Merciless Vows: An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance

3

NICO

Present Day

A

methodical twist and turn. A pattern. A clear goal.

It’s simple, smart. Most people spend their entire lives making things so complicated that they begin to lose track of the means to get what it is they truly need.

But I’m not most people. I’ve never been most people. There’s always a clear path to victory. And more often than not, I’m walking that path. And if the path doesn’t exist, I make sure to carve it out. I’ll stop at nothing to get what I want.

Not just what I want though, what I’m owed.

I step out of the car, my eyes going over the stillness in the area. We’ve only just arrived at the docks to get ready to accept a shipment. There are three vans behind my car, filled to the brim with my men. They begin to get down one by one, and I can tell by the determination in their expression that they’re prepared for any eventuality. Which is good because there’s an uneasy feeling brewing in my gut.

Something’s wrong.

My senior guard, Vladimir, moves to stand at my side. He’s built like a giant, with stacks of muscles. He has been my right-hand man for several years. I know for a fact he would offer his life for mine in an instant. Most of my men would. Loyalty like theirs can’t be bought. It’s earned.

“Take some of our best men to the other side of the marina. Be on the lookout,” I order.

Vlad looks sideways at me. “Expecting trouble, sir?”

The shipment gets here in twenty minutes. We arrived early to scope out the location and ensure that the deal went off without a hitch. We’re on high alert because the shipment is from one of our allies who’s been kicking up trouble these past few days. If anything goes wrong, he might take it as an opportunity to declare an open war. And the Don really won’t like that.

“I always am,” I murmur. “Just go, Vlad.”

He hesitates for only a second before walking backward and relaying my orders. A minute later, some of the men disperse following Vlad. Once he’s gone, another one of my closest guards steps forward.

“Tell Khalil to keep the car running,” I say to Danny. “Actually, tell all the men to keep their cars running.”

Danny grins like a little girl on Christmas morning. He pulls out his gun from his holster, his hands twitching.

“Who are we killing, boss?” he questions.

“No one if the bastards don’t show themselves.”

“But if they do, we get to kill them?”

“You can shoot as many as you want,” I assure him with a nod.

His eyes gleam at the prospect. Danny’s always felt at home in the middle of violence. He’s a killing machine with a sort of bloodlust that would make most people uncomfortable. But I consider him an asset. As long as I can control him.

Danny has only just stepped away when there’s suddenly the screeching of tires in the distance. Everyone immediately goes on high alert. Soon enough, three black cars appear. I hear Danny yell for the men to take cover as a stream of bullets are fired in our direction.

My men manage to hide behind their cars in time and soon they’re firing their own weapons. I jump behind a large red container to get a better read on the situation. There are only about ten men, which is surprising to me. I’m here with nearly three times that many. I can’t help but wonder who sent them on this suicide mission.

One of my men gets hit in the arm, but before one of the fuckers finishes him off, I shoot him in the head, saving my man’s life. That, unfortunately, gives away my location. I run for another container, trying to get a clear shot, but with so many of my men on the battlefield, it’s better to just watch rather than risk hitting them.

The intruders hold their own, thanks to their bulletproof vests, but ten minutes later, most of them are dead. I step out from behind the container once the fighting stops, strolling casually toward the center of the area, where one of the fuckers is being restrained on his knees.

Danny gets a punch in that leaves him bleeding from the mouth, before stepping aside for me to look at him. He has dirty blonde hair and a long, thin scar running across the side of his face. He looks to be in his mid-thirties. He has tan skin. I’ve never seen him before.

“Who sent you?” I ask.

He glares at me, brown eyes resolute and without fear. It’s a little admirable, I’ll admit, since everyone else he came here with is dead on the ground.

“Answer the boss, cazzo!” Danny spits, stepping forward like he’s going to hit him again.

I raise a hand to stop his approach. “It’s all right, Danny. I can handle him,” I state. My voice is smooth, my tone low as I speak to the man. “Although I’m sure you would prefer it if I left you to Danny. You do know who I am, right?” I ask.

I notice a muscle twitching in his jaw. But I have to give it to him. His expression remains the same. He’s seemingly fearless. I plan to remedy that soon enough.

“They refer to me as the Butcher, which, if you ask me, is a ludicrous nickname, but do you know why they call me that?” I’m not expecting a reply, so I carry on. “It’s because by the time I’m done torturing a man, his body parts are in so many different pieces, he’s unrecognizable.”

As expected, the man on his knees before me starts to shake. His entire body trembles both at my words and the even tone in my voice. He knows I’m f*****g serious. I’ve built a reputation in this city. And he’d be foolish to cross me.

“Relax,” I say soothingly. “I’m not a fan of that form of torture. It takes too long, and it’s too messy. You have to really piss me off for me to do that to you. You haven’t done anything. Just tell me who sent you, and I’ll bestow mercy upon you. My offer has a time limit, though. Speak before I count to three. One…”

I haven’t even said two before he’s yelling, “I have a message! I have a message for the Don!” he shouts, lowering his head.

I c**k my head to the side. “Speak. I’ll ensure he receives it.”

He swallows before replying. “We were sent by Santiago,” he states, causing me to arch an eyebrow.

I guess that answers my question about how they knew when to ambush us. Santiago’s men were meant to accompany the shipment, but they’re still not here, which means they’re not coming. He sent these stupid excuses for assassins instead.

“We have an alliance with Santiago,” I say slowly.

Santiago is in charge of one of the biggest drug cartels in the country. The alliance with him was hard-won and hard-earned a couple of years ago. I took it upon myself to make the deal with him back then. I knew he was getting antsy, I just didn’t think he’d be so foolish as to attack us.

“Not anymore. A few days ago, one of our men was murdered and dropped in front of a warehouse with the word ‘Maranzano’ carved into his face. The alliance is over. Santiago wants revenge. And he’ll stop at nothing to get it,” the man says. His tone is getting more assertive.

I roll my eyes. “He’s an i***t if he thinks that’s reason enough to start a war.”

“That was his message, Ramirez. Take it or leave it,” Santiago’s man says on a snarl.

“I think I’ll just take your life,” I state.

His eyes widen, and he opens his mouth to speak. Before he can get any words out though, I lift my gun and shoot him in the forehead. I feel nothing as he falls to the ground.

“That was more mercy than he deserved, boss,” Danny says, a note of disappointment in his voice.

“Maybe. But we’ve got bigger problems. Santiago’s a rabid dog that needs to be put down.”

The only problem is, this is the worst possible time to attack Santiago’s outfit. And I get the feeling he knows it.