Merciless Vows by Faith Summers

11

Aria

“Oh my God, I was so worried,” Sienna blurts, hugging me hard. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“I’m glad to see you too.” I’ve never meant that more than I do at this moment.

It’s amazing when you think you’ll have the people who care around you forever. You never know how much they mean to you until they aren’t there anymore.

The warm contact of someone I can trust fills me with a comfort I savor. I sink into it.

“Are you hurt?” she whispers into my ear.

“No, I’m not. He hasn’t hurt me.” Yet. Lucca hasn’t hurt me yet. I’m sure he will, though.

As Sienna and I pull apart, I wonder just how much I can tell her.

How much does she know? The worry etched on her face suggests she knows a lot.

“Come, let’s talk over here,” I suggest, glancing around the courtyard nervously.

“Of course.”

I wanted some privacy to talk to her. Out here, I have some element of it even though there are guards posted at the ends of the garden and the entrance of the house. One of them ushered Sienna out here.

I just hope to be able to talk to her for a little while before anybody interrupts us.

I lead her over to the little stone bench by the water fountain, and we sit side by side. She looks around too, taking in my new prison.

“How much do you know, Sienna?” I thought it was best to start like that so we can cut to the chase.

My cousin looks back at me with eyes that mirror my own. We look similar enough for people to mistake us for sisters. She has the same jet black hair as me, the same eye color, and face structure. The only differences are our skin tone. I’m fairer while she has more of an olive tone, akin to most Italians. The look of trepidation in her eyes also mirrors my own. I could be looking at myself, witnessing what fear looks like on me.

“Your father said you were getting married. Married to Lucca Dyshekov.”

I nod. “Yeah. That’s what’s happening.”

Her jaw clenches. “He said there were always talks about it happening, but he never mentioned it because of all we’ve been through over the last two years. I’m going to be frank with you. I think the time for tiptoeing around certain truths is over. I know when my uncle is bullshitting me with his lies. I know what he really is. It’s not the first time I’ve heard his shit.”

My shoulders tense, and we stare at each other. Sienna is five years older than me, and I know she’s seen more and knows more than she’s told me. She’s my cousin from my mother’s side but knows a lot to do with my father and his family. My mother was the oldest of my grandparents' four daughters, and my father was in their lives for a long time. I was told their union brought the families even closer than they were before they even exchanged vows. But that also meant close in secrets too.

“Sienna, it’s so hard for me to make sense of this. I wish I could remember my life. I have no idea what my father really is. So I’m hoping you can tell me.”

She takes my hands and gives them a gentle squeeze. “Aria, this situation is not something you would have had the heads up on even if you had your memories back. You were mostly kept out of the business, and I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. Before the accident, I think you might have had a clue of what was going on. I just know the things I do because I’ve heard and seen too much on more than one occasion. I’m guessing your father did something to these people to piss them off.”

Since I haven’t been told not to confirm what she already knows, I see no reason for me to deny her assumptions.

“Yeah. They haven’t told me what that thing is. It must be bad, though.”

“I can only imagine how bad it must be. What else was said?”

I’m aware I have to watch what I say to her. But this is my life, and everything about it hangs in the balance of this predicament. I need to talk to someone I trust.

“Please don’t say anything,” I beg.

“Of course I won’t.”

“Thanks, I’m not supposed to say too much, but you always seem to know stuff.”

“My side of the family is a little different from yours, and I guess I am too. Tell me what you can.”

“Dad said he would lose everything if I don’t do this. He got violent with me.” That's an understatement.

“Violent?”

“He hit me.”

“Oh my God. He did what? Are you okay?”

“Honestly, that’s the least. My marriage to Lucca is to make sure Dad doesn’t lose everything, but it’s clear that we’ll probably both be dead if either of us fights this. Dad signed over legal guardianship to him. That means I have no say. I can’t even protest because my mind is fucked. Dad owned me, and now Lucca does. ”

“Oh God in heaven, Aria. This is absolute shit. Has Lucca told you anything? There’s going to be a reason why he picked you. I can’t imagine he took you as payment for a debt because your father doesn’t owe people money.”

“It’s because of Cervantes. I own it. Did you know that?”

Her mouth falls open. “What? No. How did that happen?”

At least her reaction shows my ownership of the business wasn’t something I forgot. If she didn’t know and she works at Cervantes like the rest of my family, then I assume no one else knew either.

“I don’t know. Mom left it to me. I get it when I turn twenty-five.”

Her brows furrow. “No one is aware of that, Aria. I’m thoroughly shocked.”

“Me too.” And it makes even less sense why Mom transferred the business to me. “Well, that’s why I’m here. It’s the reason Lucca wants me. The business is mine. That guardianship he now has will allow him to take the company after we’re married. It will be easy to kick me to the curb because with my memories gone, I supposedly lack mental capacity. So my husband-to-be will take everything.”

“This is a big deal. It will affect the whole family. We’ve always believed that the business would be your father’s once Grandfather died. Although your father really loved your mother, that business was the basis of your parents’ marriage. He was always supposed to own it and be the head of the family.”

“So what happened there? If that were the case, then how could Mom give it to me? Why would she?” It’s suspicious as fuck.

There are two things people have kept telling me since the accident. I keep hearing how in love my parents were and how much my father has taken care of our family. However, things keep happening for me to question both.

Dad doesn’t talk about my mother at all, and what she did to transfer the business to me doesn’t exactly show love or trust. Her actions suggest something else, and it looks like she went out of her way to take the business out of his hands. Why would she do that?

“I have no idea. There must have been some reason, though. That was never part of the deal.”

“I don’t think I was supposed to tell you that,” I mutter.

“Don’t worry. Everything we talk about stays right here. So please, don’t worry.”

“Sienna, this is such a mess. And these people…” I pause and think of Lucca and his guards. “They’re mafia men aren’t they?”

She nods slowly. “They are. They’re from the Bratva. The Russian mafia.”

“How did Dad get mixed up with them. I didn’t know we had anything to do with any mafia.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have. Way back when, our families were part of the Sicilian Mafia in Italy. But your father’s side went bankrupt, and the wars in Italy took down power leads on our side. Our families formed an alliance because it made sense. When they came to the States, our family started Cervantes. I don’t think they knew how well it was going to take off. Your father pursued a political career, but it wasn’t because he suddenly shed his life in the mafia.”

“So he’s still in the mob?”

“Yes, but clearly, he’s working with the Russians. I don’t know much more than that. He’s worked with them for many years, and it was them who helped him climb the ladder of success. Of course, that would have been so he could be of benefit to them. Just imagine what you can do if you have the Governor of California under your control.”

They could do anything. Taking me is only minor on the scale of what they can do.

“Jesus, all I wanted was my life back. I just wanted my memories and my life— my music. I don’t want this. I don’t want any part of this. It’s all dangerous, and I’m off my game.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry this has happened to you. But you have to try, Aria. Try to be strong and get through it somehow. You’re in a very sensitive and dangerous situation, and you couldn’t belong to a worse man.”

My blood runs cold. “What does he do, Sienna?” I’m afraid to ask. It was clear from Marylin’s answer that I shouldn’t have been asking the question to anyone besides Lucca.

Sienna glances around again, checking that no one is within earshot of us.

“They’re all killers,” she mutters. “The whole fucking lot of them, but him… he does it for a living. He’s an enforcer in the Bratva. He’s the guy you call to take down the impossible.”

My soul quivers, and I feel sick again.

“Enforcer?” I ask in a weak voice, barely audible.

She nods slowly, and the sadness in her eyes terrifies me even more.

No wonder he has that no-nonsense attitude but with a cool demeanor. It’s because he knows he’ll win no matter what, and the man gives no emotion away.

Nothing except for his eyes. They are the only things that give me an insight into what he might be thinking.

This morning there was something almost normal. I even had hoped to some extent when he said I shouldn’t contact the tutor yet. Then he stole hope away when he ordered me to go to the doctor to get checked out. The vile, crude way in which he spoke still burns my cheeks, and I fear the time approaching fast when he’ll decide to fuck me.

My heartbeat picks up, and my pulse skitters when I think about it all. Past and present. When I really put things into perspective, I feel even worse.

I remember him.

I only remember him, and I know we were intimate in some way. Even if we didn’t sleep together, we kissed, and I had feelings for him.

I keep asking the question of how Dad knows people like Lucca.

But what about me?

How did I know him? It wasn’t just some random occurrence. He’s a dangerous man. One I wouldn’t have known if my parents supposedly kept me out of the business.

“You’ve gone paler,” Sienna notes.

“I remember him,” I confess.

She gives me a narrowed look. “How? You wouldn’t have met. I’ve never even met him. I’ve only caught glimpses and heard whispers.”

“I don’t know, and he told me not to remember him. He said the last time we met, he saved me.”

Her expression becomes baffled. “Saved you? That makes no sense.”

“I know, and I… remember kissing him.”

Her eyes bulge, and now her skin goes pale. “You’re kidding me.”

“No. I wish I were, but I’m not. And it makes me feel sick, Sienna. I feel sick inside and out.”

“Jesus, when do you remember it happening?”

“I can’t place the memory, but it must have been just before the accident. I’ve been thinking I would have either been at Berklee or something to that effect. I don’t know.”

I close my eyes and bring a hand to my head, willing myself once more to remember. I didn’t expect it to work, but I was hoping it might.

Her hand squeezing mine again makes me open my eyes, and I look at her.

She’s gazing ahead of us, though, and her worry seems to have doubled.

I follow her gaze to the balcony, where I can see Lucca talking to an older man.

The sight of the man pulls on my mind in the strangest way and makes my nerves scatter. It’s odd I would feel like that about him when I haven’t seen him before. It’s a bad feeling, but then again, I have the same bad feelings toward Lucca.

I notice Sienna isn’t looking at Lucca, however. She’s focusing on the man, giving him a cold hard stare.

“You need to be careful, Aria,” Sienna rasps, keeping her gaze trained on him.

“Who is that?”

“Damien Mikhailov, and he’s worse than Lucca if that’s possible. He’s like a foster father to him. While he answers to his Bratva leaders, Damien is the man he’s loyal to. That wouldn’t have been any chance meeting you had with Lucca. No matter what happened between you two. All of this doesn’t make sense, and the only thing you can do is be careful.”

I nod, heeding her words. I knew, though, even without her saying anything, that I’d have to be careful.

I plan to. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to roll over and play captive or play dead.

I have to find a way out of this. I don’t just simply have to be strong and deal with it. I have to find a way out. Whatever way that is and however long it takes me.

When I do, I’ll run far away and never look back.

I can’t allow this to be my fate or allow this man to take everything away from me.

Take my life.

It can’t be his to take.

No paperwork on earth is going to give him that power over me.

He can use my body, and he can steal my soul.

As long as I keep strong in my mind and believe in my heart, I’ll get out.

I have to believe that, even if right now, all hope is gone.