Crimson Vows: A Dark Mafia Romance

Chapter 20

The phone vibrates in my pocket as I steer the car into the parking garage, thoughts of my night with Gia lingering in my mind. I pull into the reserved spot and look at the face of the phone, surprised when I see Amelia’s name on the screen. Since becoming an Ivanov, communication with her is limited at best.

“Good morning, cousin,” I say as I answer the call, curious if Vincent has asked her to check in on me while he’s away. Based on his recent call, it’s clear his faith in my abilities is lacking.

“We need to talk.” Amelia’s voice is sharp and urgent. I kill the engine.

“Oh... okay. I just got to Vincent’s, but I could head to you if you want,” I offer, confusion setting in as I try to think of the reason behind her request.

“No, come upstairs. I’m already here, in Vincent’s office. I’m waiting for you.” My stomach sinks at the revelation. Amelia is no longer a King, so this shouldn’t happen. Something must be wrong.

“You’re what?” I blurt out, my mind starting to spin through the possibilities. “Is Vincent okay?”

“He’s fine,” she answers flatly. “Now please—come upstairs.”

“On my way,” I answer, and the call ends, the silence swallowing me. Panic takes hold. Vincent may be the boss of the King family, but Amelia—she was cut from the same cloth as her father. She puts on this serene fa?ade, but I have seen what lurks beneath. When it comes to those she loves, there is nothing she would not do to protect them, and I mean nothing.

I exit the car and make my way into the building. As I move toward the elevator, each step is heavier than the last. It’s early, and considering nobody stayed at the penthouse last night, no security is on duty yet. A young man sits at the lobby desk, finishing his overnight shift before Walter relieves him. He greets me as I enter, recognizing me instantly. I offer a half smile and move past him quickly, as I can’t remember his name. My thoughts are consumed by the situation I’m about to walk into.

I press the elevator button, and when I enter, I scan my badge. My mind is heavy with questions. How did Amelia get upstairs? Her badge was deactivated before she married Ivanov. Have things changed? Are she and Vincent working together again? Could the conversation I overheard recently between Vincent, Alexei, and Nikolai signal an alliance I’m unaware of? If I’m his consigliere, why keep me in the dark? What else don’t I know? I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm the chaos erupting inside my head.

I love Amelia. She’s my cousin, but trust is a luxury I can’t afford—not even with family. I pull my gun from my waistband and double-check the magazine before replacing it. I try to force my mind away from the dark places it’s trying to go as the elevator comes to a stop and the doors open.

There is no avoiding what is happening and so I decide to face whatever it is head-on. I walk straight to Vincent’s office to find Amelia leaning against the window at the far side of the room, her arms crossed and her expression unreadable as she peers out at the city. The office is bathed in the morning light, illuminating her in a way that makes her look angelic. I know better than to let my guard down, though. She looks up as I enter, her gaze penetrating. There’s a tension in the room that unsettles me.

“Amelia, hey, sorry I wasn’t here to greet you. If I had known you were coming, I would have made sure I was early. What’s going on?” I ask, fighting the urge to ask her how in the hell she has access to the penthouse.

“Marco, good morning,” she says, facing me. I cross the room to Vincent’s desk, shifting the papers into neat piles that I left strewn all over the night before. She doesn’t answer my question. Instead, she asks me, “How was your evening with Gia?”

Amelia isn’t asking me about my evening as a pleasantry. She’s asking me to let me know she is fully aware of everything I do and has eyes everywhere. It’s becoming clear my worries about her unexpected visit are not unfounded.

“After such long hours this week, Gia’s company was... welcomed,” I reply, keeping my voice even and betraying nothing.

“That’s right, you’ve had quite the busy week with Vincent being gone, haven’t you?” Neither of us sits, as we continue the dance. I don’t reply to her question, causing her to continue. “I mean, there was Bobby’s arrest, then I heard you also had to deal with some construction workers threatening to strike at one of the sites.”

My body goes rigid in response to the knowledge Amelia possesses. Vincent left me in charge of running this family while he was away and addressing any threats, yet, for some reason, Amelia is aware of everything. Was Vincent feeding her these details, or was she capitalizing on relationships that still existed within the family? And if that were the case, for what reason? I clear my throat. “Look, Amelia, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I don’t think Vincent would like to hear that the Ivanovs are gathering information on our operation.”

“Careful, cousin,” she warns, widening her stance as she glares at me from across the room. “It would serve you well to remember I am both a King and an Ivanov.”

“Not according to Vincent,” I reply. “At least not the last time I heard. I think he made it pretty clear how he felt about you in the family business when you married Alexei.”

A faint smile plays on her lips. The coldness in it sends a shiver down my spine. “You know how fickle my brother can be. After everything that happened with Anthony, we’ve managed to... reconcile.”

I clench my jaw, her words heavy in the air between us. “That’s news to me.”

“Just because you’re unaware doesn’t mean it’s not a fact,” she replies.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I prefer not to discuss family business with you unless Vincent himself instructs me to do so,” I answer firmly.

Amelia moves away from the window, her steps sure as she approaches me, her eyes never leaving mine.

“No matter, none of that is what I came here to discuss with you,” she says coolly, stopping a few feet away from me.

“Great, so why don’t you tell me why you’re here?” I snap, my patience for her game of cat and mouse growing thin.

“Fine.” She matches my tone. “I came here because I was informed last night there are whispers of betrayal within the ranks—whispers that involve you.”

A sinking feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. The reality of her visit is worse than anything I could have imagined.

“Betrayal?” I repeat, trying to keep my voice steady despite the turmoil brewing inside me. “What are you talking about? I would never betray Vincent or the family. You know that.”

Everything in me wants to tell her how true those words are. I want to tell her I was tempted by the thought of it, but that despite me realizing Vincent probably does not deserve my loyalty, he has it. If I tell her everything, though, I know the danger that would put those I care about in. She won’t hear there is no actual betrayal. All she will glean from the conversation is that the words were uttered, and in this world, that’s enough.

Amelia’s gaze sharpens, her eyes boring into mine with a fierce intensity. “Don’t lie to me. This is your chance to come clean. Marco, tell me the truth—are you plotting against my brother?”

“Fuck you, Amelia. I already told you I’m loyal to Vincent,” I say, locking my jaw and meeting her stare head-on. There’s no room for hesitation, no crack in my armor for her to exploit. Inside, though, I’m already starting to crumble. What if she doesn’t believe me? Who brought her this information? Am I being set up? If so, by whom and for what reason?

Amelia doesn’t waver, a sentinel watching my every twitch.

“I demand to know who is spreading these lies about me,” I continue after she remains silent. “They will have to answer to me!”

She inches closer as she continues to study me. “One of the captains came to me,” she says before scoffing. “He says he’s worried about you. He’s afraid you’re being manipulated, and he thought perhaps I could help you figure a way out of this mess before it turns into something you can’t get control of.”

“Manipulated?” I repeat before allowing the silence to stretch, waiting for her to fill it. “That doesn’t make sense. Who the hell would be manipulating me?”

“I hope I can believe you. But if you are telling the truth, we still have a problem,” she replies, once again ignoring my direct question.

“What are you talking about?”

“If you’re as loyal as you say, then clearly someone is trying to use you to drive a wedge in the middle of the King family,” she replies. “We need to figure out who would benefit from such a thing.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why would anyone want to do that?” I ask, my stomach twisting into knots. My mind latches onto her earlier statement when she asked me if I had enjoyed my evening with Gia. Is that who she is alluding to? Does Amelia think Gia is manipulating me to turn on Vincent?

“I don’t know, but if I were you, I would find out and fast.” Her lips curl, not quite into a smile, but into more of a challenge.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry. I’ll root out who is behind this lie,” I promise, desperate for her to believe me.

“Good. Because Vincent . . . he knows.”

Ice floods my veins. “Vincent knows? What do you mean he knows?” The words choke out, my composure cracking. “There’s nothing to know because none of it is true.”

“Alexei was in the other room when the captain came to share what he had heard with me. He overheard everything. Needless to say, he was very upset and told me he couldn’t keep the information to himself. He felt Vincent should know right away.”

My hand itches to check the gun at my back, but I resist. “I see. And what did Vincent say?”

“Well, I’m sure you can imagine how upset he was,” she says. “He decided to end his trip, and he’s coming back.”

“When?”

“Immediately.”

“What?” I gasp. If he didn’t think there was any truth to the rumors, there would be no reason for his immediate return. My jaw clenches as the idea sinks in. At least some part of him thinks I could be capable of this. My head is spinning, and I can’t help but wonder if perhaps my loyalty to him was misplaced. “He believes this nonsense?”

“Belief isn’t the issue.” Her gaze is steel and shadow. “Marco, you have to see what kind of position this puts Vincent in, don’t you? The King’s house has been standing on a knife’s edge since my father died. Vincent can’t ignore even a whisper of dissent—not after everything that’s happened. We spoke last night, and he said he should be back later today. Whoever is behind this, you need to handle it before Vincent comes back.”

“It’s my name that is being destroyed. Of course I want to take care of this as quickly as I can,” I assert, the words leaving my lips with a grim determination. “I need to know which captain came to you so I can ask who fed him these lies.”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” I growl, my hands tightening into two fists.

“I mean exactly what I said,” she snaps. “This captain came to me because he trusts me. He already told me he would prefer to give the name of who supplied him with the information to Vincent directly.”

“Are you kidding me? How the fuck am I supposed to figure out who is behind this if I don’t have all the information?”

“I’m sure you can figure out something,” she says as she walks past me toward the door. She pauses and looks at me before she exits. “And Marco, be careful with Gia. I know you think she cares about you, but keep in mind that she very well may still feel like she has a score to settle with my brother.”

I stiffen. “Gia has nothing to do with this.”

“I hope that’s true,” she replies. “For her sake.”

Amelia doesn’t wait for me to respond before she exits the office. A minute later, I hear the distant sound of the elevator.

I’m alone now; the weight of urgency is my only company. The walls of Vincent’s office feel like they’re closing in on me. Vincent’s trust, the loyalty I’ve sworn—none of it seems to matter anymore. I push the spiraling thoughts away, knowing time is not a luxury I have.

My thumb hammers at my phone screen. “Emergency meeting. Urgent.” I hit send on the group text to the only three people in the world who were a part of the conversations that could have led us to our present situation. The text conversation begins to erupt on my phone almost immediately.

Gia: What’s going on?

Me: Can’t discuss over text.

Gia: My place?

Me: No. Compromised.

Dante: WTF?

Nico: What’s going on?

If I want to figure out who is behind these dangerous words getting out, I know I will have better luck gauging each person’s reaction to the information when I can watch their faces. If we are followed, we can’t all head to Gia’s to discuss the matter. I debate where we can meet and avoid suspicion. The only cover that might work is if we make everything seem business as usual. Gia is supposed to be managing her father’s businesses with my supervision. A meeting at one of Anthony’s businesses would perhaps provide at least some mild form of cover.

Me: Warehouse where the cars are being collected. Thirty minutes.

Gia: Understood.

Nico: Dante is with me. We’ll be there.

I shove the phone into my pocket. My mind is a tangled web. Vincent’s return looms, and as I process the conversation with Amelia, I’m tempted to call him. To ask him how on earth he could actually believe I would betray him after everything we’ve been through. Yes, perhaps for a split second, I entertained the notion, but at the end of the day, I have never been anything but true to this family. But I don’t think I could have that conversation without my anger boiling over on him. Amelia is right about one thing. I have to know who is behind this rumor and their intent by sharing it.

As I make my way back to the parking garage, I can’t help but think of Amelia’s warning about Gia. Could this be part of a bigger plan for Gia to get revenge on Vincent for humiliating her? Am I really so blinded by my desperation for Gia to have real feelings for me that I can’t see what is right in front of me? Did she go to one of the captains with this tale of betrayal? Or even worse, are Nico and Dante working with her? Doubts riddle my thoughts as I cross the city to the warehouse. The truth will be apparent soon enough. I only hope I can do what I have to, based on what I discover.