Page 79 of Vow

This felt final.

Haven let it be done, and before Andino could respond, she had already turned her back to him and walked away.

It has to be done.

THIRTEEN

We’re done.

Leave me the fuck alone.

Andino was more than aware that he couldn’t afford to be lost in his thoughts in that moment, and yet, the only thing he could manage to do was stare blankly at the doorway Haven had just vacated.

He’d fucked up.

Oh, damn.

He’d fucked up badly.

The pain that had saturated Haven’s words when she spoke was still echoing in his mind. Even as the chairs scraped behind him, and bodies shifted to stand, he was still lost in the sound of Haven’s words banging around in his head.

Like knives and hammers.

Cutting and demolishing.

He hadn’t meant to do this, and certainly not to her. That had never been his intention, not to hurt her, or bring her into this mess. He wanted her, but he didn’t want to break her in the process. And yet, he thought that might be exactly what he had done.

“Nipote,” Lucian murmured from somewhere behind him. “Do you need a minute to—”

“What was that?”

Kev Calabrese’s voice grated on Andino’s nerves like nothing else. It made his back and shoulders stiffen with the rage that swelled hot and heavy in his gut. More than anything, he wanted to turn around and tell Kev to go fuck himself. That the deal was off—not that he ever intended to follow it through in the first goddamn place.

Yet, he was still stuck.

Still quiet.

“Andino,” Lucian said again.

Andino simply held up a hand for them to see over his shoulder. A silent way of asking for them to be quiet, and give him a second. Who knew what he fucking looked like right then? He didn’t want to turn around and give anyone—but especially Kev—any more ammo to use against him than what Haven had just handed over.

Fuck.

She didn’t realize what she just did.

He couldn’t even blame her.

“Andino, I don’t have time for this shit,” Kev snapped.

Fuck him.

Andino turned around with a sardonic smile plastered on his face. A forced smile, really. The most he could offer right then. “What’s the problem, Kev?”

The Calabrese man’s gaze narrowed in on Andino like he had found the target he was about to shoot at. Andino might actually welcome the fucking bullets with the way he was feeling. Right then, though, he needed to get a handle on this situation in whatever way he could.

Kev gestured at the doorway. “What is the problem?”

“That’s what I asked.”