Page 76 of My Solemn Vow

I shake my head. “I’m good here. I want to see this fucker suffer.”

Gavin and Neil leave as Valor cuts down the other side of Marc’s pants. He throws the fabric aside and looks back to me.

Valor’s eyes are dark, his face all stern lines and rage. “Did he sell videos of you?”

That question hits me like a punch in the gut. It makes me close my eyes, but that’s not enough. I turn my head away from him, and it’s still not enough. Rotating 180 degrees around is the only way I don’t feel the full force of the shame. But for the first time I’ve thought about it in over a year, a new thought screams louder than the rest.What if Valor doesn’t want me because of this?

There’s a loud smack. The sound of skin on skin. It comes twice, thrice, and on the fourth, it finally stops.

Valor shouts, “You’re a dead man!”

The words echo around the room. It eases but doesn’t resolve the thought in my head about Valor wanting me.

Marc sobs, “I didn’t know. I was a kid. I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know filming teenage girls changing was wrong?” Valor must hit him again.

“I didn’t know she was yours,” Marc wails.

“Who are you giving our fight information to? Who the fuck knows about the fights?” Valor presses.

I hear a snick of maybe shears of some sort as they open.

Marc’s scream covers the sound of whatever Valor does.

“You’ve got nine more fingers. I’ll let her kill you quickly if you fuckin’ tell me all our secrets you’ve been sharing.” Valor threatens him.

Or is it offering reprieve? I can’t decide.

“D’Medicis.” Marc whines through my old last name. “And some guys at the bar. I think they’re Chinese? They’re nobodies. But they asked where they could get brutal action, and I told them. Really, though, they only had one gun between them. Who could be dangerous if they have only one gun? That’s it. They’re nobodies.”

Valor seethes, making a deep hissing noise like air between teeth in a clenched jaw. “Describe them.”

“I don’t know, man. Asian?” Marc whimpers. “One had a scar on his jaw.”

“And let me guess. One had a really messed up nose. It had been broken a few times.” Valor seemingly knows these men.

I finally work up the courage to turn back around. Marc’s face is swollen on his left side. It’s bright red and his eye is starting to swell. Valor’s body is blocking one of his hands from my view, which I’m guessing is the one he removed a finger from.

“I guess.” Marc looks at Valor and his hand. It’s hanging at his side, and he’s holding a scissors-like item, spring loaded with nasty, large blades coated in blood.

“You guess?” Valor doesn’t let Marc off the hook.

“Yeah, it was bent, kinda to the left?” Marc questions what he knows.

“Yakuza. Fuckin’ exporters. At least they already buy our weapons. Won’t be hard to clean up,” Valor mutters, turning back to the table.

Every rise and fall of his shoulders comes with great effort, the breath slowly leaving his lungs.

He looks up at me. “I’m seeing if Royal can find every video with you in it, and I’ll personally kill anyone in possession of one.”

“You can’t just kill people for seeing a video over ten years ago.” I shake my head.

Why is that the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard? What is wrong with me?I wet my lips and run a hand down my face.

Valor scoffs out a laugh but doesn’t comment.

“Marc, how long have you been a lying sack of shit and been in Chicago?” I glare at him.