Page 2 of Vow of Hate

She points to the gun on the table near the front door. After my father died, she put guns around the whole house in clear visible view, ready to grab at any moment. “I would be careful if I were you. Or you might just leave this place without your penis intact. Go.”

Nico sneers and gives me one last look before leaving the house. The moment my mother shuts the door, she slumps against it, breathing heavy. I run down the stairs to her.

“Mom?” I whisper.

“I’m ok.”

“But he hit you.”

She waves a hand, silently telling me not to worry. “I’m ok, Sienna. Nico is all bark and no bite.”

“But he hit you,” I repeat. “That doesn’t seem like no bite.”

She tries to smile but I can tell it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Everything will be fine, Sienna. I’m going to make sure you’re always protected. I promise. No man is going to steal you away in the night. I will keep you safe.”

“But Nico has a point. We’re just two mafia women in a world of mafia men. They will come for me. They’ve already been coming for me.”

She cups my face and I lean into her touch, just like I did when I was a child. “I will protect you, Sienna. That I promise. Now, just stay inside. Keep every door locked. Practice turning the safety on and off your gun just in case.”

A shiver runs down my spine. The day after my father died, my mother took me to the shooting range to practice using a gun. I didn’t understand at first why that mattered. Now I do. I’m still not the best shot but I’m getting better at it. Slowly.

But not fast enough.

My best friend, Luciana, comes over. Her kind face is a welcome relief from the mafia men who have been snooping around.

“How have you been?” she asks, giving me a warm hug.

“Not good. Some men have been coming around. One of my father’s men, Nico… something, came by. He slapped my mother in the face.”

“Oh my god. Sienna, I’m so sorry.” Luciana’s eyes dark eyes sweep over my face. With her brown hair and doe features, she always resembled Audrey Hepburn in a way. “I wish I could help. Trust me. I wish it so much. I just want you to be safe.” A darkness crosses her features.

“What is it?” I whisper as she pulls away from me.

“It’s…” She sighs and slumps onto the couch. After a beat, I sit down beside her. “There’s something I want to tell you but Gabriel doesn’t want you knowing. Not right now and it’s killing me to not tell you. You deserve to know.”

“Know what?” I ask, my heart rate spiking.

She grips my hands, squeezing them tightly. “I just want you to be happy, Sienna. That’s all I want. Happy and safe. But Gabriel has a plan for you. One that isn’t going to keep you safe. I just know it. I want you to know now because then you can plan for this. Maybe even try to escape.”

“What’s going on?”

“Gabriel wants to marry you off. An arranged marriage. For peace.”

I knew there was a day something like this might happen. Luciana herself had to marry her husband, Matteo, for peace in an arranged marriage. Matteo was a dangerous man who had done bad things and yet, she managed to make it work for him. Especially after they were kidnapped by a horrible mafia man, Dante Zaneli. He tortured them but they survived and grew closer. Now they’re more in love than ever.

“Ok,” I say slowly. “Did he say anything? How do you know this?”

“Because he spoke about it with my husband and I happened to be there. He wants to marry you to… Dante Zaneli.”

I sit up straighter even as my body feels like it’s becoming cement. “What? The man who kidnapped you and Matteo? Who almost killed you two?”

“Yes. He’s hoping that a peace deal will keep Dante on a leash. But I have no idea if he’s proposed this plan to Dante yet. I know nothing. But I had to warn you. You and your mother should get out of town. You have a lot of money that your father left you. Leave. Dante is insane. A mad man. You cannot be married to him.”

“But this is the house I grew up in,” I whisper, realizing how pathetic I sound.

Luciana offers me a sympathetic smile. “I know. But you and your mother need to go. It’s not safe.”

“What will happen to you if Gabriel finds out you warned me?”