Deadly Vows Rewrite - Chapter Thirty Four (Patreon)

Luca

“Listen to me very carefully, Figlio. Today, you will do something very important. Something that no one will ever know about.”

I watch my father with wide eyes as he speaks to me. He rarely uses this tone with me, signifying that whatever is about to happen is very serious. I live to please my father. And now that he has given me something important to do, I will not fail him.

I shift my attention away from my father as a figure moves across the street. A woman pulls her young daughter with her and she is frantic, I note as the little girl stumbles from the pace her mother drags her.

“We’ve been offered a special opportunity. And I want you to fulfill it,” my father says.

I turn to him with wide eyes.

“You really mean it?” I ask.

Pride swells in my chest as he nods. I’ve been training for something like this my entire life. A moment to prove to my father, and anyone else who doubts me that I belong. He is finally going to let me be recognized as a man within the ranks.

“Now look. Do you see the woman? She has made some very serious enemies and has kidnapped the daughter of an important man. He wants her dead.”

I look back out the window as the woman huddles with her child near the empty alley. She’s clearly waiting for someone.

“Why?” I ask.

My father slaps me hard across the face, and I instantly taste blood in my mouth. But I don’t cry. I slowly bring my fingers to my lips, spitting the blood on the floor of the car as my father points his finger in my face.

“Do not question me, boy.”

I make sure to drain my face of emotion. I feel no pain. I am strong. My father abhors fear and weakness. And it is my job to show none.

“I want her disposed of properly, only her fingers you keep to prove the job is done,” he says.

“And the girl?” I ask, looking at the young girl. She’s crying as her mother shakes her, trying to quieten her. She’s scared.

“Beat her. We are to send her back to her father.”

 I furrow my brow. The instructions are strange, and seem like they belong to a coward. He wants his wife dead, and his daughter brought back, but not without bruises. It doesn’t make sense to me. But I am not one to question my father. Not when a simple "why" gets my lip busted. I follow orders. 

“Okay,” I say, getting out of the car.

The street is dark and as I look around, there is no one in sight. She was obviously meant to meet someone here to help her and didn’t want to be seen. But what she doesn’t know is that her husband is already aware of her plans and has taken that possibility from her, along with her life.

I quietly cross the street, pulling my gun from its hidden place just as her daughter starts acting up again. She roughly grips her shoulders, hissing at her. And as she does, she gives me the perfect shot.

“Elise, I told you—”

I smile to myself as I hit her right between the eyes, her life instantly disappearing from behind her eyes.

“Bulls-eye,” I murmur.

The woman collapses to her knees before falling against the pavement, pulling the girl with her. The girl shrieks, screaming at her mother as she pulls her hand from her grip.

“Mommy? Mommy!” She shakes her mother and doesn’t even realize I am approaching until the last second. She jumps when she finally sees me but doesn’t realize the danger she is in as she grabs my arm.

“Please help us! My mom… she won’t get up,” she sobs.

Her eyes are red and puffy from the tears streaming down her face. I don’t miss the innocence in her gaze as she looks at me. And as I step closer, she doesn’t see the butt of my gun careening towards the side of her head. She collapses instantly, and I kneel next to her, my eyes shifting to the blood pouring from a new wound on her temple.

I may have overdone it.

I check my watch, setting my timer. I have four hours to dispose of her mother. I grab the girl by her collar, lifting her up to look at her unconscious face. The blood drips from her temple to her brow now, forcing me to take in her innocent features, which cause me to hesitate.

Then, my father’s words flash in my mind.

So I ball my fist, putting any weakness out of my mind as I swing at her unconscious body. 

* * * * * 

I jolt awake, my breathing heavy from the memory that always causes me panic. I quickly take in my unfamiliar surroundings, and I notice the needle in my arm and leads on my chest. The monitor next to me shines an annoying light over the dim room, and I quickly rip the IV out of my arm. I hate being pumped with anything. It makes me slow and an easier target.

“Agh!” I moan as a headache scratches the inside of my skull. I drop my head in my hands, gritting my teeth as I try to calm myself down. I’m in the hospital. The last thing I remember is Elise’s panicked face after I was shot… then nothing.

I quickly survey the room, shock coursing through me when I see Elise lying on a small cot. Her arm is over the edge, hovering over the floor as she lays on her stomach. Her hair is pulled away from her face, revealing the scar on her temple that she doesn't remember getting. But I do. Discomfort suddenly hits me as I recall my memory. She’s grown so much from the little girl whose life I changed all those years ago. I recall her panicked expression as she tried to save her cousin.

She has no idea just how much her family hated her. The lengths her father went through to build his reputation and steal her future from her is despicable even to me. And he attempted the same with her brother. Now that the entire Trovoli clan is eradicated, it’s a matter of finding out who did this to Enzo and me. And more importantly, why?

It takes me longer than I would like to get out of bed while trying not to make a sound. But eventually, I successfully put my feet on the ground without waking Elise. If Elise is here, Romelo or Nicolai can’t be far. It takes all of my strength to open the door, and just as I suspect, Romelo is standing in the hallway.

He turns when he hears the door creak, shock appearing on his face when he sees it’s me and not Elise who is stepping into the hallway.

“Boss!” His footsteps falter as he approaches. “Do you need anything? Has Elise seen you yet?” he asks.

I shake my head, immediately coughing when I open my mouth to speak from the dryness of my throat.

How long have I been out?

Romelo is by my side, helping me to the sitting room. Once I’m seated, he quickly moves to bring me a water bottle, and I take it from him, drinking it down until the bottle is empty.

“How long have I been out?” I ask.

My voice is rough from lack of use, even with the water.

“A week,” Romelo says.

I tense, forcing myself to remain calm. That means I’ve been in the hospital long enough for a file to be created on me. And long enough for whoever did this to get a good look at the routine of my subordinates during a time like this.

“What happened? And where the hell is Nicolai?” I ask.

“He’s watching the boy. He was released from the hospital a few days ago,” he says.

My anger slowly builds as Romelo tells me everything that happened. He tells me how Enzo was shot, and Elise pressed my wounds before she knew it was safe. And he tells me who was behind it. It looks like Arianna used her husband's contacts before she was captured. And while we’ve taken one man to interrogate from the party, it isn’t looking good for us. Someone high up is coming for the Pasquino’s. Possibly government level.

And that is why she said a storm is coming.

“I want to be out of here within the hour,” I say, standing.

Romelo watches me in concern.

“But you're not even close to fully healed—”

“I don’t care. I hate hospitals. Have something set up at my home. We’re leaving,” I say.

Romelo stands with me, helping me back to the hospital room I woke up in. And when I step inside, Elise is still asleep. I quietly study her as I sit atop the bed. She could have left me for dead or even attempted to run, but she didn’t. And according to Romelo, she’s been here every day this week by my side. She hasn’t left.

I smile.

I don’t know why she’s had such a change of heart, but I won’t question it. Not when she’s been watching over me while I’ve been asleep. I flinch as I lay on my back, and pain shoots through my chest. I know it’s going to be a stretch to full recovery, but with everything that is coming, I can’t afford to take a break. Not when everything I’ve worked so hard to protect is at stake.