Deadly Vows - Chapter 12 (Patreon)

Elise stands atop the stage in her red gown, her eyes closed, letting the beautiful melody play out of the instrument she is so talented with. I have listened to her so many times before as she sits in my office, playing for me.

She is stunning. No, stunning is an understatement. Her hair has grown in the past months since I’ve cut it, and she has large curls that barely touch her shoulders. I like her hair better short. I can see her face, and she can’t hide from me behind those thick locks anymore. The gown I’ve bought her hugs her figure perfectly. Her full lips are slightly parted as she plays, and her eyelashes are fanning her cheeks. She is swaying gently along with the music she is playing, clearly swallowed in her own world as she plays. The melody she is playing is enough to make a grown man cry. And I love her for it.

The day my father has told me I am to marry is by far the worst day of my life. I remember it as if it were yesterday.

“Luca, you know of the Trovoli family, yes?”

I narrow my eyes slightly at him. Why would he be talking about them? Of course, I know of them. Everyone does. They are a family of conniving cowards that do whatever it takes to get power. That was how the current capo lost his wife. By being selfish and careless.

“The capo of the South has approached me with a brilliant idea. He wishes for us to grow stronger together, to form a union so we will be better armed against trouble if it arises.” The smile on his face grows, and I can only imagine what he is about to say. “We’ve decided a union

between you and his only daughter will be a great way of showing that bond.”

I jump up from my chair quickly, anger radiating off my body in waves.

“Marriage? Fucking marriage! That’s your brilliant solution to us ‘growing strong together’?”

He narrows his eyes at me, but I stand my ground. I am not fucking afraid of him.

“You can just say that you’re going to work together, swear it, make an oath! You don’t have to drag me into this. You’re not about to tie me down with some bitch that’s the fucking blood of that coward!”

“Luca, sit down!” my father shouts at me. Anyone else would have shut up and sat down in a second, but I am not anyone else. I am Luca fucking Pasquino, and I am not about to be ordered around by anyone. Especially not when it comes to my future.

“No. You can do whatever the fuck you want, but I want no part of this.”

“Luca, you will listen to me!” he shouts. I can see the anger growing in his face.

I smile, completely amused. “Or what?” I laugh out loud to show my amusement at how he believes he is in control of this when he is trying to make me marry someone without my consent. “Go fuck yourself,” I say as I stand and walk out of the room, my father’s voice following me out of the room as he shouts my name.

I skip out on the rounds we are supposed to make collecting the money people pay us for protection. I just go to the bar and get drunk. I know I will have to marry this bitch. If not for my father, then for the good of the family. I’ve always known I will have to marry; I’ve just never expected for it to be so soon.

I want nothing to do with the girl until then. I don’t even bother to seek her out. I don’t care to. I send her gifts out of courtesy, but that is about it. The Trovolis are a disgusting group of people. Stabbing their own kind in the back for years. Honestly, I am going to have them all done away with once I become the head. They have done too much to be forgiven for. But with the Russians and the Taiwanese coming farther into our territory, I can see how coming together will strengthen us. It will give us power across the United States and make us stronger.

I’ll marry her, but I won’t give a damn about her. She is just another job, for all I care. I am not going to stop seeing my women, and I am not going to stop living the life I have before her. She isn’t going to change me.

The day I finally meet my bride-to-be is a day I will never forget. I am walking through her home, actually, on my way to meet with her father about the negotiations of something. I stopped in my tracks as a sound I have never heard before caresses my ears. The door is cracked to the room, and I push it open slightly.

There is a girl, and she is playing a violin, her long dark locks facing me. The tune has me captured. It is beautiful. She is very talented. She finally ends the melody, and I can’t help myself. I start clapping. She tenses in her seat and turns to face me.

Holy fuck! Perfect. She is perfect. I can feel the hardening in my pants as she stares at me with big almond-colored eyes that look back at me. They are wide and full of innocence. Her lips are a lovely shade of pink. Nice and full. Her hair is pitch-black and falls to her waist. She is wearing a light-blue dress that fits her nicely. Not too tight, but tight enough that I can see her lovely figure.

I recognize her from the picture I have seen a while back. Except now her face is more developed. And so is her body. She is a woman now.

“So you’re my future bride. You’re quite the beauty.”

She looks away as a bright-red blush crawls its way up her neck. I frown a little. She is hiding from me behind that thick curtain of hair. I don’t like that. I want to see her face.

“Thank you,” she whispers. Damn, her voice even radiates innocence. I can’t wait to hear that beautiful whisper with my name coming off her lips.

After I leave her, my mind is made up. She is mine. All mine. And no one else’s. I don’t want anyone else. I only want her. I even call that noisy bitch Jessica and tell her I am done with her. Something is festering deep inside of me toward Elise. A strong emotion. And it makes me want her even more than I do just now.

(Even when my father has given me the option of killing her off with her father, I couldn’t do it.)

I step into his office. He wants to see me on the information I’ve found. He is pacing back and forth, obviously pissed that he has almost been had. I’ve told him not to trust those damn Trovolis.

“Take a seat, Luca.” His voice comes out gruff. I sit down and wait for him to calm down before I speak. Even I am pissed with this information I have discovered. When Elise’s father has gone to strike her the night of our wedding, my suspicions have grown even further. No man will dare strike another man’s wife. Especially mine, if he truly believes this is a union of strength.

I look into his phone calls, transactions, emails, and I’ve even had Nicolai tail him for me.

“Elise’s father has been busy scheming against us.” I explain to him everything down to the tracker I have discovered buried in Elise’s arm.

He is silent. “Are you sure, son?”

“Absolutely. I told you the Trovolis couldn’t be trusted. But you just wanted to be blinded by your clouded beliefs.”

My father still hasn’t spoken. I can only imagine what he is thinking. I tell him not to trust that family, and he goes against his better judgment and plays right into their hands.

“I want them dead,” he says while looking at the desk. I am caught off guard by his choice of words.

“Them?”

“Elise and her father,” he says.

Maybe before the marriage, I would have gladly obliged. But everything is different now. I slowly stand and smooth out my shirt. “I will gladly take care of her father. But Elise stays with me.” My father looks up in surprise at my words. “Excuse me?”

I can see the anger beginning to flare. Our thing has always been to kill the betrayer and everyone he loves. Even if he doesn’t love them, the family is to be made an example of. But killing Elise doesn’t sit well with me. Not now that she is mine.

“I said no, Father. I will kill the father. But not Elise. And this time, I won’t budge on that,” I say, meeting his glare head-on.

He sits back in his chair and watches me, as if trying to figure out what my goal is. In truth, I have no idea. Usually, I will have done this no problem. But I want Elise. I want her alive. And my father’s plan pisses me off.

He chuckles to himself, as if in thought, and waves me toward the door.

“Fine, Luca.”

Elise is still playing on the stage. I will never be able to fathom how she is so talented. How she can play these notes and make them sound so beautiful. She is perfection. And she is mine.

She is all I have now. My father is gone because of some bastards from her family. They must have been trying to avenge her father’s death. How they’ve found out it hasn’t been an accident, I still have yet to find out. They have sneaked into my father’s party and killed him. I am so close to just eradicating the world of that filthy bloodline. The only thing that is keeping me from doing that is the woman standing on the stage right now.

My father and I have been close, so his death has really been hard on me. The fact that Elise’s family is behind it makes it hard to be around her. I want to destroy her in every little way possible. Make her pay for her family’s sins. But I figure the gunshot wound I’ve given her is enough to sate my anger. Honestly, I feel as though that is the only way I can save her from the man that has held her at gunpoint, but once I’ve finished with him and figured out who is behind all this, well, I don’t feel so bad about her getting caught in the middle.

It is her tainted bloodline’s fault that my father is dead. I want to make them all suffer. As soon as I have been sworn in as the capo, my subordinates have thought that is what I am going to do. But the feeling I have had toward Elise since I’ve married her is stronger than ever. And killing her is not going to happen.

She finishes the melody, and the applause begins. People even stand to show their appreciation of her talents. I can’t help but smile, pride swelling in my chest. I know they will love her.

After the concert, I stand in the entryway, waiting for her. I watch as others meet and greet their families and friends that have come to watch. All Elise and I have now is each other. I can feel the bitterness in me rising as I think about the bastards that have taken my father from me. I try to stuff the feeling back down. This is Elise’s night.

I see her open the doors and walk through, looking even more magnificent up close. She looks around until her eyes meet mine, and makes her way over to me. I can’t help the smile that comes over me. This amazing woman is mine.

I pull her warm body into mine in a tight embrace.

“You were wonderful, Elise.”

She mumbles a thank-you, and I pull back and study her. Her heart rate is increased. It is faster than it usually is. And her skin is warm. As if she is nervous about something. She also can’t look me in the eye.

“Something wrong, Elise?” I ask her.

She clears her throat and keeps avoiding eye contact with me.

“No.”

Hmmm. I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her toward the door. A man walks up to us with excitement on his face. He comes up so quickly I, out of instinct, reach for my gun just in case. But he only comes to compliment Elise.

“Wow, that was amazing! Your talent is incredible. I’ve never heard anything like that before.” He is smiling at her. When I look down, she is smiling back. I feel a deep rage boil up within me. I’ve told her that. I’ve smiled at her. And she can’t even return the smile. But this random man can come out of nowhere, and she’ll just offer him a smile just like that? Fuck no.

I pull her away in the middle of his talking, not caring about how rude I am being. Once I have Elise in the car, I try to rein in my anger, but it is getting fucking hard.

“Luca?” Her timid voice breaks through my haze. I hate it when she tries to act like she’s done nothing wrong. I have told her before, I just want to see her smile. That is all I fucking want.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I ask. I am trying to stay calm, but it is getting near impossible. “I do everything for you. Everything! All I want from you is a smile. A goddamn smile!” I squeeze the steering wheel, but my anger is already getting the best of me.

"You-"

I am cut off immediately as something happens that I’ve never expected to happen in my life. Elise reaches over and jerks the steering wheel. She catches me off guard completely. The car immediately jerks off the road and slams right into a tree, deploying the airbags. Glass shatters everywhere as the loud thunder of the car being crushed explodes around me. Pain wracks my entire body, and I can feel the blood rushing down my head when it collides with the side of the car. My chest is burning. I immediately look over at Elise, and she has barely any damage. She is breathing hard and frantically moving around. She has a few cuts and bruises, but that is about it. She has braced for impact.

My vision is getting blurry, and I am fighting consciousness. Elise opens her violin case quickly. Her hands are shaking, and she is fumbling with stuff. What the fuck? Her violin isn’t in the case, but different objects I can’t make out from the injuries I have sustained. She pulls out handcuffs. And her eyes meet mine.

Her eyes are wide and full of fear, and I see a slight hesitation. Whatever is holding her back, she pushes it from her mind. She immediately reaches for my hands, and I jerk, trying to prevent her from grabbing them. My fucking seat belt is jammed, preventing me from moving away, and my body is wracked with pain. There is the deafening sound of the handcuffs being cuffed around my wrists, and she cuffs me to the steering wheel.

“Elise! What the fuck!”

She completely ignores me and turns, trying to kick open her jammed door. She is weak, too, from her injuries, but she somehow finds the energy to kick it open. “Elise!” I shout again. Rage is boiling up deep within me from this betrayal. “Elise! Get your fucking ass back here!”

She still ignores me. I can feel myself barely hang on to the consciousness. A cough makes its way out of my body, and blood comes out. Fuck. I must have internal bleeding from the seat belt crushing my chest. Elise looks back one last time, and I see a look on her face I have never seen before. Hatred. Pure hatred. For me.

“I hope you die.” Her words float between us. She gives me one last glance and runs. I can’t see where.

“Elise!” I shout.

“Elise!” I try again, but she is really gone.

This is why she has been nervous. This has all been planned. The fucking bitch knows what she is going to do and does it. And has told me she hopes I die. I smile, and the action brings out another fit of coughing. At this rate, I just may. The car is literally crushing me. I am hanging on to consciousness by a thread, and I’ve had no security follow me tonight because I haven’t thought I’ll need any outside of the estate. I will be with my wife.

I am certifiably screwed.

Bitterness seeps into me as I recall my words to my father. Never trust a Trovoli.

And now I am eating those words, possibly with my life. The fucking bitch.

I think, If I make it out of this alive, she had better pray I don’t find her. If I do, God help her.