Page 39 of Vow

Finally, Kev looked away from Dante to glance at Darren. The two brothers shared a quiet look before Kev nodded, and went back to the conversation as though he hadn’t even left it to begin with.

“We have two issues to handle on our side of things, actually,” Kev said.

Dante waved a single hand. “By all means, tell me. I apparently have all the time in the world to listen.”

If Kev heard Dante’s low-grade insult, he didn’t behave like it.

“It is more than just our father that we have to deal with in some way,” Kev said, tipping his head to the left as if to direct attention to the quiet woman sitting there. “You see, we also have a woman who has been badly stained by the actions of a man in your family. She will never be seen as proper or respectable for a wife now—not after everything. What are we supposed to do with that?”

Andino scowled. “Let her have free will to do what she wants?”

That seemed obvious.

And normal.

Dante lifted a hand as if to silence Andino for a moment. “I can see where you might consider that to be a problem, but not how it becomes my problem, Kev.”

“I think,” Kev drawled slowly and with a cold smile, “that I could fix two of my issues by simply making peace with you, actually.”

“How?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the man across the table asked.

“It is,” Dante returned, “but I don’t play word games, and if you’re willing to do what I think you want to do, then you can be man enough to say it, so that the woman you’re ready to trade can hear you say it, too. If you’re going to be that man, then be that man, Kev.”

Andino glanced at his uncle at the same time Siena’s head snapped up, and her eyes widened. Her mouth opened to speak, but Kev was quick to talk first.

“A marriage,” the man said, pointing a thick finger at Andino, and then down the table at his sister. “Between Andino, and Siena. It will make peace, and also, save my sister’s reputation. I think it’s a good d—”

“Absolutely not!”

The words all but exploded out of Siena’s mouth. That shocked expression she had worn just a few moments before was gone now, and in its place rested rage and disbelief. She stood fast from her seat, making the chair topple over backward behind her. All eyes at the table were now on her, but she wasn’t looking anywhere except at Kev.

“You won’t have a choice,” Kev murmured.

Siena didn’t even think before she picked up the glass up full of water on the table, and whipped it at her brother. It crashed over the side of Kev’s face, but to the man’s benefit, he didn’t even flinch.

“I will kill myself before I ever marry him, or any other man you put me in front of, Kev,” Siena hissed. “Mark my words, I will.”

Kev’s jaw tightened, but he stayed quiet. Lifting a hand, he gestured with a finger at his sister. One of his men who had been quietly sitting at another table stood fast, and crossed the floor. He took Siena by the arm, and was quick to remove her from the restaurant. Or at least, out of the main room. She didn’t even try to fight, or protest with her voice.

Andino’s attention went back to the table because his uncle was speaking, but not because he actually wanted to talk anymore.

“How do you feel about that, Andino?” Dante asked.

“Not Siena,” he returned. “It cannot be her.”

Not for himself.

Or even for her.

But for John.

Andino would never do that to John even if the last thing he intended to do was marry someone just because the fucking Calabrese wanted him to.

Dante nodded once, and looked back at Kev. “Who else is there?”

It took Kev a second to control the emotions flitting over his face, but somehow, he managed. “I have other sisters—two are too young. One is not. They are not …”