Page 64 of My Solemn Vow (The Mafia Arrangement #1)

VALOR

THE MESSAGE

I read it again.

I read it another time.

It doesn’t make sense.

Neil:

We’re headed to your house. Be there in an hour.

Antonella betrayed us. Bringing proof.

Kerrianne isn’t safe with her. None of us are.

Dad:

It doesn’t look good, Valor. I’m sorry.

They broke the truce. Secure your bride. We can’t let anything else happen.

My heart shatters in my chest. I trusted this woman. I let her into my daughter’s life. I could have kept her locked up in a tower away from the world, but instead, I let her into my home, into my bed, and if what Neil says is true, she’s betrayed us, and Kerrianne is in danger.

I don’t want to believe it. I don’t know what to believe.

I rack my brain for signs of her deception that I may have missed.

Maybe the deception started at the beginning.

Her sexual inexperience, her softness, her willingness to explore new experiences with me — it was all an act.

The smartest of ruses to play right into her hand.

My wolf is silent but with me, our hearts being ripped from our chest at the prospect.

I ball my hand into a fist around my phone and bow my head, taking a deep breath to contain the rage at being made a fool of. Fire burns through my gut, and I can’t control my heart as it pounds in my head.

With one last look at her, taking a tray of cookies out of the oven before turning it off, I let this be her last moment of peace. I let it be perhaps the last good memory I have of her. Moments are fleeting and something you can’t ever hold. We’ve had so many good moments.

Striding forward, I steel myself for what’s to come.

Maybe it’s a mistake. Maybe she didn’t know what she was doing. I need to know now, before they get here. Whatever it takes to know the truth.

Transforming from Valor the husband to Valor the interrogator, I stalk into the kitchen and grab hold of her ponytail. I drag her to the wall outside of the kitchen and press her face-first against it, pushing my body against hers, caging her in.

“Valor!” she shouts, pushing against the wall, trying to get out from under my weight.

But it’s no use; the size difference between us puts her at a disadvantage.

“You need to tell me what you did right this second. I might be able to save you, but I need to know what the fuck you did,” I snarl into her ear.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Move,” she orders, still trying to push me away. “Get off! ”

“Don’t lie to me. What did you do?” I repeat, wishing I had more information to prompt a response.

Maybe she’s just done so much dirty shit she doesn’t know what I caught her in. That sickens my stomach. How could I have been so wrong about her?

Antonella kicks out, trying to strike me, but I have her pinned, so she can’t land anything more than a ridiculous tap against my body.

She quits struggling and draws slow breaths. “Valor, I don’t know what you think I did, but I assure you, I didn’t do it.”

“My father and Neil are on their way over here right now. They say they have evidence that you betrayed us. You put Kerrianne in danger. So fucking tell me right now, and maybe I can make this easier on you. Maybe I can make this look like it’s something it’s not.

A life locked away in an apartment with a view is better than death.

” I warn her, talking fast, hoping she hears me and what I need from her.

“I don’t know what the fuck they could possibly be bringing, but I didn’t do it. Whatever they think I did, I didn’t.” She’s drawing ragged breaths. Her forehead is pressed against the wall so I can’t see her expression.

With a snarl, I step back enough to forcibly roll her to face me. “Just. Tell. Me.”

Her eyes lock on mine, the autumn-leave tones glossy with moisture. “I don’t know what you think I did, but I didn’t do it.”

I want to believe her. From her soft lips, furrowed brow, and the sincerity in her eyes, I don’t sense deception, but maybe she’s that good. That’s been the plan all along. Make me think she’s giving everything away, but really she’s got it locked inside her. Was this some elaborate long con?

It rolls my gut. I don’t have time to waste.

With force to show her I’m serious, I grab her by the back of the neck and shoulder, turning to put her in front of me. Antonella walks on her own two feet as I steer her through the house.

Until we take the stairs down to the basement.

“Valor.” Her voice wavers with a near sob. She digs her feet into the floor, stopping her movement. “Don’t do this.”

“You’re not giving me any choice.” I hate that my voice isn’t strong, that it’s filled with gravel. She’s made me weak.

My wolf howls in mourning. No, our mate wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t.

I ignore him, my heart breaking enough without him dying inside me as well.

Antonella fights me the entire way, reaching back to try to dislodge my grip. Her feet dragging and scrabbling against the floor, searching for purchase that doesn’t come. It’s clear she did have training, albeit not enough to fight me off.

I throw her up against the wall alongside the door to my torture chamber.

Antonella keeps fighting, her voice edged to a sharp point. “Valor. I don’t know what is going on. Let me go. Talk to me.”

That sound, that pleading, normally excites me, but this time it leaves my mouth dry and ashy. My stomach turns again. But I have orders. I tried to get her to tell me. So now we’ll see what my uncle brings with him.

I could chain her to the wall, or hang her from the ceiling by her wrists and let her dangle, or strap her to the table. But I can’t make myself leave her in such an exposed position. I force her into the metal chair.

Antonella doesn’t go without a fight. She claws at me when I move around her to put her into the chair.

Her long hair makes for an easy handle to maneuver her.

Her knees buckle at the edge of the chair as I drag her backward.

Her ass hits it hard, and Antonella lets out a gasp trying to reinflate her lungs.

Using her hair, I drag her up to the position I need her in. Her ass comes off the chair, and she’s forced to stand, leaning backward with her shoulders pressing against the spiked back.

The collar on the chair works like handcuffs, opening to wrap around the unlucky person’s neck and then clicking back, tightening and latching into place, then it’s attached to the chair with a chain.

I lock the steel collar around her neck but don’t adjust the chain, keeping her bent uncomfortably.

The last man I had in this chair was a foot taller and had a hundred-plus pounds on Antonella. Maybe if I make her uncomfortable, she’ll realize how serious I am. Maybe she isn’t telling me because she thinks I’m messing around, that I won’t hurt her.

If she does think that, she’s wrong. I’ll do anything to protect Kerrianne, even if it means hurting her. Even if it means hurting myself.

My wolf whines, fighting against me. Our mate wouldn’t betray us. She loves us.

She continues to fight, digging her fingers at the collar’s edge, but it’s far too tight. There isn’t any room to grab hold. The thick metal makes it hard to grasp.

I walk around and stand before her, bracing myself on the arms. I’m well within striking distance, but with wild eyes and a red face, she’s too busy trying to save herself, so she doesn’t take the opportunity to attack me.

“Tell me what you did,” I order her, but my voice decides pleading is better, and it’s soft, vulnerable, and I hate her for making me this way. “I can save you if you tell me.”

“I didn’t do anything, Valor. Why would I lie to you?” She gasps for air, the collar far too tight.

“Self-preservation?” I offer, pulling one of her hands away from where she’s grabbing at her neck.

I extend her arm to lock it into the armrest and do the same with the other. Her gasps for air grow more desperate .

Antonella’s face begins to turn red, her eyes soft and pleading, her lip trembling, and this is all it takes to reduce a strong woman to silent begging. Begging that gets her nowhere.

I wait until her eyelids get droopy before I release the chain holding her at such an abnormal angle.

Her ass finally comes to rest in the chair, and she takes deep breaths. I let her catch her breath before I start again.

“What is it that you did? What is it that you told someone? What could it possibly be?” I don’t recognize my voice anymore.

It’s not me. I wouldn’t talk this way to anyone in my chair like this. I wouldn’t let them see me break.

“Valor. I don’t know what you’re talking about. If I knew I’d tell you, but I haven’t done anything.” Antonella is panting, her breaths fast and heavy through an open mouth. “Talk to me.”

“They’re bringing evidence. I need you to tell me what it is.” I can’t look at her anymore. I can’t see her panicking in my chair. The one I’ve used hundreds of times before.

Busying myself, I go to the cabinet, open it up, and look at the tools available for this job. Everything here is meant to maximize pain. They’re all things that hurt like hell, but none of the pain they can inflict compares to what’s going on in my heart.

“What have you talked about with your uncle?” I growl at her, hoping it jogs her memory.

“I haven’t spoken to Gregorio since the wedding. He told me that he hoped you’d kill me because I was a disgrace.”

Again, sincerity in her voice.

She isn’t lying. My wolf fights me and what I’m doing, but he’s the one who convinced me to love her. It’s clear he’s wrong about many things, including her being our mate. No mate would betray the other. A human can’t be suitable for a wolf.

“You’re a fantastic liar.” I take two implements out of the cupboard. “So, if you want to play that it wasn’t your uncle, what about Leticia? You two text all the time, what is it you’ve been telling her about our life?”