Page 162 of Vows of a Mobster

“Antonio, take your wife and Emma home,” Mateo spoke.

I could see the struggle on Antonio’s face. He wanted to stay with Mateo but he didn’t want to let Daphne go without him either. On shaky legs, I went to Daphne.

“Emma, sweetie,” I murmured. “Go with Aunt Daphne. She’ll take you home.”

“I want to go with you,” she pouted.

I put my forehead against hers. “I’ll be right behind you,” I murmured, scared for the first time in my life that I wouldn’t survive to see Emma grow up. I was scared that the life Mateo and I conceived would never survive to come into this world. All because I made a stupid decision out of desperation two years ago. “If you are good, she might even feed you ice cream,” I joked with a heavy heart, barely able to force a smile for my daughter’s benefit.

Emma nodded and shifted her body into Daphne’s arms.

“I’ll take the guard my husband assigns,” Daphne spoke to Mateo. “Antonio will remain here. I’ll text him as soon as we are out of here and when we arrive home safely.”

Daphne put me to shame with her sacrifice. My lip trembled, holding my fear back. We knew it would eventually catch up to us all. It was the reason we never talked about it. We were pretending that somehow by some miracle, we’d come unscathed from what we did.

“Very well,” Mateo agreed. “Antonio, pick which two.”

I didn’t pay attention to who he picked. They were all good men.

I squeezed Daphne’s hand. “Remember,” my whisper was hoarse, tears pooling in my eyes. She nodded without a word, and I pressed a kiss onto Emma’s forehead.

“Be good,” I choked out.

They left, Emma watching me over Daphne’s shoulder. I smiled and her face lit up, making me warm on the inside. I watched the empty space for a while, holding my breath. Waiting to hear Antonio’s words letting me know they were safe.

One minute that seemed like a lifetime passed when he finally said, “They left the property. Nobody is following them.”

“I gave my word,” Declan almost sounded a bit bitter that we didn’t believe him. “Now, I think it is time we all come clean here. Don’t you?”

His eyes shifted between Giovanni and me. I swallowed hard, my heart racing so hard that my ears buzzed with fear. There was nothing I could say that would make that night two years ago justifiable. They would kill me. I just hoped they wouldn’t kill Giovanni too.

“Spit it out, you Irish piece of trash,” Giovanni broke the silence. “And stop gawking at another man’s wife.”

A gasp echoed in the room. I wasn’t sure whose it was. Maybe it was mine.

“Giovanni, don’t taunt,” I begged, my voice quavering.

“What?” He ignored my plea. “I’m supposed to be okay with him fucking my sister and gawking after my cousin’s wife. He probably hopes for a happy threesome.”

Declan’s clenched fist connected with Giovanni’s face before I could even take the next breath. Giovanni’s head flew to the side, and then another punch followed.

“Declan, stop it!” Marissa and I both screamed.

I took a step but Mateo pulled me back. “Don’t,” he warned.

“Now, Giovanni,” Declan growled. “We will finish what we started two years ago.”

Marissa and I shared a look. Her eyes were wide with fear and terror that I felt through every fiber of me.

I tried to shake Mateo off me. “Let go of me,” I pushed against him.

“Brianna!” Mateo’s voice was dark and threatening but I didn’t care. With all my strength, I elbowed him straight into his gut. He didn’t let go but his grip on me lessened enough for me to break free. I rushed to Giovanni but Mateo stopped me again, his hand gripping my wrist almost painfully.

Declan punched Giovanni again, blood splattering onto his shirt. “This time, we won’t stop till we hear what you did with Kyle’s body.”

“Fuck you,” Giovanni spat blood on Declan.

“It was me!” The scream tore from me. “Declan, please stop. It was me.”