Tarnished Vow (The Crime Families #1)

1. Vince

Vince

Of course, he would have the lungs of a diver. Checking my watch. Fuck it . I pulled him out of the water and repeatedly hit his head on the corner of the kitchen bench. Nothing like blunt force trauma to speed up a death.

Finally, he went limp. What a fucking mess.

Immediately I fought back the urge to smash his head in again, when I saw the blood on my shirt. Great. Madeline would scold me for that. Even dead, this man caused me unnecessary problems.

I dropped his body and started to wash my hands.

The one thing she asked of me tonight and now, thanks to this fucker, I was breaking my word.

At least it is just on the shirt. The last thing I wanted was to upset her by ruining another suit.

Maybe she wouldn’t notice.

I stepped over his body, rolled my sleeves down, and grabbed my suit jacket. Leaving them to clean up that bloody mess.

Over an hour late.

I closed the side door to the industrial kitchen and walked through the busy casino. I’d rather trade places with that prick than face the hundreds of people in that nightclub.

Thank fuck it was the last eighteenth birthday party. Any relief that thought gave me disappeared when I walked down the stairs.

Goddamn Bastion, and his need to have the music so loud. The longer I looked around, the faster my blood rushed. I pushed through the thick crowd of people to the second lounge.

Practicing my breathing exercises as I walked towards Nikolai at the bar.

“I thought we agreed on not letting Cecilia remodel an entire fucking club for one night?” I pointed back upstairs. So that explained why so many of our subcontractors were unavailable last week.

Of course, he said yes to her. Behind my back. Like normal.

“She was upset after we said no to the yacht.” Nikolai shrugged as if he had any intention of not letting her have exactly what she wanted. Come tomorrow, when Sofia is upset with us about this, he can deal with it.

Shaking my head, I walked away from him. Unbelievable. Keep it even. He preaches to me daily and turns around and does this.

It was impossible to miss Madeline in a crowd. I hated how people found her so approachable. It took all my self-restraint to not glare or inflict pain at the random people always talking to her.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, pulling her back to me. Finally, I took my first easy breath since arriving here tonight. Until I realized who she was talking to.

My fucking luck.

“Vince, do you know Ivan?” She ran her fingers along my arm, not taking her eyes off him for a second.

Glaring at his extended hand. I barely tolerated his family. But for her. Don’t break his hand. Don’t break his fucking hand.

One hour late and this is what happens.

God, give me patience.

He went straight back to talking to her, and I wanted to choke that smile off his face.

Only Madeline could turn that man into a devoted pet.

I should have killed him when I was a teenager, instead of settling with only taking his kidney.

He was basically fucking her with his eyes. Over the years, I had gotten used to how men stared at her. How she dresses, moves, speaks. Everything about her drew them closer.

She did it on purpose.

Though, normally they don’t get this close.

Holding her tighter to me; knowing damn well he wanted to hug her goodbye.

So far, I’ve hated every single one of the men her family has presented as a possible husband.

“Really, Ivan?” I couldn’t hide my annoyance when he finally fucked off.

“He’s so sweet,” she turns in my arm, “But their main trade is guns.” her fingers hovered on my missing cufflinks.

I reached into my pocket, handing them to her, and noticed her new nails. That explained why she left me in bed this morning. How many times had I told her to get them to come to the house instead of leaving me?

“Vinny, you’re late and grumpy.” she pulled my sleeve down, threading the cufflinks through. “What’s wrong?”

“Nik, let Cecilia remodel the club.” Brushing her hair from the side of her face, “Next week, Bastion is going to be whining at me, because Nik let her ruin his nightclub. That’s if Sofia doesn’t throw a fit before that.”

The corner of her lips twitched up as she leaned into me. “Of course Nik did. After you gave her the plane a year early.”

But that at least made sense. Next week, Cecilia left for that art thing overseas.

“What did Ivan want?” I glared at him and his wannabe gangsters. This was Nikolai’s fault and that open door policy.

“Just organizing dinner with my grandparents,” she touched my cheek, trying to get my attention, “Go tell Cecilia good night. Otherwise, we won’t make it in time for the twins.”

“I already did. No way in hell am I going up there to see her with a barely legal boy.” I glanced up at the balcony.

“Or man,” she shrugged. She just couldn’t help herself.

Regardless, I don’t want to know. Unless they hurt her, it’s none of my business.

“Are you ready to leave?” I checked my watch again. So, we had the twins’ hotel opening, then… there was something else.

“Wait,” she went up on her toes, wiping something off my neck with the sleeve of her dress. “You promised me no blood tonight!” Then her eyes narrowed on my shirt. Of course, she noticed.

“I’m sorry, my love,” kissing the back of her hand, “It’s not my fault, I tried. He wouldn’t fucking drown.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Reading the message, it was just Roman reminding me about the twins’ hotel opening. He must be worried I’d forgotten.

After the headache that hotel was to construct, I’d never forget it.

Holding her hand as we walked through the nightclub. Had the crowd got bigger since I arrived?

Fucking people .

That thumping music slowly becoming a distant thud with every step.

Immediate relief when we walked out into the lobby.

“Before when you said dinner with your grandparents, which ones did you mean?”

Moving my hand down her waist.

“Dad’s side.”

For some reason, that made me feel uneasy. “Are your uncles going to be there?”

I lifted her over the paved crushed rock as we walked outside. Those heels were dangerous enough on a flat surface.

She nodded. They must be closer to deciding.

I opened the back door of the black SUV, helping her up into the car. While that same knot in my stomach got tighter. Her grandparents having dinner with him made me really fucking uneasy.

“I could do a drug lord, but marrying into a family whose main trade is guns. It would just take away what I do….” She sighed, looking at me, “probably sounds stupid, and poor business, right?”

When it came to her arranged marriage, I had promised myself I would not influence her decision. So I shrugged and closed the door.

Though every day that passed, it was growing extremely harder to not have an opinion. Every single one of them I loathed.