Page 109 of Sinister Vows

A bullet tore through my shoulder the same second that Matteo landed on the ground, bleeding from a wound on his head. “Retreat!” I bellowed out, trying to save as many of my men as I could.

It was a trap.

But the trap had come to us, instead of us walking into it.

Gunpowder burned my nostrils as more explosions blasted earth and metal from the cars into the air, raining more weapons down upon us as they fell. “Let’s go!” Cristian screamed, grabbing my arm as I shot off rounds toward one of Emilio’s men, hitting him in the head and dropping him. “We have to go!”

“Get out of here, kid,” I yelled over the roar of gunfire. “Save yourself.”

I looked at him over my shoulder as a black-clothed figure walked up behind him and smashed the butt of his rifle into the back of his head, knocking him out cold, seconds before someone did the same to me.

As darkness started to overtake my vision I groaned, falling to the earth as my wife’s name laid on my lips one last time, “Arianna.”

Chapter 25- Arianna

“Yourpacingismakingme seasick.” Amelia snapped at our youngest sister as she walked back and forth in front of the tv. “You’ve been doing it for twenty minutes now and I’m going to knock you out if you don’t stop.”

Anita didn’t even acknowledge her as she paced back and forth, chewing on her nail. I caught Molly’s eye as she too watched my younger sister with a pensive glare.

Something was wrong.

“Anita,” I called, slowly rising to my feet from the nest of blankets I’d made on the couch. She didn’t respond but just kept pacing. “Anita.” I barked out louder and she jumped, falling still and looking at me. “What do you know?”

“I don’t-.” She shook her head with eyes as wide as saucers before turning them over to Amelia who stood up on the other side of the room and stared at her. “I’m just worried.”

“You don’t have any skin in the game,” Amelia remarked, walking around our sister with her arms crossed. “You have no reason to be worried this much. Even Arianna isn’t in panic mode like you are.”

“They’re our parents Amelia!” Anita cried and then covered her mouth and looked at me with wide eyes.

“Oh, my God.” I paled, feeling all of the blood draining from my face as I realized our younger sister was on their side. “What’s going on?”

Anita shook her head, before dropping her hands and clenching her jaw, steeling her spine in defiance. “I’m staying out of it.”

I crossed the room in a split second, hardly beating Amelia to our sister. I grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to push her back into the wall. “You have two seconds to tell me everything you know before I start beating it out of you!” I threatened. “If you think I’m kidding make no mistake, Sister, I’ll resort to bodily harm to protect my husband and ourbrothers!” I yelled, reminding her it wasn’t just Nico versus our father. Our brothers were there and involved too.

“Anita!” Amelia yelled, shoving me away and pushing our sister to the wall herself. “He is the Don! Do you have any fucking clue what his men will do to you if you betray him?”

“Worse than what he’s going to do to our parents?” Anita shrieked.

I grabbed my forehead in despair as anxiety clawed at my heart and found Molly. “Dio!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, passing my stubborn sister desperate to protect Nico.

Dio and Saul ran into the room with other soldiers, “What is it?” Dio asked, taking in the scene.

“Call Nico,” I demanded. “Anita knows something but won’t say. I think it’s a trap.” I hurried, shaking my hands at him as he fumbled with his phone, “Call him!”

He held the phone to his ear as Saul dialed his own, staring at me as they rang and rang.

“No answer.” Dio cursed.

“Matteo either.”

“Fuck!” I screamed, feeling a full-blown panic attack take over my body.

I ran back to my younger sister and slapped her in the face, shocking her as tears welled in her eyes. “Tell me what you know! Papa and Mama will not think twice about leaving you here to suffer the wrath of the Cosa Nostra for this! It’s your only chance at saving your own life!”

“I can’t.” She cried, shaking her head back and forth as Amelia continued holding her against the wall. “It’s too late. It’s done.”

“The fuck it is!” I snapped. “Tell me!”