All Chapters of BLOOD AND VOWS: THE MAFIA WRONG BRIDE : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

CHAPTER 11HALF A LIENIENT DONLUCIENThe unfiltered air in the basement bit me like a slap to the face. It was cold, heavy and thick with the smell and rush of metal. There was also the smell of a faint copper tang of old that had soaked into these walls long before I inherited them. The bare bulb swinging overhead threw jittery shadows across the room, and in the center of it all, dangling from a chain hooked to the ceiling beam, was our guest.He was young, mid-twenties at most with greasy blonde hair hanging in his face, and a bruise the size of a fist was already blooming across his left cheekbone—Marco's handiwork, no doubt. His shirt was torn at the collar, stained with cheap whiskey and vomit. His feet barely scraped the floor as the chain creaked softly with every weak sway of his body.Marco stepped up beside me, his hands clasped behind his back like he was attending a business meeting. "He's still a bit drunk, but he'll sober up fast."The young man's head lolled forward,

CHAPTER 13A SERPENT'S TABLELUCIENThe club pulsed like a thumping heart. Neon light bled through the smoke-heavy air, painting the patrons in shades of red and violet. Bodies writhed on the dance floor below, lost in bass and whiskey and a kind of oblivion only the wealthy could afford. The VIP section sat above it all with soundproof glass, leather seats and a single table carved from Italian obsidian. I sat at the head of that table, a glass of bourbon untouched at my elbow as I waited.Marco stood behind my right shoulder, his hands clasped in front of him. He hadn't spoken since we arrived, and I could feel the tension radiating off him like heat from a dying fire."He's late," Marco murmured.“Well… he's trying to make a bloody point,” I squeezed through gritted teeth. Just then, the doors opened and Dimitri walked in. Dmitri Volkov was not a small man. He was tall, broad-shouldered with a silver beard trimmed to razor precision and eyes the color of frozen lakes. He carrie

CHAPTER 15CHEMICAL REACTIONLUCIENIt's been four days already. Four days of phone calls, dead ends and suppliers who suddenly didn't want to do business with the Moretti family. And all I could hear was Dimitri Volkov’s deadline ticking like a bomb in the back of my skull. Do I really have to plan another war?I sat at my desk, flipping through another stack of documents that told me nothing I didn't already know. The replacement shipment was still almost three weeks out. And every contact I called had a new excuse why now wasn't a good time.The word was spreading. I picked up my phone and dialed the last number on my list. It was a supplier out of Barcelona who had been reliable in the past. The line rang three times before a woman's voice answered."Señor Moretti. This is unexpected.""Camila, I need product. Ten million worth… and within the week."There was a pause, before the sound of her high pitched laughter rang in my ears. "You and half of Europe, it seems. I heard abo

CHAPTER 17A DREAMCHIARAThere was one thing I was beginning to get certain of: The silence was going to kill me before Lucien ever got the chance.Four more days had crawled past since Marco's visit, and my cheek had faded from purple to yellow. The bruise served as a constant reminder that I was running out of time. And now, asides time was the instability that was beginning to creep in from the silence of not talking to anyone or hearing anything from the outside. The silence filled the room like water, and it was beginning to make me hear things that weren't there: footsteps that never came and voices that never spoke. There was nothing in the room I hadn't memorised. I knew the number of cracks in the walls, if memorised the pattern if the ceiling, I knew the foot length of the room. I was gradually loosing my mind. I can't… I can't do keep silent anymore. With a solid conviction, I pushed to the door. "Hello?" I banged my fist against the door desperately. "Is anyone out

CHAPTER 19STUPID SNAKE!LUCIEN It was one thing to be an enemy of another don present at the table, it was another thing to be an enemy to the Yakuzas. I couldn't afford to be on Yamamoto's black book. They don't die easily. So I kept calm and asked just one question that tipped the table. “Let the table ask Alessandro why he hired a civilian into mafia dealings when he knows anyone can be caught in the crossfire.” All eyes turned to Alessandro and for the first time since the meeting started, his smile faltered. Then the mask was back on. “I just told you I've never met the man in my entire life.”"Your right hand hired him. I mean, he's the only one wearing a gold ring with a red stone," I said, my voice rising. "He described Antonio perfectly, describing the scar through his eyebrow, his ring and every other distinct feature. How would a civilian know those details?”Antonio's smirk didn't falter. "I've never met the man.""Bullshit.""Order!" Yamamoto's voice rang louder thi