all die when I finally wrap my hands around that old skeleton’s neck and squeeze the life out of him.

  30

  Valentina

  I watch him get on the elevator to go to his business meeting, and it hurts to see him leave. Rationally, I know he is coming back, but I miss him, and I am trying to rectify that with everything that has happened to me recently.

  When the numbers on the elevator reach the ground floor, I’m tempted to go to bed and wait. Instead, I head to the kitchen to grab something to eat. He plans to be gone through dinner, which means I’m on my own.

  Maybe that’s the hard part. I’ve never been on my own. I always had Rose by my side when I needed company. A wave of grief hits me hard as I walk to the kitchen. Sometimes, I think I’m okay until I remember all over that she’s gone. It weighs me down and makes it hard to think beyond it.

  The only person in the room is the cook, who is bustling around prepping meals for tomorrow. Which I find strange since there aren’t a ton of people in the penthouse regularly. Adrian’s five are usually out doing whatever business they get assigned. Maybe she just likes to stay busy.

  I plop on a stool, lay my hands on the countertop, and rest my face against them. “Did you make anything for dinner? Or should I make something for myself?”

  For such a short, round woman, she sure moves fast. I watch her flutter some more, and then she huffs loud enough I can hear her. But she always makes those noises around me, as if my existence taxes her. “Of course I made something, and I don’t want you messing up my workspace.”

  I sit quietly and watch her work, content not to be alone for a little while. She sets a bowl of fresh ramen in front of me and then turns to start typing on her cell phone. I dive into my noodles while she works on cleaning more perfectly immaculate stainless steel.

  I take a bite and groan. “This is delicious, thank you.”

  As usual, she gives me a grunt of acknowledgment and goes about her work again.

  I scarf down the delicious noodles and head to the sink to wash up my dishes. She waves me away, and I sit at the counter again. “Are you sure I can’t help?”

  “You have no idea where anything goes, and I don’t want to find something out of place when I try to look for it.” Her tone is gruff, but I’ve gotten used to it, so I simply shake my head.

  I don’t point out that the only dishes I tried to wash were a bowl and a fork…two things I definitely know the whereabouts of in the kitchen.

  “You still here?” she says a moment later after she dries the offending dishes and puts them away.

  “Sorry, I’ll leave you alone.” A part of me wishes she would call me back, but as I leave, I know she won’t. The woman is not big on small talk.

  I head to the little room I’ve been turning into a library and stare at the partially full shelves. He’s given me every single book here, paying for it all as if it means nothing. I should feel guilty, right? Not only did he save my life but he’s also given me safety, comfort, luxury here. I’ve always lived with money, but I never felt like I could request things or spend it. My father barely sprang for new clothes when necessary, and usually only if I ever had to be seen in public where he could be humiliated if I didn’t play the part of the pampered princess. If only the others saw the bruises underneath the cashmere and lace. Then again, knowing more about the society now, maybe not. It seems everyone has a hidden underbelly of malice. It’s just rarely seen unless provoked.

  I consider this as I shelve books and neatly line them up with the edges of each dark wood shelf. It’s satisfying to see them all perfectly organized by height and color. And it makes me feel good to have this space for myself.

  In some tiny part of my brain, I have to admit that I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. To learn some deep dark secret of Adrian’s past that I’m going to have to pay for. Or worse, for Sal to walk out of that elevator one day and finally end my life.

  A knock on the door sends my heart into my throat, and I’m already heading toward it when it’s pushed open. But I should have known it wasn’t Adrian because he doesn’t knock.

  Kai is standing in the doorway. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

  I narrow my eyes. “Did he send you in here to check on me? Or are you just as bored as I am when he’s not here?”

  “Just doing my job. He says to keep you safe, so I keep you safe. Even if it’s protecting you from paper cuts.”

  I huff out a laugh and turn back to the shelf, my excitement fizzled. He’ll be home soon, and then I can throw myself at him. It’s not healthy to feel so attached. I know this, yet I don’t want it any other way. Not while Sal is still out there.

  “Can I ask you something?” Kai says, still hovering in the doorway.

  I thought he’d walk out when I turned away. “Of course, what’s up?”

  “Have you thought your relationship out? With Adrian, I mean? You do realize once he deals with Sal that he is going to have to deal with your father as well? It’s the only way he’ll feel his father’s murder is avenged.”

  I’d heard my father killed his, but I’d never heard that from him directly. Nor could I deny it was probably true.

  The vision of a pool of blood reflecting moonlight hits me. A memory from when I was a little girl. No, my father is no stranger to killing, and he has no qualms about making exceptions for women and children. The only reason I’m still alive was my usefulness as a bargaining chip.

  I study him. He gives the impression of being perfectly put together, but the more I get to know him, the more I see the cracks underneath. “Let me ask you something…why do you care? I understand you protect Adrian and his interests, but why does my presence seem to threaten you, or does it threaten him in some way? So you want to protect him?”

  He gives absolutely nothing away on his face. Just wears the same ole charming mask he usually does. “You don’t threaten me, Valentina. It’s not you. It’s whatever is happening between you and him. He’s already compromising in places he never would have to keep you safe. He’s pushing himself to his limits, and I can see the effect it’s having on his hard-fought control. And no one likes what happens when he loses control.”

  Now I just assume he’s trying to scare me. After everything Adrian has done for me, I don’t think there’s a single thing I wouldn’t do or endure for him. “Are you trying to scare me, Kai? Because I’ve faced scarier situations than a lecture in a library.”

  We don’t need to discuss it. I can see that he was there the night Adrian saved my life.

  He taps the doorframe and gives me a nod. “I suppose you’re right. I just want you to be prepared for the inevitable. Soon, his control will fracture. It might not be you, or me, or anyone here, but when it goes, he’ll be elemental in his
rage. I hope you have the good sense to get out of the way when it happens.”

  When he leaves, I stare at the door for a few more moments. It’s not as if I’d been living under a delusion that Adrian is some hero—none of us are—but he makes me feel safe, and I can’t imagine a situation in which he wouldn’t. Even pushing at my limits, he refuses to hurt me.

  I go back to my shelf until my phone chimes from the table I’d set it on. Again, my heart leaps into my throat, and my chest feels tight. Hell, even my fingers tingle as I open the text messages to see a new one. It’s from a number that isn’t saved in my phone, but he might have borrowed one of his guys’ to send me a message.

  I wait for the image to load, and then I click on it. But it’s not from him. It’s of him. And he’s not alone in the image. I squint down at the screen and then flip it to make it larger. He’s at a dinner table, food and plates litter the table, and he’s leaning in to talk to a woman.

  One I remember very well from a certain hotel bathroom. I slowly lower myself down onto the crate holding books and stare at the screen. Then I click away and find more images, these ones zoomed in. Adrian is leaning in to seemingly whisper in her ear or kiss her neck. She’s smiling, and that smile cuts through me.

  My hands shake, and tears blur the screen. I don’t know if I’d be less angry if it had been someone besides her.

  Another part of my brain says I don’t have any claim on him. He’s claimed me, sure, but only to keep his end of the bargain and make sure I’m safe. But I can’t exactly demand he be mine, and only mine, not after everything he’s given me.

  All of the logic doesn’t matter because all I want to do is wring her pretty long neck and drag her away from him by the hair. The visual is violent, and I’m a little shocked at myself. But not shocked enough to feel guilty about it. Not when he’s touched every inch of my body with his lips. Not when I’ve done the same to him. Not when he’s the only person alive I feel safe around. I can’t lose that, even if it means dealing with him sleeping with his ex.

  A wave of nausea hits me, and I double over, covering my mouth. Nope, can’t puke on the books. I rush out of the room and make it to the bathroom in time to throw up my ramen dinner.

  After I lever myself off the cold tile floor, I brush my teeth and wash my face with a cool washcloth.

  I dumped my phone on the bed, and I rush back to it to check the images again. Maybe they are old, maybe from when they were together? I grasp onto this excuse and climb into bed. My stomach is roiling, and tears cloud my vision.

  If putting up with him sleeping with someone else means I stay safe, then it’s just what I have to do. It doesn’t mean it won’t tear my heart to pieces in the process.

  31

  Adrian

  When the meeting ends, all I want to do is grab my Angel and crawl into bed with her. Usually, when it comes to business, I don’t feel anything, really. But tonight, my meeting with Nic Diavolo turned into a reunion. His contact for the information insisted on being present, and she and I have a history. I also owe her for whatever part she played in Sal’s attack on Valentina. I don’t think for one second she didn’t assist or clear the way for Sal to get into that restroom.

  At first, I had to play nice with her. It wouldn’t have helped my alliance with Nic if I’d shot her in the head at the dinner table. Despite its arrangement by my cook, that might be too far for even him. But it didn’t keep me from feeling for the gun in the holster at my side every so often. A promise to myself that I would seek justice soon enough.

  Once she revealed Sal’s location, I shook hands with Diavolo and left before I did something that would jeopardize my alliance with him. At least until I found out the purchase price for the loss of his contact. Then I’d set one of my five on her, and she’d never be found again.

  Right now, as I ride the elevator to my penthouse, I only want to see her. A moment to reassure myself she is still here and safe. If she left, I don’t know if I could handle it.

  When the doors open, I immediately scan the foyer for her, but it’s late, so of course she won’t be here waiting for me. Biting back my disappointment, I check her library first. She likes to work late in there. I finally find her in the bedroom, where I should have checked first.

  The lights are still on, and I stop in the doorway, looking her over. Her clothes are still on, and she’s curled up on the covers facing away from the door.

  I walk around the end of the bed to the other side. Her eyes are open, and I kneel to stare into them at her level. Her face is red like she’s been crying, and my heart takes a tumble at the thought. Was she upset I left?

  I rub my thumb across her cheek, but she jerks away. “What’s wrong, Angel? I wasn’t gone very long, and Kai was here. No one could have gotten to you.”

  She sniffles and scoots farther across the bed so I can’t reach her. I narrow my eyes and stand. “Angel?”

  “I’m fine. Really. It’s nothing.”

  I hate her moving away from me, but I give her a moment to come to her senses. “What’s the matter? Tell me.”

  Another sniffle and she shakes her head. “Nothing.”

  I slide into the bed and grasp her hips so she can’t move farther. “Bullshit. You’re cowering away from me right now.”

  A new light enters her eyes, and she sits up, jerking from my grasp. “I’m not cowering.”

  “Then what are you doing? Because it feels a hell of a lot like you’re not letting me touch you right now.”

  She jumps off the other side of the bed and paces next to it. “How did your meeting go? Did you have fun?”

  I’m baffled by the change of subject. “Fun? It was a business meeting? I would never call them fun. I thought you knew where I was going.”

  She spins toward me, charging forward, and I have to admit this fierce, fiery side of her is turning me on.

  “I knew where you were going, but I didn’t know who else would be there.”

  It’s my turn to show my teeth. I stand and button my suit jacket, then saunter around the bed to stare her down. “I didn’t think I needed to clear my business associates with you before I meet with them.”

  She can talk to me any way she wants if she’s prepared to pay the consequences for it. And right now, I’m ready to deliver those consequences personally.

  She continues to pace, then faces me again. “I saw you together. Things didn’t look very businesslike to me.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Val? You better start clarifying before I decide I’m done listening to you talk and just bend you over the bed for your punishment for speaking to me this way.”

  The mere mention of punishment before sent her running. Now, she turns to the bedside table and picks up a glass. Brandishing it at me, she yells. “You were with that skank, and I am angry, okay?”

  The glass shatters against the wall before I realize she threw it. An impressive throw and would be worth the little show if she didn’t look completely shocked right now.

  “First off, Valentina, you need to calm the fuck down. Asking a question might be a better way to get answers from me rather than you being pissy and throwing things.”

  Her hands are shaking at her sides, and she’s staring at the indent in the wall where the glass had hit.

  “Angel?” I prompt.

  She blinks and stares up at me again. This time, the spark of her anger is doused in a fresh round of tears. Then she stares down at her trembling hands. “Who am I becoming? I don’t do this. I don’t throw things or scream at people.”

  I take a step toward her, and when she doesn't skitter away, I gather her into my arms. “Or maybe you’ve never felt safe enough to voice your true feelings. When something upset you, which I assume happened often in that house of yours, you tucked it away and let it fester. Some part of you knows you are safe with me, and it’s making you bolder. I’m proud of you.”

  She snorts against my chest. “You say that now, a moment after you t
alk about punishing me for it.”

  I delve my fingers into her messy curls. “Oh but Angel, I’m going to have so much fun punishing you, and I promise, by the end, you’ll be begging me for my cock.”

  Her laughter soothes some of the edges inside me. Things that turned sharp at her anger. I don’t know if I’d prepared myself to bite back at her or her enemies. Either way, it’s something to consider later.

  I continue to massage her scalp. “Tell me what happened? You said you saw me? I know you didn’t leave this penthouse, so how did you see me?”

  When she pulls away, I almost want to drag her back, but I want answers right now more. “I got a text.”

  She retrieves her phone and brings it over to show me. The number isn’t one I recognize, nor is it one programmed into her phone. I scan the images and see how she could think I was getting cozy with my ex. At the same time, it hurts. She’s the only woman I’ve been able to see since the moment I laid my eyes on her. No one else compares to her, and she thinks I’d go off and spend time with my ex because I felt like it.

  I close her phone and toss it on the bed. “First, I’m going to find out who sent those pictures and make them pay for causing you distress. Second, I have a knife with her name on it, and when those pictures were taken, I was telling her in minute detail how I want to carve her up for the pain she caused you. But what I really want to know is why you’re so upset? How could you think I’d want anyone else but you?”

  Now she refuses to meet my eyes, my demure Angel back in place. “I just…I mean…I know I don’t have any claim on you or anything. It just upsets me to see you with her, is all. If that’s what you want to do, then I understand.”

  I grab her chin and force her eyes to mine. “As I said, all I want to put inside her is a six-inch stiletto blade so I can watch the life leave her eyes.”

  She blinks at me a few times, saying nothing.

  “Does that scare you?” I ask, stepping closer to close the distance she keeps putting between us.