Page 82 of Vow of Hate

Fuck this. I aim my gun at his knee. In all the training my mom had me do to learn how to shoot a gun, I was always too afraid to do it. I couldn’t shoot Dante when he showed up in my room that first night.

But now, I can’t hesitate.

I pull the trigger and the bullet lands right in the guard’s knee. He lets out a blood curdling scream as he drops to the ground.

Mom stares at me in horror. “Sienna. What did you do?”

“I am saving Dante. I am not going to let Gabriel control my life.” I walk over to the guard and pick up the gun he dropped. “Are you coming with me or not?”

“You’re not the daughter I know.”

“I am your daughter. I’m just the woman I grew into under Dante’s watch. You don’t know this side of me, Mom. This dark side of me but it’s here. And it’s not going anywhere. So either accept it or don’t but I am saving Dante.”

The guard calls someone on his phone again. “She shot me! Shot me!” I grab the phone from him and throw it to the ground and shoot it. The screen cracks. The phone is dead.

“Don’t kill me,” the guard begs.

“I am not going to kill you. Just get out of my way.” I shoot him in the other leg for good measure. No guilt. Just like the cop.

He cries out as he lays on the ground, not going anywhere.

“If I were Dante,” I say to my mom, “I would have killed him. But I didn’t. So you can stop looking at me like you don’t recognize me. You taught me how to shoot a gun. You taught me how to fight for myself. And that’s exactly what I am doing.”

She doesn’t say a word. I burst inside the house with her right behind me. At least she’s still by my side. Even if she doesn’t agree with what I’m doing.

A man comes running out from one of the rooms and aims his gun at me but I already have mine ready to go. I shoot him in the stomach and he falls back, dropping his gun. Mom runs to his side and picks the gun up.

“I don’t want to risk him shooting you.”

The guard pulls his phone out and tries calling someone but I shoot him in the hand. His scream echoes through the entire house.

“Sienna,” Mom snaps. “What are you doing?”

“I am making sure no one can stop me.”

No other guards come out. It must just be Gabriel somewhere in this house, torturing Dante.

I search the entire house, room after room, until I find the door that leads down to a basement. I don’t hesitate to run down the stairs and then I stop.

Because what I see is horrific.

Dante strapped to a table, covered in blood and bruises. Gabriel and Matteo lean over him, speaking words I don’t understand in this moment, because all I can think about is how horrible it is to see the man I care about this way. Nothing else matters except saving Dante’s life.

Gabriel and Matteo finally notice me.

“Sienna,” Gabriel says in a hard voice. “What are you doing here?” His eyes flick down to the gun in my hand. “It seems like you’ve been causing a lot of problems upstairs.”

I nod at Dante. “Let him go.” Dante is looking at me with an unreadable expression. Fortunately, he’s still alive so there’s still a chance.

“Dante flouted the rules. He has to pay the price.”

“And he tried to kill me,” Matteo says. “I’m still pissed about that.”

“Stop trying to control everyone!” I scream at Gabriel. My outburst startles him and I know Gabriel is the kind of man who doesn’t startle easily. “You tried to force me into a marriage with Dante. And now, when I actually care for Dante, you’re going to take him from me. We can make peace, Gabriel. Let me marry him.”

“He’s not the kind of man who will fall in line,” Gabriel responds.

“Give him the chance.” I turn to Dante. “Will you promise to make peace? Marry me, Dante. Make peace and marry me. Please.”