Page 171 of Vega

“He betrayed me!”

“He was your son!”

“He was disloyal!” Roman shouted. “He stole from the organization, made deals behind my back, and thought he could take what I spent my life building. If it were anyone else that wasn’t my blood, you would have told me to do the same!”

Promise flinched.

Roman pointed toward my phone. “That recording doesn’t tell you what he did. Donovan was a snake. He would’ve destroyed everything and gotten all of us killed. He wasn’t fit to lead. He was weak, careless, and too fucking arrogant to know his place!”

Promise’s grief disappeared beneath rage. The dogs felt it before anyone moved. They pressed closer to her legs, their bodies alert while their eyes remained fixed on Roman.

He took a step toward her. “Promise, listen to me.”

She backed away. “Don’t come near me.”

“I’m your father.”

“You killed my brother!”

“He forced my hand!”

Promise’s expression twisted into heartbreak and rage. Then she gave the dogs a sharp command in German. “Fass!”

They launched at Roman in a blur of fur and snapping jaws. He barely had time to raise his arms before Princess slammed into his chest, her teeth sinking deep into his shoulder with a sickening crunch of bone. Muffin lunged low, clamping his powerful jaws around Roman’s calf and ripping backward, tearing through muscle and tendon.

Roman crashed to the floor with a heavy thud, his screams echoing through the room as he frantically tried to shield his face. The dogs descended on him like a whirlwind of violence. Princess tore a jagged chunk of flesh from his neck, spraying hot, crimson blood across the floor. Roman’s shouts turned into wet, gurgling gasps as the dogs ripped into his soft tissues, shredding his stomach and chest with savage snaps.

“Promise!” I screamed.

But she just stood there, frozen, with tears streaming down her face, watching as the dogs followed their training with lethal precision. They ignored Roman’s weakening attempts to push them away, their claws digging deep into his skin, peeling back layers of flesh. Muffin shifted his focus, locking onto Roman's throat and shaking his head violently from side to side, the sound of cartilage snapping and windpipes crushing filling the silence between screams.

Roman’s cries grew faint, reduced to a pathetic, bubbling whimper as blood filled his lungs. The dogs continued to feast, tearing strips of meat from his limbs and ripping into his abdomen until his insides were spilled across the cold floor.

Then, the noise stopped. The only sound left was the wet, sloppy sound of the dogs licking the blood from their jowls.

VEGARRO “VEGA” MORETTI

The next morning, I lay against the pillows scrolling through reels and other bullshit on social media before I got up and hit the streets. Sonnet was in the kitchen of the suite making what had become my favorite breakfast. Shrimp and grits covered in a cheese sauce, along with lamb chops she seasoned perfectly every time.

My phone buzzed with a text from a client who’d hired me before.

Need your services. We need to meet.

I told him to send a time and location. Between Roman, Sonnet, and everything that came with protecting her, it had been a while since I’d gotten blood on my hands.

Another message came through before I finished responding.

It was from Celeste, which got my attention.

I opened it and read the two simple words:

She’s free. He’s gone.

I could feel the pressure lift from my shoulders and the tension ease in my body.

Roman was finally gone. For the first time since I’d taken that assignment, I didn’t have to wonder what move he was making next, and my baby was safe.

I lay there for a moment letting myself accept it. Sonnet could finally live her life. I could love her without preparing to lose her.