Page 65 of Vow of Desire

“Aww, how cute,” Dante mocks. “A husband comforting his wife. If you had been more forthcoming about who you were, Luciana, then this wouldn’t be happening right now. I would have known you were already married. I wouldn’t have fancied myself a chance at you.”

I flinch. Dante is an unknown variable but it’s obvious that he’s insane. An insane mafia man is the most dangerous thing I can think of.

Dante makes us walk down stairs and to the front door. “Keep going,” he orders.

“I don’t have shoes on,” I whisper.

He scoffs. “You think I care about that? Keep going.”

“Come on, Luci,” Matteo says in a gentle voice. “It’s ok.” I’m not sure I believe him.

We leave the house. The cold ground makes me shiver. In an instant, my feet turn to ice. It’s fall time and the air has been getting colder. It was never a problem during the day. Nice and warm while not being too hot. But now, in the middle of the night, everything feels freezing.

Everything feels dark and scary and impossible to get out of.

A large black sedan is waiting for us in the driveway. Since Matteo’s house is in the countryside, we don’t have any neighbors in sight. There’s no one to help us.

Two men stand beside the car, looking intimidating in their black suits and stoic expressions. The guns in their hands show just how serious this moment is. One of them opens the back door.

“Get in,” Dante orders.

“We can work something out,” Matteo says. “Make a deal together. Become stronger as a unit instead of fighting with each other. I’m no stranger to making deals with my enemies. Think about it, Dante. You’re an up and coming mafia man. Gaining ground. But if we work together, you could have a deal with Gabriel Romano himself. The head of the mafia in this city. You would be unstoppable. We all could be.”

Dante jams his gun into Matteo’s back, making my husband wince. “Why would I want to make a deal when this is muchmore fun? I’ve been making a name for myself. I don’t need your help or Gabriel Romano’s help to do that.”

“But you could gain so much more.”

“I’m a man who just wants to have fun. And making a peace deal with Gabriel Romano seems so boring.”

“When he finds out you kidnapped me and my wife, he’ll come for you and then I don’t think you’re going to be having so much fun when you’re dead.”

Dante goes quiet before he scoffs. I don’t have the courage to look at him. If I just keep my eyes on the ground, then maybe all of this will disappear and I’ll wake up from this nightmare.

“You’ll be dead first,” Dante says. “Gabriel Romano may be the top dog in this city but that doesn’t make him the strongest. He’s grown weak since he married his wife. Prefers making peace deals rather than going to war. But I’m the kind of man who wants to go to war. Chaos for chaos sake. Like I said, it’s fun for me. Now, get in the car. Don’t make me shoot you.”

I squeak.

Matteo motions me to walk. “It’s ok, Luci. We’ll get through this.”

The man who opened the car door grabs my arm and hauls me towards him.

“Let her go,” Matteo snarls, barging forward but Dante hits him in the side with his gun. Matteo grunts and goes still.

“Get her in the car,” Dante orders.

His guard grabs my arms and practically throws me into the car. I land on my side with a huff. I manage to push myself up by the time they’re forcing Matteo into the car. We’re side by side. Dante gets into the huge backseat with us, keeping his gun pointed right at our faces. His two men get in the front and then the car starts.

I watch as we drive away from the house. Matteo’s house.

Myhouse.

I clutch Matteo’s hand as tightly as I can. As if somehow by holding him, I’ll make it through this because right now, nothing feels possible. I feel it in my gut that me and my husband are going to die tonight.

“Why exactly are you doing this?” Matteo asks.

Dante smirks. “Like I said: it’s fun.”

“You just kill people for fun?”