PROMISE ~~~~

VINCENZO POV ~~~

I almost died. Again. This time was different, however. The other attempts on my life had been sloppy, easily avoided. Except for the car bomb, I saw them coming.

The sniper caught me by surprise. I hadn’t expected a coordinated attack to facilitate Dante’s escape. I suppose I should have—he knew it was me or him, that one of us would end up dead—but I’d been shot on the street like a foot soldier. In front of my wife.

What had I been thinking? I’d been careless, which was unforgivable. She was carrying my child. Nothing mattered more than the two of them, along with Dimitri.

I should’ve held firm and had Valentina cancel the appointment. Instead I let her manipulate me to get her way. I would not make that mistake again.

Consciousness once more tugged at me and forced me awake. My brain swam toward the sounds until my eyelids fluttered.

I hoped to find the beautiful face of my wife, who stayed here at night with me, but instead Marco was there. It was the first tim