Page 46 of My Solemn Vow (The Mafia Arrangement #1)

VALOR

A GROWING PUP

Winter break classes are underway, and Kerrianne is super excited.

It’s a good opportunity for her and Declan to start working together fresh, on a Monday morning.

After this weekend and Antonella’s intensity when she was pissed off, I have no doubts that, between her and Declan, little raptor is safe.

That doesn’t change the damn near heart attack I have when I see her cell number come up on my phone early afternoon, right after the school’s scheduled lunchtime.

“Hey.” Antonella’s voice is soft like she’s keeping her conversation from being overheard.

“Everything okay?” I lean back in my desk chair and reach for the drawer with my gun.

“It’s not bad.” Antonella immediately tries to de-escalate my fear.

“But Kerrianne isn’t quite herself. I don’t know.

She’s maybe coming down with the flu.” Antonella continues, her voice low, and I hear her heels click on the floor.

“Irritable, lethargic, easily frustrated. She’s not herself.

It’s started to get worse since snack this morning.

If she were anyone else’s child, I’d have sent her to the nurse.

But... I mean... what’s the point in having your daughter in my class if she can’t get special treatment? ”

My daughter. Antonella being very clear not to claim Kerrianne is so respectful that it gives my wolf a moment to calm down from his protective nature and shift to problem-solving.

Pup will grow. He’s adamant that it’s probably growing pains of the wolf variety.

I’m not ready for her to grow up, but if she’s acting this way, it could be bad. She’s a little old for an uncontrolled shift, but that’s always a concern.

I pull my gun out of the drawer and close my laptop. “No nurse. Good call. I’ll come get her. I’m nearby. I’ll be there in like fifteen minutes. Is it possible to give her another snack?”

It’s a bit of good luck that Kerrianne’s having a growth spurt during the nonmandatory classes. But now it’s accelerated the urgency to tell Antonella about who and what we are, or undoubtedly, Kerrianne will be the first one to show Antonella a wolf.

“Yeah, I’ll hold her back when I send the rest to art,” Antonella whispers. “Got to go.”

“I’ll be there soon.” I’m not sure if she hears that last part, but it doesn’t matter because the phone clicks off.

Jack is standing at the door to my office. “That the school?”

“Yeah? How’d —”

“You get a call and start it with ‘Everything okay,’ it’s either your mother or your daughter, and I know for a fact Betty is with Ian and they’re at home safe and sound,” Jack explains.

“Yeah, Antonella called saying Kerrianne wasn’t herself, so you can only assume what that means.” I stand up and try to remember freezer contents.

I’ll text Mom on the way home. Get more of Kerrianne’s favorites brought over.

“Ahhh, crabby and about ready to take her schoolmates’ heads off, then?” he asks knowingly .

I tuck my gun into its holster and shrug my coat over my shoulders to conceal it. “I call her little raptor for a reason.” I laugh, knowing that my daughter is every bit as fierce as she is sweet.

“Isn’t that the truth.” Jack leads the way out of my office, and we take the elevator down to the garage where we keep the SUV. “Can’t believe your kid is seven.”

“Yeah. Can’t believe I’ve survived this long.” I sigh and lean against the elevator doors.

Good thing I sat Antonella down and divulged the family secret. My own sarcasm doesn’t even amuse me. Especially not when my wolf scolds me for my choice too.

You should’ve told her. She’s our mate, my wolf grumbles. Then we could be a happy family. But no. You’re too busy trying to look for a war like some fuckin’ hero. Show her we’re wolves, and this will be easier.

I ignore him as per usual and climb into the passenger seat of the SUV. Tucked inside, I dial the number for Declan.

“Yeah, boss.” He answers on the first ring.

“Change of plans with the raptor. Meet us at school for a pickup.” I don’t bother explaining myself. His first day and things are already abnormal.

“On it.” Declan waits for more instruction or for me to hang up, so I close the line.

“What do you think of Declan?” I ask Jack as we settle into the drive through the city streets.

“Good guy.” Jack nods, signaling before changing lanes.

He checks the rearview mirror a few extra times.

I check the side mirrors myself. “What are you seeing?”

Jack shakes his head, and we take a wrong turn away from Kerrianne’s school. “Call Declan back. Tell him we need him.”

With one hand, I dial Declan again, and with the other, I open the glove box to pull out another gun.

“Yeah, boss.” He answers on the first ring .

“Change of plans. Again.” I hate sounding like a flake, and I put it on speaker.

Jack knows what I’m asking for and starts talking about what he sees. “Follow our vehicle on the GPS. We’ve got a possible tick, and I don’t like it. Gray late model hybrid of some nature. Not your usual assault vehicle.”

“I’m comin’ from the other side of the school. Give me a few. Keep them circling,” Declan answers, accent thick.

I catch a glimpse of the car that Jack thinks is following us. He’s right. It’s not the usual style vehicle we’d see if they were looking for a shoot-out or a display of power. No, that’s a vehicle designed to be invisible. To follow, to intercept and cause chaos, but then completely disappear.

Like the kind of vehicle someone would take our pup in. My wolf, on edge, agrees with me.

I chamber a round, and despite having Declan on the phone, I start texting, alerting those in the area of the potential threat. I hesitate when I get to Antonella’s number.

Before I can dial, shots ring out. They pepper the back of the SUV before working their way up the left-hand side.

The bulletproof sides hold strong with loud plinks of metal on metal.

The windows crack and spiderweb, but the caliber of the round isn’t enough to pierce it.

When the vehicle pulls in front of us, they shoot, and the windshield also cracks up but holds in place.

The vehicle wobbles.

Jack curses. “They got the driver’s side tire.”

But as fast as the attack happened, they’re gone.

“Think they’re circling back?” Jack asks, slamming his fist against the wheel.

The vehicle comes to a stop in the middle of the road, rendered immobile.

Jack is dialing someone on his phone, and the screen shows it’s my parents’ emergency line .

“Jack?” My dad barks gruffly as he gets moving. “What’s happened?”

“Valor and I were shot at. Vehicle is disabled. Declan is on the way to us, but it’s suspicious. It’s like they were waiting for us to leave the office.” Jack growls, moving and bending to look through the fractured glass.

It’s not the first time we’ve been sitting ducks in an SUV that’s practically a tank.

“Where were you headed? Should I send a team?” my father asks, completely calm.

“No. No team. We need to move quickly. We’re on our way to Kerrianne. She’s irritable and Antonella said it looked like the flu,” I say.

“A growth spurt,” Dad groans.

“How convenient is that?” Neil asks on the line. “Antonella knew you were coming to get Kerrianne, and you’re attacked en route? That’s suspicious.”

“What are you implying?” I snarl.

Neil doesn’t back down. “That it’s possible your new bride set you up.”

Dad’s phone is muted, and Declan pulls up on my side of the vehicle. I get out, gun drawn, checking back and forth as I walk around to the passenger seat of Declan’s car.

Jack climbs through the SUV, also going out my door, before climbing into the back seat on Declan’s side.

“School,” I snap before Jack even has the door closed.

Declan guns it, flying through traffic.

“Ian is sending a cleanup crew and a tow for the SUV.” Jack doesn’t bring up what Neil said. He doesn’t need to.

We’ll kill whoever hurts her. My wolf paces inside.

We’re anxious. My skin feels tight, and my fangs elongate as we drive to the school. I’m ready for conflict at a second’s notice.

My focus is entirely on Kerrianne’s safety and all the possibilities. There is one possibility I absolutely can’t stand the thought of being true. Could Antonella have set this up? What would she get out of me being dead?

The rule has always been that, no matter what, Kerrianne goes with her bodyguard for consistency, but between the newness of Declan and being shot at, I can’t wait for him to bring her out to me.

In a flurry of texts, I let Dr. Thatcher know I arrived at the building to ‘check in’ my presence and ‘check out’ Kerrianne. Finally, I text Antonella when standing outside of her classroom door.

My heart is thundering, and all I want is to lay eyes on them both.

I hear Antonella’s heels click along the hard floors as she approaches the door. She asks softly, “Is it urgent?”

“It’s me.” I confirm for her. Smart woman not trusting and opening the door.

She unlocks the door and stands in the opening, looking behind me. She then opens it only far enough for me to walk through. Her scent of fear hits me like a shot to the chest. It floods all my senses, bringing my own back to the surface.

“What’s wrong?” I examine her and step around her. If this pup shifted uncontrolled...

But Kerrianne is still in her human form, her head down, resting on her arms on her tiny desk. Her shoulders rise and fall with the steady rhythm of sleep.

“There’s something strange with her eyes. I don’t... They’re not green.” Antonella puts her hand over her mouth and pulls it away. “I didn’t know if I should call an ambulance. I... She ate the same thing everyone else did today. I... ”

“It’s okay. It happens. We’ll talk about it at home.” I’m swapping one problem for the next.

Kerrianne is safe, but Antonella has seen a glimpse of my daughter’s wolf.

Pup is safe. My wolf focuses on the important part. Our mate is safe.

I walk over to Kerrianne and crouch down by her desk. I run my hand up and down along her back. “Hey, little raptor. Let’s go home.”

Kerrianne growls. It’s low and would draw a little one from me to scold her.

She lets out a soft whine before turning her head to face me. Her eyes are bright yellow with her wolf right at the surface.

I pet her hair and whisper, “Tuck the wolf away, Kerrianne.”

It’s agonizing to watch her try. But ultimately, she’s not able to get the wolf to go back.

Pup is too tired. My wolf knows.

“Alright, I’ll carry you. Eyes closed though, okay?” I murmur, and Kerrianne nods.

It’s painstaking to watch her pull herself from her desk and into my arms. I scoop her up, carrying her like I’ve done so many times before.

With her in my arms, I walk back to Antonella. “Jack is staying here with you. I’m sending a couple cars to bring you home at the end of the day.”

Antonella draws her brows together. “Is something wrong?”

I nod, not wanting to lie to her, but that kernel of doubt is in the back of my brain. The one Neil planted. “It’ll be fine, but I’ll feel better knowing you’re safe.”

She doesn’t question me beyond that, but she does open the door and step out into the hallway first before flagging me out of the room. I effortlessly carry my little raptor back to the secured entrance and am flanked by Jack and Declan to get her in the car .

When she’s buckled in, Jack heads back to the school’s security office, and as Declan starts to pull away, I debate stopping and going back for Antonella and Jack to bring them home with us.

But I don’t. I hold Kerrianne’s hand and comfort her on the way home.

I’ve always allowed Kerrianne to shift anytime she’s at home and we don’t have company. So when we pull up in front of the door, under the covered parking awning, Kerrianne is barely out of the car before her wolf explodes from her little body, destroying the clothes she wore to school.

Which gets a chuckle from Declan. “At least she didn’t shred the inside of the SUV.”

I sigh and work the buttons of my shirt on my way to shift with Kerrianne. “Can you imagine if we destroyed two in one day?”

“Pft. Light day.” Declan scoffs. “You want me to go back for Mrs. Cavanagh at the end of the school day as extra precaution?”

“Please.” I nod, tossing my shirt on the bench by the front door, and kick off my shoes, watching as Kerrianne runs full tilt down the driveway.

Pup got faster. My wolf observes, and I stretch out, letting him take over my body.

Life is simpler with four feet and chasing Kerrianne through piles of leaves that the gardening staff has yet to pick up.

I chase her down, pushing her to run harder around the yard. Then I lead her back toward the house and repeat the process, running out again and again.

For almost two hours, we’re out here as wolves enjoying the elements before we collapse in the yard, both of us out of breath and panting.

She’s falling asleep in wolf form when I shift back and pull on my clothes. I grab a dress from one of the gardening boxes we keep around the house and bring it over to her.

“Come on, Kerrianne. Let’s get you cleaned up, fed, and put to bed.” I hold the dress out toward her.

She groans and lets out the most dramatic sigh in puppy form before slowly shifting back. It turns into a yawn, and she pulls the dress over her head.

After a negotiation of dino nuggets and cauliflower or mac and cheese with hotdogs and broccoli, I get Kerrianne tucked in her bed upstairs right on time for the text to come in that Jack and Declan are on their way home, escorting Antonella.