Corrupt Vow

CORRUPT VOWFILTHY WICKED PSYCHOS #3 EVA ASHWOOD Copyright © 2022 by Eva Ashwood All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Author’s Note: This is a dark romance and includes themes that may be triggering for some. Please read at your own discretion. CONTENTS 1. Willow2. Willow3. Willow4. Malice5. Willow6. Willow7. Victor8. Willow9. Willow10. Ransom11. Willow12. Willow13. Ransom14. Willow15. Willow16. Malice17. Willow18. Willow19. Victor20. Willow21. Willow22. Malice23. Willow24. Willow25. Willow26. Ransom27. Willow28. Victor29. Willow30. Willow31. Willow32. Willow33. Malice34. Willow35. Willow36. Willow37. Willow38. Victor39. Willow40. Willow41. Willow42. Ransom43. Malice44. Willow45. Willow46. WillowBooks by Eva Ashwood For the villains who aren’t redeemed by the woman they love… but who would gladly burn down the world for her. 1WILLOW “I’ll do it,” I tell my grandmother, my voice shaking. “I’ll marry whoever you want.” The words seem to hang in the air for a long moment, filling the space between us. Between all of us. I can feel the Voronin brothers react behind me as if their emotions are a physical force, anger and disbelief practically radiating from them. I know they still want to get between Olivia and me, to stop her from forcing me to do this, but I won’t let them. Because whatever they might try, it won’t work. My grandmother is holding all the cards right now. As I stare into her eyes, bile crawls up my throat. In the weeks since we met, I’ve been getting to know her, coming to understand her. Or so I thought. Her eyes are hazel, not brown like mine, but I could see something in the shape of them that always reminded me of my own. They’re the eyes of the one living relative I have left… but they might as well belong to someone I’ve never met. Despite her outward appearance, Olivia Stanton is a cruel and calculating woman who’s willing to blackmail me into marrying someone just to rebuild her empire. She’s using me like a pawn in a game she intends to win. Before today, I would never have thought my grandmother was capable of something like this, but I guess that just goes to show how thoroughly she had me fooled. The petite older woman smiles, seeming pleased, as if she’s read my thoughts and knows I understand the threat she’s holding over my head. “Very good,” she says. “That’s the correct answer, Willow. You’re making the right choice here. It wouldn’t have gone well for you or your men if you’d tried to deny me.” “You—” Malice bites off what probably would’ve been a string of curses, and he and his brothers step forward again. Their anger is even more apparent now, and I know they must hate this just as much as I do—being so out of control in this situation, having their fates decided by someone else. A raised hand is the only reaction from Olivia at first. She stops them in their tracks, her eyes cool and her posture straight. “Do I need to remind you of your position in all of this, Malice?” she asks. Her tone is pleasant, but edged with steel. “My husband got you out of prison, playing the part of ‘X.’ You would have been in there for many more years if he hadn’t stepped in. And I could send you back with a snap of my fingers. I wonder if you would survive this time? Or if your brothers would.” She looks to Ransom and Victor. “They’ve done criminal things for my husband and myself, and evidence of those things would probably be enough to put them away for a good long while too.” My heart clenches in my chest just hearing her make that kind of threat. I don’t even want to imagine it. I went from being afraid of these three brothers, to being angry at them for the way they pushed me around and seemed to want to control my life. But despite the rockiness of our beginnings, I’ve come to care for them, so much and so deeply that it’s overwhelming. So much that I know I can’t let anything happen to them. Especially not going back to prison. Not when I know how hard it was for Malice the first time around, and how hard it would be for Ransom and Victor if they ended up there. They’ve saved my life more than once. They’ve come to my rescue when no one else would. Now this is something I can do for them, and I’m determined to see it through. I extend my arms out, holding them off. “Don’t,” I say, turning to look at each of them in turn. “Please. Don’t risk this.” They’re all bristling, anger tightening their expressions. Malice is almost shaking with it, as if the pressure inside him might explode outward at any moment. But they stay where they are, and when I’m somewhat confident that they won’t move, I transfer my focus back to Olivia, glaring her down. “I already agreed to do what you want,” I snap. “I understand what’s at stake. Leave them alone.” Olivia narrows her eyes, glancing between me and the brothers. There’s a calculating look on her face, as if she’s trying to evaluate how intense the emotions between us are. Maybe she’s trying to see how far she can push this, or just trying to make sure that we all really do understand the threat she’s making. “Yes,” she finally says, smiling again. Fine lines appear at the corners of her mouth, her eyes wrinkling slightly at the corners. I used to think that smile made her look kind,