Cruel Vows

Cruel Vows SOVEREIGN BROTHERHOOD BK 1 JO MCCALL Contents Cruel Vows Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Wicked Vows Sneak Peak: Stalk Me Acknowledgments Also by Jo McCall Jo Savage PNR Books Jo McCall Cruel Vows: The Sovereign Brotherhood BK 1 Copyright Jo McCall 2023 All Rights Reserved First Published 2023 No part of this book may be reproduced, stores in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, without prior authorization in writing of the publisher Wicked Romance Publication, nor can it be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All characters and places in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious, and any resemblance of actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. **This does not count promos. Just the piracy of this book. Cover design: Raven Ink Covers Editing: The “Write” Editor Formatted by: Dark Ink Designs Cruel Vows MAFIA/FORCED MARRIAGE/ALPHAHOLE BOOK 1. INTERCONNECTED STANDALONE IN THE SOVEREIGN BROTHERHOOD TRILOGY This book can be read as a complete standalone. Acknowledgements The reception for this book has been huge! I am so grateful and thankful to those who help make it possible. You- the reader- help make my writing grow. Thank you so much for supporting me along my author journey, it wouldn’t be here without you. To The “Write” Editor. K, you are amazing! Thank you for coming in clutch with this and being so patient and amazing. I can’t wait to work with you again. You saved this release! To my amazing Alpha’s. You are the heart of this book. The ones who make sure I’m not going off on a tangent or overusing words…he he. You all are amazing and patient and I love you so much. Thank you all for reading. Enjoy Adrian and Vanya as much as I have. They wouldn’t be here without you. Some beasts become prince charming. Others become a Dark King. Warning Thee content within this book is DARK and may be triggering to some INCLUDING: Physical Abuse Graphic Violence Dubious Consent Gun Play 18+ Only Please read responsibly. Full list of triggers for this particular book go to jomccallauthor.com https://jomccallauthor.com/cruelvows/ One “Come out, come out wherever you are,” the voice taunts, echoing after the heavy footsteps sounding like the beat of an executioner’s drum. My hands fly to my mouth, stifling the sob that threatens to tear itself from my chest. My family prepared me for a moment like this. A moment I never thought would come. Now it has, and I am all alone. And afraid. “Trust me, princess,” the man utters the moniker as if it burns his tongue. Like it is an unpleasant taste in his mouth. “If you make me hunt you down, I will make you beg for death after I get my hands on you, and I still won’t give you mercy.” My breath quickens, threatening to give me away. “Just give in and come out so we can get this over with,” he sneers. “Death to all Castellanos scum.” A tear slips down my cheek. I hold back a sniffle, the lump in my throat tightening to the point that it feels as if I cannot breathe. Please god. Don’t let him find me. The room is small and cramped. It is hidden behind one of the many portraits that adorn the main hallway leading toward my grandfather’s office. There is one in each hallway. All made specifically for me. Because when you are the daughter of a mafia king, you are a target. A weakness. A liability. I’d woken to screaming. The sharp cut of sound rang through the house like broken glass. In my sleepy haze, it took me a moment to realize that it had been my mother screaming my name. A warning. “Please,” my grandfather’s frail voice seeps through the layers of wood and metal. “She’s just a child.” The intruder snorts. “No matter.” This man is callous and cold. Heartless. An assassin. I know men like him, but even they have lines they draw. “A job is a job and I’m being well rewarded to wipe your sad excuse for a family off this earth. Including her.” There’s a sharp snap, like bone breaking, followed by a painful grunt from my grandfather. My stomach churns dangerously at the sound. “I know you’re here,” the intruder roars, obviously out of patience. “Come on out and I’ll make his death far less painful than I’d planned.” “Don’t you dare, Vanya,” my grandfather hisses before a scream rips through him. My hands go to cover my ears, but they are useless in drowning out the sound. Please… How much more must I pray before it is heard? When we are all dead? “Come on out, little Vanya,” the intruder orders. “Let’s get this over and done with.” Dahlias. Roses. Sweet Pea. It wasn’t enough. My mind refuses to focus, even with an aid. I am being pulled under, the fog welling up, threatening to drown what little control I have left. Another agonized cry. Why? “Do you know how painful it is to be cut just enough that you won’t die right away, but slowly bleed out?” No, I do not, and honestly, I never had plans to find out. “They call it ‘death by a thousand cuts’,” he continues causally, heartlessly. “None of the cuts are ever deep enough to